CW: Self harm
I was always a little regretful that I saw Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl in the theater instead of reading the book. The movie was excellent, but I suspect the twists would have been even more surprising in book form. The movie did leave me wanting to read at least one Gillian Flynn book, though, and that’s where Sharp Objects comes in.
Sharp Objects is a quick, well paced read that features the main character Camille, a reporter from Chicago. Two young girls have been murdered in her hometown in Missouri, so her editor sends her to investigate and write a series of articles. Camille does not look forward to traveling to her tiny hometown where her mother, stepfather, and half sister live, but the story is compelling enough to overcome her reservations.
Camille is, to be frank, fucked up. She has a drinking problem, a hostile relationship with her odious mother, a troubled adolescence, a sister who died while young, and most of all, a penchant for self harm. Over the years, Camille has carved what sounds like a hundred words all over her body. Initially the reader doesn’t know why, though as Camille reports on the murders, we start to understand her trauma.
On the positive side, Flynn gives all her characters full backgrounds or at least a strong sketch of their personalities. There are a fair amount of characters, but they genuinely feel distinct. The story goes at a good clip and the ending was satisfying, if not entirely a surprise.
On the negative side, Flynn indulges in very over the top, unrealistic details at times. There is one character who reports being accosted by one of the victims, who bites part of her ear lobe off. The sheer number of words scarred into Camille’s body is ridiculously high, if not impossible. Camille’s mother is utterly unredeemable and sadistic, without a trace of goodness. Of course, people like that exist, but the characterization was relentlessly one note. A little nuance would have been good.
After reading this book, I realized my taste for these kind of calorie-free thrillers is waning. I’m sure I’ll dive back into them sometime, but my current reading interests lean more to nonfiction and unique literature. I have decided to try reading 52 books again for CBR 17, and while I’m sure there will be many a cozy mystery, books like Flynn’s are on the back burner for now.