“I think some women aren’t meant to be mothers. And some women aren’t meant to be daughters.”~Gillian Flynn
I’ve been out of the loop on this blog for a while but I’m going to review/talk about some books that I’ve read over the last few years that I found to be good reads.
If you haven’t read any of Gillian Flynn’s books, you should. However, be forewarned, her characters are not the nicest people you’ll ever encounter.
Let me start with Sharp Objects. This was Flynn’s first book and it was a doozy. I don’t think I’ve ever read a more disturbing book. Let me clarify, Sharp Objects isn’t disturbing in the “horror” sense. It’s not overtly bloody. It’s certainly not “spooky” or otherworldly in any way. However, in a human way, Sharp Objects is just downright nasty.
The author seems to have culled the worst traits of human beings and embodied them into her cast of characters. Fortunately for us, the readers, it works. This is first and foremost, a mystery. There are enough suspects to keep you guessing although I think that any astute reader will immediately narrow down their list of suspects rather quickly. The end may surprise you. I suspected who had done it shortly after I started reading but I did not anticipate the depravity of the conclusion. It was satisfying in a small way but I was so wrung out by the time I’d finished reading that I almost didn’t care who the killer was.
That’s not to say I didn’t want to keep reading once I’d started. The frailty of the human being is shoved into our faces and we’re forced to watch as the main character attempts to maintain a fragile grasp on her sanity as the parade of human atrocities assault her, and in turn us.
I can’t say it was an enjoyable read but it was an engrossing read. Regardless of how engrossing it was I don’t think I’ll ever read this one again.
March 15th, 2016 at 12:14 pm
Gillian Flynn is one of my favorite authors. Although I enjoyed Gone Girl more than Sharp Objects, it was still a hard to put down book. Great review!
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March 15th, 2016 at 12:16 pm
Thank you very much and thanks for taking the time to read it!
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March 15th, 2016 at 3:09 pm
Sounds interesting.
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March 15th, 2016 at 3:58 pm
It’s…shall we say…an acquired taste. I’ll review her other books soon but she (Flynn) definitely understands the darker side of humanity.
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