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orhallylujah's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
mbpartlow's review
5.0
Deeply disturbing, no way possible to guess the turns the story is going to take, excellent ending. This took me inside a mental disorder that I knew nothing about and made it understandable. The main character is so tortured--by her life and by herself. This writer has an extremely deft way of turning a phrase. Small sentences, small phrases that will take you by surprise with their utter perfection. Disturbing and totally enthralling. I could not put it down.
twoheartedcalf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
tessaturnspages's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
xchickadee's review against another edition
2.0
Rated: ★★ (2 Stars)
I have heard nothing but good things about Gillian’s writing. And this was the only book I had of hers and it was short so I picked it up.
Let me tell you, this was not the book for me. Others have loved it, and I personally I can’t see why.
Sharp Objects focuses on Camille, a reporter from Chicago. When a little girl is killed then another one goes missing, Camille is sent back to her home town to report this. But going back home to just report, isn’t that simple. Wind Gap has many demons for Camille.
My first thoughts about this book was it was boring. But I can never DNF (did not finish) a book. Even if I hate it. I always have to know the ending. It is a sickness.
I even read the first line of the Epilogue, that one line did help me push through. And the end was a plot twist, but also made since.
I had a huge problem with how Camille was always fascinated with her 13 year old sister’s body. And that bothered me a lot. I understand that kids that age can be sexually active. But your adult sister thinking about her sisters body and breast is NOT okay.
Also if you are not in the right mental state I don’t recommend this book. Camille is a for more cutter, a lot of drug and alcohol use and talk of suicide and death, descriptions of animal slaughter.
I have heard nothing but good things about Gillian’s writing. And this was the only book I had of hers and it was short so I picked it up.
Let me tell you, this was not the book for me. Others have loved it, and I personally I can’t see why.
Sharp Objects focuses on Camille, a reporter from Chicago. When a little girl is killed then another one goes missing, Camille is sent back to her home town to report this. But going back home to just report, isn’t that simple. Wind Gap has many demons for Camille.
My first thoughts about this book was it was boring. But I can never DNF (did not finish) a book. Even if I hate it. I always have to know the ending. It is a sickness.
I even read the first line of the Epilogue, that one line did help me push through. And the end was a plot twist, but also made since.
I had a huge problem with how Camille was always fascinated with her 13 year old sister’s body. And that bothered me a lot. I understand that kids that age can be sexually active. But your adult sister thinking about her sisters body and breast is NOT okay.
Also if you are not in the right mental state I don’t recommend this book. Camille is a for more cutter, a lot of drug and alcohol use and talk of suicide and death, descriptions of animal slaughter.
trash_reader_'s review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
I knew from the first three pages that I wasn't going to like this. Something about the writing style just rubbed me the wrong way, and I just didn't like the way it opened. I stuck with it, though, hoping that this book would live up to the praise I've heard. And on page 15, I knew it wouldn't.
"When I was still in grammar school, maybe twelve, I wandered into a neighbor boy's hunting shed ... The walls were covered with photographs of naked women. Some of the girls were spreading themselves wide, others were being held down and penetrated. One woman was tied up, her eyes glazed, breasts stretched and veined like grapes, as a man took her from behind ...
At home that night, I slipped a finger under my panties and masturbated for the first time ... "
What relevance does that have to anything? I'm not a prude, but I don't care to read about prepubescent children masturbating, especially when it has absolutely no relevance to what the book is about. And none of the information we are ever given about the characters is relevant to finding out what happened in the death of two ten year olds. It's just excessive information cluttering the book in a poor attempt at adding depth and drama.
This book is riddled with sexual comments about children for absolutely no reason, and I'm not quoting them all directly because reading them the first time made me feel disgusting, so I'm sure as hell not going to read them a second time just to bitch in a review. But every single time you meet a female character, whether or not you had already met them, comments were made about their breasts, how pretty they were, how sexually active they were, and then the main character would tie it into how sexually active she was when she was thirteen. All of it pointless, and all of it "you-should-be-on-a-list" level gross. The author being a woman just made it so much worse.
There was also a gross amount of sexism, but this was published in 2006 so I guess I can't expect too much from it. Not that it didn't piss me off anyway, especially the comments specifically about feminism and how women were made to be mothers and that science agrees with that. What even was the point of adding that in there? On page 134:
"... it seems like part of your heart can never work if you don't have kids ... I didn't really become a woman until I felt Mackenzie inside me. I mean, there's all this talk these days of God versus science, but it seems like, with babies, both sides agree. The Bible says be fruitful and multiply, and science , well, when it all boils down, that's what women were made for, right? To bear children."
Get fucked. That was so annoying to read, and by this time in the book I was already so over it that the only way I was able to finish it was by listening to the audiobook.
Aside from all of that, the characters were flat and one-dimensional. The plot was predictable, mostly because the characters were so flat that it was almost impossible not to know what was going to happen on the next page. They were just there to further along the plot and it was painfully obvious the author didn't actually care about any of the characters beyond the main ones. And even the way they were written was very shallow. Especially with that "every character is so quirky and different" thing the author was doing.
This was my first Gillian Flynn book, and it will be my last.
At home that night, I slipped a finger under my panties and masturbated for the first time ... "
What relevance does that have to anything? I'm not a prude, but I don't care to read about prepubescent children masturbating, especially when it has absolutely no relevance to what the book is about. And none of the information we are ever given about the characters is relevant to finding out what happened in the death of two ten year olds. It's just excessive information cluttering the book in a poor attempt at adding depth and drama.
This book is riddled with sexual comments about children for absolutely no reason, and I'm not quoting them all directly because reading them the first time made me feel disgusting, so I'm sure as hell not going to read them a second time just to bitch in a review. But every single time you meet a female character, whether or not you had already met them, comments were made about their breasts, how pretty they were, how sexually active they were, and then the main character would tie it into how sexually active she was when she was thirteen. All of it pointless, and all of it "you-should-be-on-a-list" level gross. The author being a woman just made it so much worse.
There was also a gross amount of sexism, but this was published in 2006 so I guess I can't expect too much from it. Not that it didn't piss me off anyway, especially the comments specifically about feminism and how women were made to be mothers and that science agrees with that. What even was the point of adding that in there? On page 134:
"... it seems like part of your heart can never work if you don't have kids ... I didn't really become a woman until I felt Mackenzie inside me. I mean, there's all this talk these days of God versus science, but it seems like, with babies, both sides agree. The Bible says be fruitful and multiply, and science , well, when it all boils down, that's what women were made for, right? To bear children."
Get fucked. That was so annoying to read, and by this time in the book I was already so over it that the only way I was able to finish it was by listening to the audiobook.
Aside from all of that, the characters were flat and one-dimensional. The plot was predictable, mostly because the characters were so flat that it was almost impossible not to know what was going to happen on the next page. They were just there to further along the plot and it was painfully obvious the author didn't actually care about any of the characters beyond the main ones. And even the way they were written was very shallow. Especially with that "every character is so quirky and different" thing the author was doing.
This was my first Gillian Flynn book, and it will be my last.
courtneydashh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I pretty much read this book in two days because each chapter left me with more questions than answers. Having a twist at the end and then yet another surprise twist made me have to put it down and question everything I just read to see if I’d missed it all along.
jmrprice's review against another edition
4.0
Gut reaction - visceral and dysfunctional… but there is good in the world… kindnesses come in many forms.