Sharp Objects

By Gillian Flynn

Completed on December 9, 2017

When it comes to dark, twisted families, few can outdo Gillian Flynn’s imagination. Having read Gone Girl and Dark Places, I was ready for any psychotic twists that Flynn could throw at me, but the one at the very end still caught me unaware. But let’s get back to the tale itself first.

In creating the small, stuffy town of Wind Gap, Flynn has masterfully created a claustrophobic setting that looks pretty from the outside but is as fucked up as the slaughterhouses that sustain its populace. It is no surprise that the only characters who seem normal, Detective Willis, editor Curry and his wife, are from elsewhere.

Flynn loves her female characters. Oft times, they are so complex that their male counterparts appear made of cardboard in comparison. Alan, John, and even Richard Willis himself barely register compared to Adora, Amma, Meredith, and Camille, the narrator. George R.R. Martin once pointed out that all the female characters in fantasy books followed either of two stereotypes: they were extremely feminine, or they were tomboyish. Martin would be extremely satisfied with Gillian Flynn’s characters, for her women are at the same time sensual, vicious, kind, and determined.

Sharp Objects is not made for light reading. It is ripe with sickness and death, and one of its major themes is how a mother’s twisted concept of love can fuck up a child’s psychology. That said, the book is paced very intelligently and there is never a dull moment. Plus, there are enough clues scattered between all the retching and cutting, for that “Aha!” moment at the very end (if you have been paying attention). What more could one ask of a murder mystery!