Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

[Zara's Corner]

This thread is to discuss Gillian Flynn's book, Sharp Objects.


***Please remember to mark spoilers.***

Participants:
ReGina, Brianna, Cassandra, Noah, Heidi, Meg, Leslie, Scott, Jen, Victoria, Abigail, Nwanyidimma, Tina

[Zara's Corner]

Suggested break down of reading so that you can check in and let us know how you're going. The following breakdown is purely a suggestion and is therefore not set in stone.

Rather than putting dates for each section I've done it so that it takes into account that not everybody will necessarily have the book at the same time.

Week 1: 64 pages
Week 2: 64 pages
Week 3: 64 pages
Week 4: 62 pages

[Scott]

Okay I read the first weeks reading. How does the buddy read work? Should I continue or wait till next week to read more? When do we start discussing it? What about spoilers?

[Zara's Corner]

Scott wrote: "Okay I read the first weeks reading. How does the buddy read work? Should I continue or wait till next week to read more? When do we start discussing it? What about spoilers?"

Hi Scott,

You can start discussing your thoughts about what you've read so far just make sure that you mark all spoilers. Others will join in when they can so you'll end up with the discussion starting.

[Jen]

I am going to start my book in the next couple days after I finish the one I'm currently reading!

[Scott]

I'm liking the book so far.

(view spoiler)[
But her cutting herself is freaking me. I didn't know people really did this. I almost wanted to quit reading the book.
(hide spoiler)]

[Heidi]

The reason I wanted to pick up Sharp Objects was because I read Gone Girl and really liked it. Gillian Flynn has definitely started off strong with the beginning of Sharp Objects!

Chapters 1-4:
(view spoiler)[ I agree Scott, it makes me feel uncomfortable learning that she cuts herself and it's really sad that people actually do this. I did know something was up when she kept writing on her arm, but I didn't realize how severe it actually was.

I am curious to see if James' account of seeing the white lady taking Natalie is accurate or not. And thinking who could that be...? (hide spoiler)]

I am also enjoying the book and can't wait to continue reading it!

[Scott]

This book is getting addictive so I'm definitely going to continue.

(view spoiler)[
I've been looking for a book with a highly flawed female lead so I think my wish has been granted.

The TV show 'The Affair' has the lead female cutting herself as well but not quite as extensive as the character in Sharp Objects.

I was shocked when I saw that in the Affair and even more reading it in Sharp Objects. I guess it's just new to me. Thinking back I've probably have seen other characters in TV shows/movies doing this without realizing what they were doing.

(hide spoiler)]

[Zara's Corner]

Glad to see so many are enjoying the book already. When I read it ages ago I wasn't really happy with it.

[Tina]

I'm going to participate in this one. I'll start it on the weekend as I'm finishing one other book.

[Zara's Corner]

I've added you Tina. Welcome

[ReGina]

I doubt I'll be able to read at the suggested rate, but I'm in. This should be great!

[Tina]

I read the first couple of chapters and it's getting interesting.

[Jen]

Hi guys! When you put up spoilers, can you put what chapter they are about? This way everyone will know if they should open the spoiler depending on how far they are!

I am on the fifth chapter and it's really interesting so far! (view spoiler)[ Camille's mom, stepdad, and half sister seem really off to me. I am almost wondering if one or all of them have something to do with the murders. Just a theory though! (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Scott]

Jen wrote: "Hi guys! When you put up spoilers, can you put what chapter they are about? This way everyone will know if they should open the spoiler depending on how far they are!

I am on the fifth chapter and..."

(view spoiler)[
I'm thinking the same thing myself that one or more of her family is the murderer(s).
(hide spoiler)]

Really great book so far I'm going to try and finish it tonight.

[Zara's Corner]

Jen wrote: "Hi guys! When you put up spoilers, can you put what chapter they are about? This way everyone will know if they should open the spoiler depending on how far they are!

I am on the fifth chapter and..."

That's a great idea Jen.

[Scott]

Just finished the book it was really good.

(view spoiler)[
I thought either the mother or step-sister was the killer and as it turns out they both were. Even though the killer was pretty easy to guess I think the look at the dark side really made this a great book. All the characters were extremely unlikeable but very interesting. One thing I wonder is if Adora killed her parents as they both seemed to have died shortly after Adora gave birth to Camille. The fact that they both had cancer and died at nearly the same time seems very suspicious.
(hide spoiler)]

[Jen]

I finished the book! It was good- I could not put it down! It was very dark though even darker than Gone Girl in my opinion.

(view spoiler)[ Scott I also though it was Adora or Amma throughout the book! I thought that maybe Adora killed the girls but that Amma helped. I feel really sad for both Camille and Amma because their mother has really messed them up. I also wonder if Adora killed her parents. I'm also curious about Alan because we did not find out very much about him. Why did he really move to Wind Gap to be with Adora? Did he know that she was making her girls sick and ended up killing Marian? (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Scott]

(view spoiler)[Yeah Alan was strange. What did the guy do all day I don't think he really worked just lived off the family money. The way it play out was what I thought was the mostly likely ending. I accidently hit the wrong button in my e-reader and flipped to the ending and spoiled myself by finding out the Adora had been arrested and charged with the murders. so it was a bit of a surprise when I got the ending and found that Amma was also involved. But I thought she might have been involved all along. One other theory I had was Adora was killing the girls because she knew Camille would be sent to cover the story. But this wasn't case... Since the ending was so easy to guess I think the story was really more about the dark side of human relationships. Multigenerational problems as one mother passed the problems down to the next as clearly the grandmother's lack of love for Adora cause alot of her problems. Then Adora caused the problems to her daughters.
(hide spoiler)]

[Tina]

I am just starting chapter 5.

[Heidi]

Wow! That's how I can explain my thoughts!

Chapters 5-12:
(view spoiler)[ I keep thinking that Adora had something to do with the little girls' death. When hearing how she bit into her friend's baby when Camille was a child was so disturbing. I also did not like how Adora used to pinch her daughters while they were sleeping. Add this with the fact that Adora were close to Ann and Natalie makes me very suspicious.

Now, when Amma asked about how was life after Marian's death to Camille - if things improved - I got unsettling feeling. On top of that she mentioned how Marian's death wasn't enough to make Camille's relationship with Adora better also made me suspicious. Could Adora and Amma have been involved in the deaths of those two girls together? I don't know what to think! (hide spoiler)]

[Tina]

just finished up to chapter 10. The whole town is a little twisted.

[Heidi]

I definitely agree with your statement, Tina. The whole town is a little off.

Chapters 13-end:
(view spoiler)[ So...I thought I was a little crazy/felt bad in thinking that Amma had anything to do with the killings of the girls. I thought, wow, she just must be so messed up being treated the way she was by her mom. However...at the end, I turned out to be right - she was messed up, so messed up that she killed 3 girls out of jealousy.

Wow! Gillian, the things you come up with for your books! Even with how messed up her books are, I must say I really enjoyed both this one and Gone Girl! (hide spoiler)]

[Denise]

I just finished this book. Gillian Flynn can really write some crazy characters.

[Tina]

I just finished. Man, that family is so messed up! This book was more twisted than Gone Girl.

[Meg]

Just started this last night and have read 1 chapter. I think it is nothing amazing so far, but obviously early days! all your comments have got me very intrigued to see where it goes.

[Victoria]

Oh dear I seem to be the only one who thought this book was just ok. For me personally both of Flynn's later books Dark Places and Gone Girl were better written, had a more intricate plot line and had characters that were more relatable to me on a human level than this book. But maybe this is a product of reading the books in the reverse order (having read Gone Girl first).

While the plot was interesting and the (view spoiler)[ munchausen by proxy (or fabricated illness syndrome as it is known now a days) was an intriguing twist I can't say I was surprised by it (hide spoiler)]

Although dark characters seem to be a particular niche with Flynn I can't say that I felt any of the characters were well rounded and personally I didn't connect with them emotionally and this hampered my enjoyment of the book. Overall I would probably have given the book 3.5 but unfortunately I wasn't feeling generous enough for a fourth star.

[Meg]

Finished this last night and wrote a quick immediate review... "Wow. Chilling, terrifying, exciting, painful, moving. A very well written thriller. And I don't even like thrillers."

I'm going to let it settle in and read through all your thoughts and reviews.

[Nwanneka]

I'm going to have to agree with Victoria so far the book isn't catching me as I thought it would. But I am not that far in. I will dive further this week as I am on the mend from Surgery so it's one of my get well books!

[ReGina]

I just got to Chapter Three, but I'm hoping to make some serious progress this week since I'm off work. On first blush, this book did not immediately grab me the way Gone Girl did. More later, but I did want to check in.

[Scott]

Nwanyidimma I hope your healing from your surgery goes well.

[Cassandra]

My book came in the mail, finally, so I'm looking forward to getting started on it soon.

Take it easy, Nwanyidimma! I'm glad you have some get-well books to pass the time.

[Alisia]

I personally loved this book! I listened to the audiobook and the narrator has a great, easy to listen to voice.

I did find it to be somewhat predictable, and I am bad a predicting usually. I still really enjoyed it.

It pissed me off that (view spoiler)[ Richard was a dick (bad pun intended) and was never heard from again by Camille. I mean I can understand not wanting to deal with so much baggage and I didn't expect him to pursue a relationship with her, but he should have at least been a friend and spoke to her. (hide spoiler)]

[Alisia]

I forgot to mention... This book gave me a V.C. Andrews Flowers in the Attic vibe... I liked it.

[Scott]

I enjoyed Sharp Objects so much I decided to read the other two Gillian Flynn books as well. Just finished Dark Places and so it's on to Gone Girl.

[Scott]

I just finished Gone Girl which was my third Flynn novel. I think I liked it the best than Sharp Objects then Dark Places but all were amazing. Gone Girl somewhat reminded me of the Michael Douglas/Glenn Close movie Fatal Attraction. Gillian Flynn sure can create some great female psycho characters.

[Alisia]

I know this thread is for Sharp Objects but, I watched Gone Girl yesterday and I actually liked it! I thought for squeezing an entire book into about two hours it was well done. The actress that played "Amazing Amy" was great for the part! Neil Patrick Harris was great as well :)

[Scott]

I just watched the gone girl movie the other night. I'm not a fan of Ben Affleck but I thought he was perfect for this movie. All the other actors seemed perfect for their parts as well. I think the movie was very well done but I liked the book better.