Sharp Objects: A Novel
by Gillian Flynn
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Book Reviews of Sharp Objects: A Novel
Book Review: Engrossing Read!!!
Summary: 4 Stars
This book would be an engrossing read from an author of stature so I was amazed to discover that it was a first effort for Ms. Flynn. It definitely had three ingredients that make for a surefire good read - a page-turner, quality prose, and psychological suspense.
In short the plot is about a young woman named Camille, who works for a non-major newspaper, who goes back to her hometown to investigate the murder of two children. She does this reluctantly because of her distant and dysfunctional relationship with her mother and step-father. She has a dead sibling who was lost during her youth, and a half-sister she hardly knows. The book interweaves her relationship with her family and effort to find the murderer.
What I loved most is that Ms. Flynn came up with some modern, intriguing, and less "worn out" ideas for her story. For example, Camille is a cutter who actually cuts words all over her body. We slowly learn that her mother has Munchausen by Proxy, a disease which is accurately depicted and explained. Unlike many novels, the potential love object for Camille doesn't end up falling for her because he is bothered once he sees her body. Most importantly, the killer of the children is unexpected and not revealed until the very end!
Book Review: You *can* go home again...
Summary: 5 Stars
Tom Wolfe asserted that "you can't go home again" and it is true that you won't be able to recapture your youth, or many friendships and relationships that only exist back in your memories, but Gillian Flynn teaches us that you can go home again, but that's not always a good thing.
This is an excellent character study of a young girl who finds how easily the bad things in your youth can still haunt you in an instant. No matter how secure in an adult, professional, confident world, when confronted when the dark things from one's past, you find yourself instantly back "home" again. Think of the many episodes of talk shows where someone confronts a school bully 15 years later and finds themselves in tears. Or the reunion reality shows where the nerds instantly feel put down and unworthy in relation to the popular crowd.
The mystery was good enough to keep my interest, but it wasn't the star here. Camille is the star. And she finds herself slowly unable to resist the gravity of the monsters of her youth.
Ms. Flynn teases us with cliches and then pulls then out from under us, masterfully in Camille's relationships.
Looking forward to the next book on my shelf by this author, Dark Places.
Book Review: Closer to three and a half stars - pretty good, not great
Summary: 3 Stars
As many people, I picked this book up because Stephen King had a wonderfully good quote on the cover recommending it. And I actually agree with his quote, it was nasty, with sharp writing, and the story stays in your head long after you finish it. It was a very decent story and quite unique. A troubled reporter returns to her hometown to investigate the murder of two preteen girls and, in doing so, has to confront her many issues with her equally troubled mother. It is a very interesting book and kept me very engaged, but it seemed to lack something, perhaps it was just too cold? I am really not sure, but as King said, it is nasty. I recently read on Flynn's website that the movie rights have been sold and she is currently working on the screenplay. It should be a pretty good movie. Also on her website is an essay to her reader explaining why she is writing about a typically left alone subject (nasty women), which was worth the read, I think. I definitely liked her second book, Dark Places, better than this, but it is still a worthwhile read, and overall I would recommend it to most horror-, thriller-lover fans, especially those looking for something different. If you are just into mild murder mysteries, this may not be the book for you.Book Review: Yikes.
Summary: 4 Stars
This nasty little thriller has it all. Brilliant first-person narrative, a beyond-dysfunctional family with interesting bizarrely damaged characters, self-mutilation, a hothouse small-town setting, and two girls murdered, who then have their teeth extracted. This is Gillian Flynn's first novel (I intend to purchase "Dark Objects," her second); and it has a bit of the unsureness one associates with first novels. But the author knows pacing, and she has a tremendous sense of place. I, native New Yorker, felt as though I knew the entire layout of the small town of Wind Gap by the time I turned the last page.
In an interview with the author that Amazon's posted, Ms. Flynn admits she writes without an outline, and that she wasn't sure at first who the murderer was going to be. It shows. The book is written in such a way that either of the two logical suspects could have been the perps. When the puzzle is revealed, however, you'll see that the author did in the end provide you with enough clues to prevent you from feeling (as is so often the case with second-rate thrillers) that the one who dun it dun did it because the author said so.
Book Review: Lacking Mystery and Suspense
Summary: 2 Stars
The main problem with this novel is the failure of the author to create any mystery or suspense. The main character Camille Preaker is a journalist who is sent back to her home town by her newspaper editor to write a story on the death of one young girl and the disappearance of another. Shortly after Camille's arrival in her home town the missing girl turns up dead. However this is where the novel's problems start. Following the murder of the second young girl pretty much nothing occurs to advance the plot until the last fifty pages. The result is a large part of the novel lacks suspense and is filled with descriptions of small town life that go on and on including lengthy passages about the main character self harm problems. To be honest it was a struggle to finish the book. In terms of a mystery, the story is let down by the fact that the murderer is very easy to predict. Gillian Flynn clearly has talent, her descriptions are excellent as is her ability to create atmosphere and she is clearly a brave writer who is willing to take on difficult subjects but ultimately she is let down by her inability to create a suspenseful story.