Unbelievable and Predictable

The narration is incredible, but the story leaves something to be desired. In the beginning, it seems to be really promising, but quickly falls apart towards the middle. I understand bullying and gossip in a small town, but as someone who is FROM a small southern town, I just couldn't believe any of it. The things the townspeople did just. Aren't things people do. There is also an obsession on sex, which makes sense somewhat, but it is drawn out way too much. Also there's a lot of forced underage sex, more than simple pre-teen/teen peer pressure, and it definitely gets uncomfortable after a while. Seriously, please stop describing a 13 year old's breasts. I got it the first time. Personally, the other "gore" didn't bother me, so I don't think it was a problem.

There are only TWO likable characters, and they are minor and only appear rarely throughout via phone calls. The entire plot is extremely predictable. No spoilers, but seriously I don't understand how people were surprised by the reveal. There were some really good moments that had potential, but overall the unbelievable characters and predictable plot left me disappointed.

Also the romantic subplots were a joke. They didn't make any sense and had no impact on the story other than emphasizing SEX.

P.S. You don't need to repeat the same foreshadowing line 300 times. I get it: "A woman would never do such a thing"

53 people found this helpful

Really Stupid

This book is filled with unbelievable characters. The main character is someone who is a cutter and has scratched words into every inch of her body, except her face and the middle of her back. At the same time, the writer wants us to believe that this person can have a reasonably normal life as a reporter. Her whole family is dysfunctional and unbelievable. The 13 year old daughter is one minute playing with an over the top, extravagant doll house and the next second is wearing a mini skirt and flirting with grown men. She acts 2-3 years old one minute and then 30 years old the next. It's ridiculous. The mother is another piece of cake and is also unbelievable. She puts up with the daughter's unconscionable behavior and is just plain weird, crazy and unsympathetic to the reader. I got through the book as it is well delivered but the whole time I was saying to myself; "This is really stupid!"

34 people found this helpful

Super obvious

This is a mystery where the solution is so obvious that you’ll guess it quickly.

17 people found this helpful

I agree with Stephen King

There's something almost magnetic about this book. It quickly becomes hard to listen to and impossible not to. The author has virtually every family disfunction ever featured on Lifetime in this book and I did not roll my eyes once. I can't tell you what or how without ruining the agonizing unraveling for you but I think it takes a very skilled pen indeed to make so much seem so natural. At the end I felt real grief for the central character.
The narrator's performance is flawlessly understated and adds to the mesmerizing almost 'real-time hyper-reality' of this unbelievable story.
If you've any interest at all in the dark side of small town life and of the american family, I think you will love this book.

354 people found this helpful

worst book I ever read

this book was stupid and unrealistic. I kept reading because I thought it might get better. it did not. I am returning the sticker to Audible for credit

15 people found this helpful

Pitch Perfect Performance

I selected this book because I enjoyed "Gone Girl" so much. "Sharp Objects" is equally as brilliant and in some ways, better. Like "Gone Girl", there is an element of suspense that keeps the reader involved until the end. These characters are equally as flawed and as brilliantly portrayed as the characters in Gone Girl. When I was in college, a group of friends in my dorm used to recite dialogue from the movie classic "The Bad Seed" and I found myself thinking of that movie as I was listening. Part "Bad Seed", a little "Lolita" with a bit of Patricia Highsmith thrown in for good measure, the book leaves the reader wondering where the author comes up with her ideas.
The narrator was perfect, one of the best matches I have come across between a book and reader. Not only did she truly differentiate the characters, but her reading pace was perfect.
I knew nothing about the premise of the book before I started listening, and I believe that added to my enjoyment.
I think Gillian Flynn is a gifted young writer, and I look forward to reading more of her novels.

234 people found this helpful

Cutting Words

Having discovered the author (Gillian Flynn) when reading her newest release, I promptly decided to try one of her other 2 books. I selected Dark Places, and found it to be one of the best books I've ever read. That is how I found myself here with Sharp Objects; looking forward to the anticipated quality of the work, but already bracing myself for the emotional hit this author packs.

Just as Camille violently cuts her chosen words into her skin, permanently etching them into herself, so does the author, Gillian Flynn, violently cut HER chosen words into the reader; permanently etching them into you. Each cut hurts; but like Camille, we continue on; by continuing to read the story.

This is not a happy book. Not all all. Not one little bit. It's about petty people, hurtful people, evil people...and all the one-time innocents they have damage so badly, they grow into the next generation of hate. And the cycle, in the forsaken town of Wind Gap, continues on through generations.

And still, we read on; because the author has pulled us into this hypnotic web. We continue with the cutting words.

I found this book excellent. The story seemed to have a life of it's own, moving in unexpected directions and growing into the final chapter; by which you understand that no other ending would have been possible.

If the description above hasn't put you off, and you are prepared for the language, violence, and disturbing sexual content, then this book may be for you. I found it haunting and very well done.

159 people found this helpful

Excellent Story. Excellent Writing.

This is the 3rd book by Gillian Flynn that I have read. I started with the most recent and worked backwards but it made no difference.
Ms Flynn's writing style is excellent and Sharp Objects is no exception.

Ms. Flynn is tuned into the emotions and feelings of her subjects and makes them come alive on the pages. It is as if I "knew" the protaganist, Camille, or I know someone like her.
I personally could relate to the small Midwestern town, the violence, the closeness.

Once again, I thought I had the story and the ending figured out and with a quick twist, it was completely different.

Ann Marie Lee did a great job with the narration.

Not only would I recommend Sharp Objects, but also any other book penned by Gillian Flynn.

45 people found this helpful

Gone Girl First?

Devoured Gone Girl and went in search of more. This, her first novel tells the tale of a flawed, off center woman who cuts the words of her anguish over every part of her body. She covers her mutilation with non-revealing clothing (even in the summer) also mirroring how she hides her true self; not letting anyone too close. She returns to her hometown to report on two murders. Her dystunctional family and the town serve as the backdrop for the mystery. Well written, and definitely worth your credit and a read. A little hurried and predictable near the end, but overall am happy to have listened to it. Flynn evolves her talent with each book.

147 people found this helpful

Long time listener, first time reviewer...

What disappointed you about Sharp Objects?

Let me start with this. I do not have very high hopes going into a book like this one. The stories are usually predictable and thus not really worth reading. However, I found Dark Places by Gillian Flynn to be an interesting exception. It was this fact that lead me to read Sharp Objects. The following is just my opinion. I am not trying to bash the author or persuade others not to read this book.

I really had a hard time liking the main character here. She is just a dirty individual. The nasty things she does don't really have any place in the story. She cuts herself to deal with the mental strain her mother puts her through in her youth. I get that. What I don't get is how constant talk of masturbation and sex have anything to do with the rest of the story. I am not a prude and understand that things like this can be pertinent to developing the story, but not in this case. There are times in this book when I forgot that the whole premise of the story is a reporter returning to her home town to report on local murders. There are plenty of times that we are forced to focus on things that really don't matter. The "relationships" the main character develops with people in the town go absolutely no where and ultimately don't help her with her work. Ultimately, I feel like the ending was rushed.

Has Sharp Objects turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, I will continue to read this genre.

What aspect of Ann Marie Lee’s performance would you have changed?

Ann Marie Lee did a fine job here. I feel like she took the time to develop each character to have their own presence.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Sharp Objects?

I would remove almost everything about the main character's sexual experience. It was not important to the story. She would need her own book about the effects of parental abuse and neglect to make any of that relevant.

Any additional comments?

I think Gillian Flynn has decided that women are wounded and crazy. In all three of her novels (this, Dark Places, Gone Girl), each main character has some great crutch that influences their every action. It's frankly irritating and makes me not want to read anything else by this author.

7 people found this helpful