Sharp Objects in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Sep 22, 2018 Jessica Haider rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller-thriller-night, book-to-film, psycho-killer

Sharp Objects is the 3rd book that I've read by Gillian Flynn and like the others it is definitely a page-turner. I finally picked this up due to the HBO limited series adaptation of the novel. I wanted to read the book first before diving into the show. I am really curious to see how they handle some of the plot elements in the show. ...more

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Jan 09, 2014 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, 100-best-of-21st-c, psych-psych-psych, mystery, broken, hard-boiled, f-ed-up, darkntwisty-badass-women, women-on-the-edge

This book is seriously fucked up, and I loved every page of it. It might take me a few days to manage a better review.

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Jan 08, 2016 Squids rated it really liked it · review of another edition

At first, I found the writing style to be cheesey and affected, like it was trying too hard to be one of those old school noir films, but it didn't take me too long to get very sucked in. Although there were a lot of things about the story I did not enjoy - particularly the main character's self-destructive and dark attitude towards sex - I gave this story 4 stars because I wound up staying up WAY too late as I simply could not go to bed without knowing the truth about the murders. It's been a r ...more

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Oct 05, 2018 Heather - hturningpages rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller

Rating: 3.5/5 creepy dollhouses

Format: audiobook.

What it's like: This is my first Gillian Flynn novel so not sure what to compare it to! It's equal parts mystery and an investigation into the MC's life and past, so it's not a pure mystery or pure psychological thriller, but a mixture of both.

What I loved: The descriptions of setting were perfect. From the character's personalities, to the shabby bars, I felt like I totally knew this town and could feel this town under my skin. I also loved the Rating: 3.5/5 creepy dollhouses

Format: audiobook.

What it's like: This is my first Gillian Flynn novel so not sure what to compare it to! It's equal parts mystery and an investigation into the MC's life and past, so it's not a pure mystery or pure psychological thriller, but a mixture of both.

What I loved: The descriptions of setting were perfect. From the character's personalities, to the shabby bars, I felt like I totally knew this town and could feel this town under my skin. I also loved the descriptions of how different words felt to the MC since she felt certain words vibrating, buzzing, itching etc on her skin. It added a totally tactile component to the MC/narrator's point of view and her inner emotional state that was so compelling and interesting. I really wish they could have captured that better on the show. The relationships between Camille and her mother and sister are really fascinating too. This book is more about family relationships and dealing with loss more than murder in my opinion! Camille's progressive downward spiral throughout this book was pretty dang riveting, she is trying so hard to hold it together and JUST. CAN'T.

What was meh: I'll try to be spoiler free here, but don't read this paragraph if you want to be extra safe! Sooooo the ending was a little meh for me. Because of the way the story is told, I had a strong suspicion about who the murder was, and that eliminated a large pool of people very early on. I would much have preferred to be more in the dark about it, suspect a lot more people, but that just wasn't the case. I like the mystery part of these types of books and this book just lacked that. I think if I went in knowing that was what I would be getting I would feel totally different about this book, but alas, what can you do.

Who I'd recommend it to: people who dig psychological trauma and psychiatric disorders. Since I have a lot of interest in psychology, some aspects of this book were really fascinating!

Favorite quotes:
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.

They always call depression the blues, but I would have been happy to waken to a periwinkle outlook. Depression to me is urine yellow, washed out, exhausted miles of weak piss.

There was nothing I wanted to do more than be unconscious again, wrapped in black, gone away. I was raw. I felt swollen with potential tears, like a water balloon filled to burst. Begging for a pin prick.

It's impossible to compete with the dead. I wished I could stop trying.

I've always been partial to the image of liquor as lubrication, a layer of protection from all the sharp thoughts in your head.

A town so suffocating and small, you tripped over people you hated every day. People who knew things about you. It's the kind of place that leaves a mark. ...more

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May 27, 2013 steen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This has surprisingly been my favorite of Gillian Flynn's novels so far. Camille can be tough to connect with --- she is tough, cold, alone, broken and wild --- but as she stays in her hometown and interviews family and friends about local murders, I found myself really getting into her head. The story between Adora, Camille and Amma is absolutely fascinating and reminiscent of VC Andrews' crazy, mixed-up stories.

And the ending... proof that not everyone gets a happily-ever-after. ...more

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Sep 23, 2016 Heather Wescott rated it liked it · review of another edition

I have conflicting feelings about this one, but overall it was a good read. Gillian Flynn has a really crazy imagination - her stories are full of so much pain, ugliness, and insanity. But she also imbues her characters with humanity that makes you want things to be better for them, even if they don't want it for themselves. I read her books in reverse order of publication, which is probably a good thing because this one is so much darker and creepier than the others - I might not have wanted to ...more

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