Summary: Sharp Objects was really intriguing because the author leaves so much of the characters’ background and history up to your imagination, leaving you guessing.
If you don’t live under a rock, then you’ve probably heard about the movie Gone Girl that came out this past fall. Or maybe I just paid attention since I read the book. Anyway, it was a movie based on a book by author Gillian Flynn. She’s written a few books and I’ve read them all, one of which was Sharp Objects and I thought I’d share a review on that book today in case you enjoyed the movie and were interested in reading any of her other works.
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
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 she left town eight years ago, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed again in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille is haunted by the childhood tragedy she has spent her whole life trying to cut from her memory.
HARMFUL on her wrist, WHORE on her ankle
As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming.
With its taut, crafted writing, Sharp Objects is addictive, haunting, and unforgettable.
Sharp Objects was actually the last Gillian Flynn novel that I picked up. It was really intriguing because the author leaves so much of the characters’ background and history up to your imagination (which she does with the stories in many of her books). The way she teases the readers with little bits and pieces of information here and there makes you never want to put the book down. I love her work because it always keeps me guessing and I never seem to guess correctly!
Although this may not be my absolute favorite of all her works, I really did enjoy this book. Just be sure to read a couple “fluffy” ones afterwards to take your mind and mood out of the dark place that many of her characters find themselves.