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Sharp Objects

by Gillian Flynn (Goodreads Author)

3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 · rating details · 41,170 ratings · 6,750 reviews

WICKED above her hipbone, GIRL across her heart
Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.

NASTY on her kneecap, BABYDOLL on her leg
Since s...more

Hardcover, 272 pages

Published September 26th 2006 by Shaye Areheart Books

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Aug 11, 2012 Emily May rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Emily May by: Tatiana

Shelves: mystery-thriller-horror, 2012

There is something deeply unhealthy about this book; it's in the characters, in the story, in the relationships, in the sex, and just in the general mood of the novel. Reading this made me feel a little unwell, both physically and mentally, but I am glad I did. If you know me, you'll know I love complex characters with issues that feel raw and real rather than melodramatic. The people in this novel are majorly fucked up, no one is without a dark past and everyone, it seems, has a horror story.

The protagonist - Camille Preaker - was just thirteen when her sister died and fuelled by grief (amongst other things) Camille spent her teen years carving words into her flesh, covering almost every inch of her body with the marks of her pain. This could have brought the angst meter off the scale but Flynn handled it expertly, with just the right amount of sadness, frustration and gore. Ten years later, Camille Preaker is now a journalist who returns to the small town of her youth to report on the murders of two young girls - the girls showed no signs of sexual abuse, but all their teeth had been removed.

Camille is soon caught up in the town once again, she tries to get along with the mother who never loved her and establish a relationship with the troublesome half sister she hardly knows. It seems that once again small towns hold the biggest secrets and Camille finds herself getting dragged deeper and deeper into the investigation, her fragile state of mind constantly threatening to tip her over the edge.

This is one mean and nasty book. I knew I was getting a dark, psychological thriller, but I expected something on par with In The Woods. In Tana French's novels everyone has a deeply explored personality, but it seems that in Gillian Flynn's novels everyone has a deeply explored problem and Flynn never shies away from the details. You're not going to find anything pleasant in this story; sex, for example, is never simply for physical pleasure, it's an escape or a bargain or a catharsis. Everything else is similar.

In a world where women are victims - both in their media representation as "damsels in distress" and in statistics - this is a very interesting look at "evil" women. We are always less surprised when a man is arrested for raping/torturing/killing, it's programmed into us to believe that women are safer, kinder, built with an instinct that makes it difficult for them to be cruel and cause pain without reason. Upon interviewing the parents of Moors murders victims before the culprits were caught, they said they couldn't understand it because they'd always told their kids not to go off with men they didn't know. But they never warned them not to go off with women they didn't know, the idea was unthinkable. Times are changing, but a lot of the old ideas still linger: surely a woman wouldn't hurt a child? Surely a mother would never harm her children?

Yet, Flynn does an excellent job of challenging this idea. She shows how women can be cold, calculating and cruel. And I'm sure it will displease a lot of readers, but it fascinated me.(less)

215 likes · like · see review

Mar 23, 2013 Will Byrnes rated it 3 of 5 stars

UPDATED - March 23, 2013 - see link at bottom

Camille Preaker is a young Chicago reporter with a troubled past. When a second young girl goes missing in her home town, Wind Gap, MO, Camille’s fatherly boss sends her down to get the inside scoop. Who says you can’t go home again? Well, maybe you can, but would you really want to? There is a reason she is in Chicago, instead of Podunk, MO, and the danger for Camille lies as much with her delicate psychological state, a product of her childhood, as...more

24 likes · like · see review

Jun 08, 2010 Tatiana rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of all things disturbing

Recommended to Tatiana by: Rachel Michaux

Shelves: mysteries-thrillers-horror, 2010, only-i-will-like, b

As seen on The Readventurer

If you ask me which words come into my mind first whenever I think of this book, my answer will be: nasty, dark, twisted, disturbing.

In this rather traumatizing psychological thriller Camille Preaker, a troubled newspaper reporter, is sent to her home town to get the inside scoop on the murders of two preteen girls - both were strangled and had their teeth removed. As we follow Camille on her quest to obtain as much information as possible about the crimes, we learn mu...more

71 likes · like · see review

Apr 30, 2009 karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: littry-fiction, sshh-family-secrets

okay so i,of course, was initially drawn to this book because it has shiny cover. i am like a magpie or a raccoon or something... and then it just sat on the shelf for ages and one day i read the description of it somewhere. and it's all "whore" on her ankle and "pain" on her heart or whatever.(which is not on the back cover copy, but is right up there in the goodreads.com description) and i thought - "oooh you are so edgy and shocking!!" and i rolled my eyes and figured i would just never read...more

58 likes · like · see review

Aug 06, 2012 RandomAnthony rated it 4 of 5 stars

Last week I read the fuck out of Gillian Flynn's catalog. Three novels in eight days while my wife and kids were out of town and a sweltering late July marooned me in one of the house's two air conditioned rooms. So although this review is primarily for Sharp Objects, my favorite of Flynn's trio, let me go on record with Gone Girl (four stars, go read another of the zillion of reviews) and Dark Places (three stars, maybe too many narratives perspectives and too willing to wallow in the muck) as...more

74 likes · like · see review

Jun 28, 2007 Troy rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone

Terrific book, truly creepy. A page turner about a journalist going back to her tiny Missouri home town to cover the recent murders of two little girls. Gillian Flynn's writing in Entertainment Weekly has always been a notch above, and her first novel is no disappointment.

What's remarkable about this book is that it focuses on some of the most damaged and interesting women I've ever seen in fiction. Strong women in fiction usually means one of three things:

1) Ass-kickers in fantastic outfits tha...more

47 likes · like · see review

Jun 27, 2011 Noran Miss Pumkin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-booklist, odd-reads

This book I can relate to in funny ways. I live in the Chicagoland portion of Indiana--we as known as the lost county "Lake". We know all about Chi-town happening/sports, then who/what/where is going on the "Cross Roads of the Nation"-state motto. Second, I work at an Er with Psych services--so I can relate to the characters and their issues. Mental and drug/alcohol/loose sex. Finally I helped moved a friend decades ago to a small town, out in farmland USA--teaching me about a new culture I was...more

9 likes · like · see review

Feb 03, 2013 Alex rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense-thriller-mind-fuck

Little buddy read with Her Majesty La Lionne and Jerry on January 31st!! :D

This is my third Gillian Flynn book, after Gone Girl and Dark Places. The first one blew my mind, the second one freaked me out a little and this one really scared me.

Sure, after reading 5% of it I was like
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--a creepy story with the potential of giving me special nightmares,

but by 90% I was like
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WTF did I just read??

All the characters were disturbing, ~~especially~~ even the children.

Allow me to start with Camille. She's a...more

27 likes · like · see review

Jul 11, 2012 Trudi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: in-her-own-words, mothers, 2008-reads, secrets, a-sense-of-place, gillian-flynn, stephen-king-recommends, my-desert-island, books-i-want-to-marry, modern-lit, family-ties, heart-of-darkness, crime-mystery

Camille Preaker is haunted by childhood memories of a cold, hysterical mother and the devastating loss of her sister, Marian, who died when Camille was only 13. Literally carrying her war wounds upon her flesh, Camille is a recovering "cutter" who has carved a myriad of words into her skin as a visible record of the pain and trauma she's experienced. Having escaped from the clutches of a cloying family environment, Camille is being sent back into the cauldron, this time as a reporter for a secon...more

15 likes · like · see review

Aug 11, 2007 Laura rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Chuck Palahniuk fans

Shelves: borrowed-from-public-library

From the first page, I felt the author had just finished a Chuck Palahniuk novel and decided she wanted to be like him when she grew up. Sentence fragments can be fun if you're in the mood for things like "A belly. A smell. He was suddenly standing next to me." (Not exact quotes, but pretty close.) I wasn't in the mood, and it was irritating. Also, I didn't really believe the narrator was a woman. I found the scene where she was 12 years old and in someone's hunting shed, full of dead, bloody an...more

38 likes · like · see review

Aug 18, 2011 Regina rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People who like psychological thrillers, flawed characters, and stories of disturbing family life.

Recommended to Regina by: Tatiana G.

Shelves: mystery, availble-in-epub-at-library, available-audio-library, thriller, bingo-3rd-round, psychological-thriller

I love a good psychological thriller with disturbingly flawed characters and this book did not disappoint. The main character is a woman struggling to make a life for herself, fleeing her childhood and really, fleeing her mother when she is sent back to her home town as an investigative reporter. She is tasked to report on the gruesome murders of two pre-teen girls, but in the process she gets put right back in the middle of her messed up family dynamics, her small town’s social structure, and a...more I love a good psychological thriller with disturbingly flawed characters and this book did not disappoint. The main character is a woman struggling to make a life for herself, fleeing her childhood and really, fleeing her mother when she is sent back to her home town as an investigative reporter. She is tasked to report on the gruesome murders of two pre-teen girls, but in the process she gets put right back in the middle of her messed up family dynamics, her small town’s social structure, and a potential romance.

Ms. Flynn nails perfectly small Midwest town life. A quote in her description of small town life,

“Like all rural towns, Wind Gap has an obsession with machinery. Most homes own a car and a half for every occupant, plus boats, Jet Skis, scooters, tractors, and among the elite of Wind Gap, golf cars, which younger kids without licenses use to whip around town.”

Ms. Flynn makes some disturbing observations about parenting and family life – and ties them in to premature death:

As to the death of a young girl, “it’s the only way to truly keep your child. Kids grow up, they forge more potent allegiances. They find a spouse or a lover. They will not be buried with you. The Keenes, however will remain the purest form of family. Underground.”

The situations described in this book are exceptional, but she breaks the image of small rural life as being ideal. Terrifying violence and dysfunction lurks beneath the surface and I have to say, she nailed it in terms of describing my small rural home town. As Flynn writes, the idealic quality of small towns is false. A question is – should people go home once they have fled extreme unhappiness? Can they go home and survive it emotionally? Going home almost undoes Camille and as the story is told the readers see from a disturbing first person angle, Camille’s personal psychological problems and the extent of her damage. It was terrifying to read about, but I could not put the book down.

A truly horrifying image of the protagonist’s mother: (view spoiler)

A question I had was, what was Ms. Flynn’s message in this? Small rural towns are messed up? Family dynamics can really screw people up? Old school social hierarchies breed disturbing people? I did find it interesting that the men in this story, save one, are thoroughly disappointing and that the evil, cruel and shallow women are images of beauty and physically were ultra feminine in terms of how our society defines such things. The violence that happens to women and girls happens on the brink of girls becoming women, and the things done to them (view spoiler) are superficial ways femininity have has been defined in our modern culture. And finally, the evil doers (view spoiler). What comment is Flynn making on images of women, female sexuality and femininity in modern US culture? I am asking because I have not yet decided what the answer is.

I recommend this book for people who enjoy dark psychological thrillers, where the mystery and murder are just set ups for authors to portray dark disturbing characters and fully fleshed but damaging relationships. I would say fans of Tana French, Donna Tartt, and Laura Kasischke would enjoy this book, but beware, it is not for the faint hearted – the decryptions of physical violence can be upsetting.
(less)

14 likes · like · see review

May 08, 2012 Tracy rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who like reading about cruel girls

Recommended to Tracy by: a co-worker

Shelves: horror, fiction, mystery-suspense, the-fam-connection, girl-woman-feminine-tales, crime-tales, utter-crap, sleazy-skeezy-skeevy, what-a-mess

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

28 likes · like · see review

Feb 28, 2013 Samadrita rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Samadrita by: Jill's rating

Shelves: suspense-thrillers, crime, spookfest, mystery-detective, disturbia, not-worth-it, real-issues-fake-people

When I had first read rave reviews of Gone Girl, I was bowled over by the fact that there's after all a woman who is brave enough to try her hand at a genre rarely ventured into by women writers. And apparently, she excels at it too. Surely, she couldn't have hoodwinked hordes of unsuspecting readers into giving her books such high ratings.
So I had decided I'd devour Gillian Flynn's entire oeuvre starting with her first published work.

Needless to say, that it is with obvious disappointment I'm...more When I had first read rave reviews of Gone Girl, I was bowled over by the fact that there's after all a woman who is brave enough to try her hand at a genre rarely ventured into by women writers. And apparently, she excels at it too. Surely, she couldn't have hoodwinked hordes of unsuspecting readers into giving her books such high ratings.
So I had decided I'd devour Gillian Flynn's entire oeuvre starting with her first published work.

Needless to say, that it is with obvious disappointment I'm giving this book only 2 stars. I had high hopes for Flynn's first published novel.

Sharp Objects comes off as a classic case of trying too hard. The set up feels too contrived, the world building, shabby and the writing, unimpressive and awkward. ('bucolicry', Mrs Flynn? is that even a real word?) And to heap on to the negatives, Flynn rushes us through the scenery, the murders, the facts with such alarming speed that few things get time enough to make a powerful impact.

The eerie, secluded little town of Wind Gap never comes alive for the reader. All the characters appear to be caricatures of stereotypical suspects in a murder mystery novel.
Even the central characters seem to be rather blurry outlines of real people instead of full-fledged human beings of flesh and bone. My mind failed at conjuring up even a single image of Wind Gap, its inhabitants or Camille and that's when I knew things were going downhill. After I had made some headway with the book, my attention kept drifting away and this doesn't usually happen with a thriller novel.(Proof of my steadily dwindling interest in thrillers maybe?)

Neither did I care about the murders nor did I think much of the disturbing imagery that Flynn shoves right in the reader's face from time to time. Even if you keep the somewhat macabre murders of pubescent girls aside, there are themes of self mutilation, sexual abuse, descriptions of horrific serial killings, slaughtering of pigs and chickens to make you cringe and wince as you read every alternate passage. Still I wasn't repulsed.
Instead what I felt acutely was Flynn's desperate desire to create a truly unsettling narrative. You can tell she is trying to offer you a blend of all things gory, disturbing and wicked just to titillate your senses. It's as if the central story became secondary to Flynn somewhere while she was writing this and only the deeply perturbing elements assumed primary importance.

Even the ending fails to pack in a punch, because if you have read a slew of whodunits at any point of time in your life, you will sort of guess the culprit.
The only part which successfully creeped me out was the protagonist's tendency to inflict injuries on herself as a way to purge herself of emotions. But that one feeling doesn't help you sail through a book which is, otherwise, ceaselessly dreary and simply put, lacklustre in every way.

Hence, 2 very unsatisfied, very bored stars.

I am holding out hope for Gillian Flynn though. Maybe my opinion will change after reading Gone Girl or Dark Places.(less)

13 likes · like · see review

Nov 25, 2009 Maureen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009

i'm not sure what to say about this book because while i think it reads like a bestseller should, i didn't enjoy it. the prose is compelling in that i felt compelled to finish it, and i did. i couldn't put it down but i wanted to get it over with. i think the writing is engaging but i will remember no turns of phrase, or kernels of wisdom.

i can say it seemed pretty obvious to me who would turn out to be guilty of the crimes in the end, and i was right. all of the characters in this book except...more i'm not sure what to say about this book because while i think it reads like a bestseller should, i didn't enjoy it. the prose is compelling in that i felt compelled to finish it, and i did. i couldn't put it down but i wanted to get it over with. i think the writing is engaging but i will remember no turns of phrase, or kernels of wisdom.

i can say it seemed pretty obvious to me who would turn out to be guilty of the crimes in the end, and i was right. all of the characters in this book except for the guilty and the protagonist seemed clear stock types to me: the out-of-towner cop, the sheriff, the older brother of one of the girls killed, his girlfriend, all of the women of the reporter protagonists generation, of her mother's, of her sister's.. i have seen all these characters on sicker episodes of law and order or some other crime procedural, which for the record, i usually have no trouble anticipating the conclusions of either. i won't say i was surprised when i read that author, flynn, was a former television critic for entertainment weekly, in addition to holding a film degree. she has a very firm hold on characterization, and tropes, and she knows just when to serve up something that seems contrary to what you expect, to turn it on its head, and sufficiently creep her reader out. certainly, i exclaimed "this is disgusting" in a crowded subway because i couldn't help myself.

if you are looking for a dark and shocking read that includes shades of southern gothic, perversion, and self-mutilation, this may be the book for you. having finished this book, i don't think i ever want to see it again because it didn't really give me anything. it grossed me out, yes, but it never really scared me, or enlightened me, or surprised me. i respect the writing crafted here but i don't admire it. i'm glad that it's finished and i don't have to read it anymore.

sharp objects had nuances of an elizabeth george book called missing joseph i once read that i liked better, probably because it was a lot less grotesque, and was more difficult to figure out.(less)

19 likes · like · see review

Feb 03, 2013 La-Lionne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: creepy, not-an-easy-read, not-for-the-weak-hearted, own, triller-suspense-mystery, disturbing

4.5 stars.

"There are two kinds of serial killers as far as the victim is concerned: the kind that you don't see before they pounce on you and the kind you see and don't expect to pounce on you."

- Pat Brown -

The story is about a crime journalist, Camille. She travels back to her home town to write an article about the murders of two girls.
It's a small town, population 2000. Most of people there have know each other since childhood and no one believes that the killer could be one of the locals.
C...more 4.5 stars.

"There are two kinds of serial killers as far as the victim is concerned: the kind that you don't see before they pounce on you and the kind you see and don't expect to pounce on you."

- Pat Brown -

The story is about a crime journalist, Camille. She travels back to her home town to write an article about the murders of two girls.
It's a small town, population 2000. Most of people there have know each other since childhood and no one believes that the killer could be one of the locals.
Cute little town, full of high school sweethearts with their cute little families, houses with the white picket fences and 2,5 kids. Streets are full of cute little boys and girls running around.
description

Cute, right? Well, as you read you discover that behind the close doors, of those cute houses, lives some very disturbing people. The more you read the more it looks like it was a job of a local. Pretty much everyone starts looking suspicious. You reach the point in the story where almost everyone looks, sounds and acts like a serial killer :).
description

Some very dark and disturbing secrets start coming out and at this point you think that anyone of them could have done it. There is a lot of speculation going on, who could have done it and most importantly why? Who could be so evil to hurt a child.
description

Flynn is brilliant at playing games with readers minds. She creates characters that are very hard to like and even harder to figure it out. It's almost impossible to figure it out who the killer is. I have changed my theory on who that might be, maybe a dozen times. Just when you think you know who did it, something happens and you start doubting. It's very fun to read (aside from the fact that kids are being murdered, of course).

I would have given it a 5 starts if it wasn't for the ending. It's fine the way it ended, but I felt like the ending was a bit rushed. It almost felt like "Oh, by the way...". I think that epilogue was completely unnecessary. I would have loved for the story to have ended with (view spoiler). Readers would still have known who did it and maybe why, plus, it would have left readers surprised and in shock, with bunch of questions "How? When? Why?". How and when is not important, and as to why, the story had enough information about the murders and characters, for the reader to figure it out.
Other than that, it was a brilliantly written story, total page turner.
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Jun 30, 2009 Simon Cleveland rated it 1 of 5 stars

The razor blade on the front cover of the book is what one yearns for right after embarking on this read, sharp blade with which to cut every single page, one by one, until they are so neatly shredded that even the memory of what was written on them becomes non existent. And then, one can use the same razor to end one's own life.

I'm still unsure what the author was thinking when she began this book, unless she had some very deep and very disturbing mental issues to work through.

This book is da...more The razor blade on the front cover of the book is what one yearns for right after embarking on this read, sharp blade with which to cut every single page, one by one, until they are so neatly shredded that even the memory of what was written on them becomes non existent. And then, one can use the same razor to end one's own life.

I'm still unsure what the author was thinking when she began this book, unless she had some very deep and very disturbing mental issues to work through.

This book is dangerous and not because it excites one with a thrilling and suspenseful story. It is dangerous because once one reads it, one looses any desire to look for another book that may restore one's faith in the existence of good books with an uplifting charge. Not only is this book dangerous, but it is sick. Its underlying sickness is that it's emotionally draining and unless readers are looking to load up on more mental baggage (I can't think of anyone who doesn't have enough), I'd stay away from its pain.

The main character is a female reporter who returns home on an assignment (covering the serial murders of two little girls). As memories of her painful childhood emerge, readers find a lot more about her character, for example her alcoholic addiction and her obsession to carve words into her own flesh. Waves of her unresolved issues wash away further hopes of a challenging literary work as readers are practically dragged into her problems (not loved enough by her mother, not popular enough in school, not motivated enough in her work) and are subjected to the anguish of either feeling sorry for her or wanting to end her existence.

As disturbing details of the two murders resurface, readers are introduced to yet two more characters as equally unpleasant as the first. There is the psychologically unstable (almost emotionally poisonous) personality of her mother and the pathologically sinister and equally disturbed one of the teenage sister. And of course there are the endlessly problematic and mentally crushing details of the small-town's Midwest America (why would one want to read this is beyond my understanding).

This book robs one of smiles, of the beauty of life, and even of the reason for love. It is not only bitter, but leaves one with an unpleasant smell of what I'd like to call rotten feelings. I can't brand the book dull (as it did leave me with unwanted thoughts), but I can promise you that you'll feel dull once you've read it. I don't recommend it, but may compare the feelings I have for it to what Chuck Palahniuk's 'Choke' birthed in me.

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51 likes · like · see review

Jul 29, 2011 Lou rated it 3 of 5 stars

Stephen King was right when he mentioned you would remember some dark moments of the novel.It was a gripping read and you will get a shock when you find out the identity of the perpetrator of the crimes . A troubled reporter is sent to seek out a story about murder of some girls in her home town. Shes trying to keep on the straight and narrow and not inflict pain on herself but just the idea of being back home amongst the past and present is a struggle, is there space on her body to inflict more...more

10 likes · like · see review

Aug 06, 2012 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries, midwest

I picked up this first novel by Gillian Flynn because I was so blown away by her thriller, "Gone Girl." "Sharp Objects" tells the story of Camille, a reporter investigating two dead girls in a small Missouri town. Police think the girls may have been the victims of a serial killer. But the book is also the story of Camille's disturbing and dysfunctional family, who live in the town where the murders happened.

The story moves along quickly and Flynn has a flair for insights and details. I liked he...more

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Jul 20, 2009 Daniel rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club, books-about-writers, 2009

Mystery-thriller "Sharp Objects" is a perfectly serviceable vacation read -- a page-turner well-suited for a couple sessions by the pool, and then immediately forgetten. Gillian Flynn's novel is the kind of book that gets a glowing blurb from Stephen King, and seems written by a television critic. (King's praise indeed fills the back cover, and Flynn's head TV critic for Entertainment Weekly.)

The book's fine for what it is, though a bit sloppily edited, as this type of novel tends to be. With al...more

12 likes · like · see review

Mar 29, 2013 Eve rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2013

Have you ever suffered from reader's block? I have had a mild case since last fall. Ever since I can remember, I have always been reading something. My reader's block doesn't prevent me from actually reading, but it's like some kind of internal parasite that prevents me from fully absorbing what I read, or being refreshed and nourished by a good book. I simply go through the motions, and am mildly entertained by a book, at the most. I never really thought about it, until I was having a discussio...more Have you ever suffered from reader's block? I have had a mild case since last fall. Ever since I can remember, I have always been reading something. My reader's block doesn't prevent me from actually reading, but it's like some kind of internal parasite that prevents me from fully absorbing what I read, or being refreshed and nourished by a good book. I simply go through the motions, and am mildly entertained by a book, at the most. I never really thought about it, until I was having a discussion with a fellow book nerd friend this week. We were discussing some recent reads of ours, and she noted that I had that spark in my eye again, and that my enthusiasm was infectious. Sigh. I hadn't even realized I'd missed it!

In trying to piece things together, I really can't determine what's changed between now and then. What I can do is tell you which recent reads got me excited about reading again, and whetted my voracious appetite for the printed page.

I have been on my library's super long list to read a copy of Gillian Flynn's latest novel Gone Girl. It hasn't been out for a long time, but already it's received glowing reviews. I own her two previous novels, and had even attempted to read her first book Sharp Objects a couple of years ago, but had abandoned it after 4 pages ( I don't even remember why). So I decided to give it another shot, hoping that this time I'd be in a mood to appreciate it. Was I ever. This book scared me! Almost every review or description of Flynn's work mentions adjectives like "dark" and "gripping". That is exactly what it was.

Chicago reporter Camille Preaker is fresh out of the psych hospital, and assigned to cover a string of bizarre child murders in her small, Midwest hometown. Not too long after arriving, although intent on interviewing the victims' family and eyewitnesses, Camille's personal life starts creeping into her investigation, and she starts identifying with the victims a little too much. Add to that mix uncooperative townsfolk a la Twin Peaks, and a bizarre mother-daughter-sister relationship plot angle, and you've got yourself one page-tuner of a book. Although Camille is a flawed and unreliable character (she makes some pretty stupid decisions), my heart just went out to her so much! I'm pretty sure we'd be friends.

A few days after I'd finished reading Sharp Objects, I found an author interview about it that really touched on why it was so...uncomfortable. According to Flynn, the heart of this book was based on the women characters, and the kinds of female relationships we develop throughout different stages of our lives; these inevitably shape us, even when we think we've left them in the past. How many of us don't still have dreams (or nightmares, depending on which circles you ran in) about high school? Are we leaders or followers? Do bullies ever change, or do they just master the old mask trick? And of course the age old question: are some people just "bad seeds"? So many questions! These themes are not uncommon in chick-lit and chick-flicks. Why just the other day I was watching the movie You Again, and my heart just went out to Kristin Bell's character. I can totally relate! Anyway, I applaud Flynn for taking a washed up theme, and running the opposite way with it. Very unique. I just started her next novel, Dark Places. I hope I am not disappointed.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 01, 2013 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-mystery-thriller, dark, fave-heavy-reading, fave-writing

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Bleak, dark and depressing. First thing that needs to be said is you have probably never come across a female character like Camille. Camille is very cold and detached which makes is hard to connect with her and in turn the book. Although if this is embraced and understood and you try to empathize with Camille this is a very enjoyable read. I liked watching the car crash that is her mental stability.....as cruel as that sounds it was...more

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Jan 30, 2012 Debra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Debra by: Gatorman

Shelves: mystery-thriller, sai-king-recommends

Stephen King recommended book and author.

He says: "Gillian Flynn is the real deal, a sharp, acerbic, and compelling storyteller with a knack for the macabre."

Stephen King's blurb about this book says: "I found myself dreading the last thirty pages or so but was helpless to stop turning them."

I almost gave this book 5 stars since I was so involved in this great page-turner. It isn't a light read, pretty heavy stuff, but the writing was excellent and the character development great. The plot's ten...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dark and disturbing. Flynn writes really creepy stuff. Even concepts that are supposed to be fun or make you feel good-- drugs, martinis, sex, cute kids-- have this repulsive, creepy undertone that make you feel literally ill. Everything has a sinister twist to it.

The characters give you chills. Beautiful, rich.. and severely messed up in the worst psychological ways. Again, as in Dark Places, the characters were thoroughly unlikeable. Flynn always does a good job at creating people that rub yo...more

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Oct 19, 2012 Vanessa rated it 3 of 5 stars

"relentlessly creepy family saga," as Stephen King puts it...yes it is. Very creepy.

At first, I was drawn in by the quick pace and clever writing, the convicing voice of the main character, and intrigued by the mystery....until page 90 when what was happening became clear and then I kept reading just to see how long it would take the narrator to figure it out. Most of the truth unravels or she finally admits what becomes clear she has known and been in denial of, at a painfully slow and selfdes...more "relentlessly creepy family saga," as Stephen King puts it...yes it is. Very creepy.

At first, I was drawn in by the quick pace and clever writing, the convicing voice of the main character, and intrigued by the mystery....until page 90 when what was happening became clear and then I kept reading just to see how long it would take the narrator to figure it out. Most of the truth unravels or she finally admits what becomes clear she has known and been in denial of, at a painfully slow and selfdestructive pace. then the final twisted revelation comes in a sudden rush, which felt like uneven storytelling. Overall, though, Flynn is a great writer with convincing dialogue.

While the book does a great job at being disturbing and depicting a world without any heart, I wonder: what was the point?

I can understand the enjoyment of getting wrapped up in a thriller and getting pulled into the suspense, but since the outcome seemed obvious early on, the suspense was more focussed on whether and when our protagonist would catch on and whether she would stay safe until then. That was semi-interesting, but a lot of the violence and caustic, cynical tone of this book seemed excessive and pointless.

Or, on the other hand, if this is commentary on violence in our society, then it makes an interesting but incomplete case that implicates all of us in the kind of extreme violence at the center of the story. For no one escapes being a perpetrator or victim of violence in this book...and also a beneficiary of violence. The town that serves as the novel's setting is fed (economically and gastronomically) by an industrial hog factory farm...all eat the pigs, all help kill the pigs, all allow the pigs to suffer in such ghastly violent conditions. The sex, the language, the disdain, the gossip and backbiting, cliques, intimidation, abuse, rape, drugs, alcoholism, class hierarchy, self mutilation, every character takes part in one or some of these...violence makes the world of this novel go 'round. Is the author saying that each individual act of violence is nurtured by a culture of dominance, callousness, and separation? If so...what we gonna do about it? If such a normalized and ingrained mode of violence is supposed to be our entertainment with no deeper critique or commentary, then I think that is irresponsible. If it is meant to be a chilling tale with a cultural critique then it doesn't go far enough to counter its own violent cynicism with compassion. There is not really any real sense of hope, Love, healing, or redemption in this book. Just lots of lost, confused, mentally Ill people, none of whose deeply traumatic upbringings and disturbed psychologies are treated with understanding...just servants to a traumatic tale. We don't need more trauma.(less)

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Apr 15, 2013 Hannah rated it 2 of 5 stars

The more I think about this book, the more it bothers me. It's maddening that Flynn is a truly good writer. When I say good, I mean that I could not put this nauseating, disingenuous piece of shit down, even though I really wanted to.

Clearly Flynn could have written a very good book. Instead of reaching for art, she reached for sales, and she got them. She also got raves from Stephen King and several other popular writers who, like him, used the adjective "nasty" to praise the book. Apparently...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Dick Reynolds rated it 4 of 5 stars

Gillian Flynn was nominated for an Edgar Award for this book, a prize that recognizes a writer’s best first novel. I recently read “Gone Girl” and was intrigued by her writing. I hoped to pick up a few pointers for my own fiction in the reading process.
In “Sharp Objects,” we meet Camille, a Chicago newspaper reporter, who is sent back to her hometown in southern Missouri to report on the murder of two preteen girls. We also learn about her dysfunctional family, each bizarre character sharply d...more

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Sep 26, 2012 Megan - The Book Asylum rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: disturbing, dark, the-human-condition

See this review and more at The Book Asylum.

Recently, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl has gotten a lot of buzz. My husband, a psychologist, and bookaholic friend Jeana, a social worker, have read all of her books and have had good things to say…especially about the mental health status of the characters. Intrigued, I borrowed hubby’s e-book of Sharp Objects and gave it a whirl.

I won’t lie. At first, I had a very difficult time getting into this book. Flynn has a very distinct style of writing with des...more See this review and more at The Book Asylum.

Recently, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl has gotten a lot of buzz. My husband, a psychologist, and bookaholic friend Jeana, a social worker, have read all of her books and have had good things to say…especially about the mental health status of the characters. Intrigued, I borrowed hubby’s e-book of Sharp Objects and gave it a whirl.

I won’t lie. At first, I had a very difficult time getting into this book. Flynn has a very distinct style of writing with descriptive, but fragmented and incomplete sentences littered throughout the story. At first, it drove me nuts and I wasn’t sure that I even wanted to finish. By 25% in, I was able to acclimate and realized that this stylized narrative was probably a choice made by the author. If so, it was a rather clever one. The main character and our narrator, Camille, is a bit off kilter (to put it mildly) as is the entire story. So the choppy and somewhat abrupt writing helps to draw the reader into her frame of mind. If you can get past it, it's worth it!

As for characters, Camille is trying to find the light in a loveless life that has been filled with dark desperation. Throughout the book, she constantly battles the urge to carve words into her skin – her primary coping mechanism other than alcohol abuse. When she’s feeling especially stressed or down, scars of the words tend to buzz or pulse. This was a super smart and creative way for Flynn to bring the reader into Camille’s personal hell. Her mother, Adora, half sister, Amma, and step-father, Alan, are all odd balls with their own well-developed idiosyncrasies that will have you shaking your head in disbelief. Finally, the whole town of Wind Gap seems to have a collective closet full of skeletons, penchant for gossip, and habit of turning a (selective) blind eye. The only semblance of normalcy is the out of town detective from Kansas City, Richard.

As I was warned, Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects was heavy, dark, and most certainly disturbing. It paints an un-pretty and unsettlingly realistic portrait of evil. The plot was carefully crafted with a steady pace that kept me reading, on edge, and hoping I wasn’t going to have messed up dreams and nightmares for weeks following the conclusion. Throughout this read, you'll feel exactly how Flynn wants you to - icky and unwell with a serious case of anxiety that you can't quite shake… and it gets progressively worse as you read on. I finished the book considering gender stereotypes of violence, mental illness, cruelty, love, death, murder and so much more. I would absolutely recommend this book to adults who aren’t afraid of a dark, sinister psychological thriller. Warning: subject matters include self-mutilation, drug abuse, promiscuity and exploitation of young girls (13 yrs.), abuse, and severe bullying, among others.
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Feb 05, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine added it

Critics agree that Gillian Flynn's psychological thriller and murder mystery is a far more sophisticated offering than a debut novel has any right to be. Flynn, the Chicago-based television critic for Entertainment Weekly, paints a clever, sensitive, and scathing portrait of small-town America__"Wind Gap truly is the home town from hell," notes the Washington Post__while portraying a convincing heroine consumed by violence, past and present. Flynn's vivid prose captures human foibles perfectly.

...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Stephanie Fletcher Davis rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Alan Anstine

Another great Jillian Flynn book. Again, her writing style is so different. In this book, an emotionally troubled reporter from a small newspaper returns to her hometown to investigate the abduction and murders of children. She does not wish to take the job, but her boss thinks she would have the inside track coming from the town. She returns home and stays with her mother from whom she has been estranged for many years. What she discovers finally makes her face her fears and gives her the stren...more

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Jul 17, 2012 Desiree rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own-ebook, finished-and-reviewed, read-ebook-format, read-on-nook-touch

Sooooo....this was *ahem* interesting, not to mention very disturbing. It was a hell of a ride and I found myself going "Ugh", O_O, and slapping my forehead at different times---and sometimes all at the same time.

There are characters in this book that are gruesome. So. Very. Gruesome. (view spoiler)...more

2 likes · like · see review

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About Gillian Flynn

Gillian Flynn is an American author and television critic for Entertainment Weekly. She has so far written three novels, Sharp Objects, for which she won the 2007 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for the best thriller; Dark Places; and her best-selling third novel Gone Girl.

Her book has received wide praise, including from authors such as Stephen King. The dark plot revolves around a serial killer in a Mi...more

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The Novels of Gillian Flynn: Sharp Objects, Dark Places

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Quotes from Sharp Objects

“The face you give the world tells the world how to treat you.” — 227 people liked it

“Sometimes I think illness sits inside every woman, waiting for the right moment to bloom. I have known so many sick women all my life. Women with chronic pain, with ever-gestating diseases. Women with conditions. Men, sure, they have bone snaps, they have backaches, they have a surgery or two, yank out a tonsil, insert a shiny plastic hip. Women get consumed.” — 65 people liked it

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