The Grownup
Ratings248
Average rating3.5
The story was so twisty and engaging - but then when I got to the end I thought my book was missing pages! It just abruptly ended with no resolution or explanation? 1 Star ⭐️!
Didn't know what to expect after the opening jolt vis a vis the narrator. Flynn is an excellent story teller and she built the story heading in one direction and then had a surprise finish. Quick read.
A woman who progressed from scamming people by begging with her mother to giving, in her own words, “the best hand job in the tristate area”, transfers to the front of the establishment due to carpal tunnel syndrome. That means a new job for this witty con-artist who can read people like a pro : psychic. With her experience and intellect, she does well, telling people what they want to hear and twisting words until they mean both nothing and everything. Then, she meets Susan Burke, who has a psycho stepson and a house where murders happened, and the con-artist realises she's way out of her depth. She's not the only one who can lie...
I have mixed feelings about this book and it's a shame because I really liked the beginning! I thought it was a great setup and I was really invested in what was going to happen next. It's pretty rare for me to be hooked quickly, so you understand why I had high expectations.
Anyways, I was waiting for something creepy and exciting, something that griped me, you know? But it was all a bit underwhelming, which, whatever, I wouldn't have minded that much, had it not been for the ending. Oh gosh, the ending. I understand it was meant to be an ambiguous conclusion and everything, but it doesn't work for a story this short!!! Especially when done this way. This just reads like there is no resolution and I was left very unsatisfied. Although I would have liked the mindfuck if it was in the middle of a book, it really left a sour taste in my mouth.
Still, it's not all bad. I loved the voice of the narrator (though I think it was a bit lost halfway through) and there were some really great lines in there. The plot is good, if nothing crazy. Also, for a 20 minutes read, this will certainly be something I'll think about a lot! (If not for reasons I'm happy with, at least I suppose for reasons the author wanted!)
I was quite disappointed to be honest. Not sure what I was expecting from this short story but it wasn't this. The premise was really interesting, but the pacing was incredibly weird. 90% of the story is used for the setup, then the rest is an extremely rushed succession of "no, this is what actually happened". I also didn't care for the ending, I agree with other reviews that mention feeling like they were missing some pages.
I'll be perfectly honest with you and say I am not entirely certain what just happened in this book
This short story made me feel so joyous with all its creepy shit. I fucking loved the way the house is described in the beginning and the feeling the main character gets from it is projected through the pages very well. Although I feel it went through the different narratives very fast when Miles is talking to her those last few lines really make up for it. Excellent ending.
I have not yet read any of Gillian's novels, but I pay attention to book lovers' recommendations. Therefore, I thought that this book would be an excellent introduction to Gillian's writing style. I thoroughly enjoyed it and immediately ordered her novel “Dark Places” as I was left wanting more. Highly recommend it's only 67 pages and gets to the punch quickly.
5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Read back in April. First taste of Gillian Flynn and absolutely loved it. Hilarious and heart pounding all in a less than 100 page novella.
So weird but also kind of brilliant? No one here is honest and everyone isn't what they seem. Fantastic ending twists as well, and really draws you in - rare in something so short.
Felt like Flynn didn't know how to end this so just said “eh? eh? What do YOU think is the truth, reader?” Which is fine, but didn't really land for me. I really liked the middle portion, though! 2 gothic horror novels out of 5.
Read for the Merry & Bright Readathon: white on the cover
This went in a very different direction than I expected but it was so interesting!
When I was done with this what went on in my mind was, “WTF did I just read?!?!?!”.All I knew going into this was that this was written by [a:Gillian Flynn 2383 Gillian Flynn https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1232123231p2/2383.jpg] and it is a short story, that's it.I expected it to be dark because after all this is [a:Gillian Flynn 2383 Gillian Flynn https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1232123231p2/2383.jpg] we are talking about, but not at this level. Before starting it I thought 60 pages huh? It will be a breeze. But was it!? Noo the boy Miles was super creepy and I found myself constantly saying WTF?! WTF?! WTF?!!!. And THAT ENDING!!! I was so spooked in the last few chapters(prob coz I read it at around 2.30am lol) And even though I enjoyed the book I was so glad when it ended.I found myself empathizing with Susan coz I feel like most of the stuff she went through I related to it.
I wanted to like this one but it didn't work for me. It felt like it was going for an almost Chuck Palahniuk style in the writing and the twists but didn't have the skill to pull it off on a larger scale so instead shortened it. However, the length made it so it was just twist after twist with nothing else making it strong.
Gillian Flynn has yet to let me down.This was a fun, quick read with lots of twists for a 65-page story.The homage mentions of books like [b:The Turn of the Screw 12948 The Turn of the Screw Henry James https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567172392l/12948.SY75.jpg 990886], [b:The Haunting of Hill House 89717 The Haunting of Hill House Shirley Jackson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327871336l/89717.SY75.jpg 3627], and [b:Rebecca 17899948 Rebecca Daphne du Maurier https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386605169l/17899948.SX50.jpg 46663] put it nicely in the right zone for the spooky October season.
This book, or rather, short story, had an interesting premise but the pacing was off. While it started off suspenseful and intriguing, the ending felt rushed and unsatisfying.