![Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn – A book review]()
review, Thriller |
I had been putting aside Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, who is one of my favorite authors, for a while, even when I was almost sure that I will like it. I just wanted savor it but when the dreadful slump threatened, I had to bring in the big gun.
So did Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn work well for me? Was it worth the hype and will I be watching the Amy Adams starring HBO series? You will have to read my book review of Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn to know more.
About Sharp Objects
Book Name: Sharp Objects
Author: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Fiction – Psychological Thriller
Characters: Camille Preaker, Amma, Adora, Alan and Marian Crellin, Chief Bill Vickery, Frank Curry, Richard Willis, Natalie and John Keene
Setting: Wind Gap, Missouri, The USA
Plot Summary of Sharp Objects
Camille Preaker has been offered a chance to redeem her career as a journalist and her position with her chief, who has been always by her side even during her recent stint at the psych ward.
All she has to do is return to her hometown and cover the unsolved murder of a pre-teen girl and the recent disappearance of another.
While Camille is no way ready for visiting her hometown, but she does it anyway. She hasn’t spoken to her obsessive mother (Adora) in years and barely knows her half sister Amma.
With an uncooperative local Sheriff and handsom Kansas City detective on tow, Camille finds herself not just covering the story but finding the murderer who removes the teeth from his victims.
Will Camille be able to dig through the mystery, without awakening her demons from the past? What’s the deal with her family and her past? Grab a copy of Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn and read it right away.
Book review of Sharp Objects
I should start with a huge disclaimer: I am a huge fan of Gillian Flynn and I have read all her books including her novella. She is one of those authors that I would recommend to anyone looking for a fast psychological thriller or a new reader.
And I am glad to announce that Flynn didn’t disappoint me at all with Sharp Objects. Yes, it is apparent that it is not as nuanced as her later works, but it is still as dark as her books are usually. Fans of dark pasts and dysfunctional families, you won’t be disappointed.
I guessed the killer at about 70% of the book but I think Sharp Objects was more than just finding the murderer. It has always been about the characters themselves for me, which were fully developed and intriguing in their own ways.
If you have read Gone girl and/or Dark places, you know what you are in for and you will love it.
What worked for me
- No one writes dark and damaged characters like Flynn and I have come to expect them in all her novels.
- I love how motherhood was a subtle theme all through the book. Even the last article that Camille was working on before returning home was about a mother who abandons her kids for some drugs to her own mother who hugged her “ferociously”.
- Sharp Objects is set in a small town (I am a huge fan of those) that is creepy and closed in equal parts.
What may have been better
- You may not like the protagonist at all. And Camille just makes it hard to root for her and her actions gets only desperate and irrational after a while. (I like such characters, but just a warning for those of you who don’t like books with unlikeable protagonists.)
- The whodunnit part can be figured out or at least guessed before it happens. So if you are in just for the mystery part of it, Sharp Objects might seem predictable.
Content warningy
Self harm (cutting), parental neglect and abuse, mentions of underage sex and rape, recreational drugs.
Bottom line
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn is an engrossing thriller that will stay with you for a long time if you like twisted and dark characters and dysfunctional families. Flynn doesn’t disappoint her fans with Sharp Objects at all.
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review, Romance |
I don’t usually read Historical romances but with the hype from the Netflix series and the bookstagram, I had to pick The Duke and I by Julia Quinn, the famed Bridgerton series. How did that work for me? Read my book review to know more.
About The Duke and I
Book Name: The Duke and I (Bridgerton #01)
Author: Julia Quinn
Genre: Fiction – Romance, Historical
Characters: Daphne Bridgerton, Simon Basset
Setting: London, England, The UK
Plot Summary of The Duke and I
Set in the Regency London, Daphne Bridgerton is the fourth of eight siblings in a close-knit family and is ready to meet her suitors. While everyone likes her wit and kindness, no one actually adores her. She is too friendly with her young suitors to be a romanced.
Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings is new to the scene as he has just returned to England from his stay abroad. He is not interested in marriage nor progeny, but he is constantly paraded by the mothers and daughters as an eligible bachelor.
So when Daphne, Simon’s best friend’s sister offers him a way out he takes it. They fake court, so that Simon will deter the parade and Daphne will get more prospects to choose from.
The plan works well, until it goes wrong horribly. Does the Duke and Daphne understand the folly in their plan and do they end up in a HEA? Read The Duke and I by Julia Quinn to know more.
Book review of The Duke and I
The Duke and I was my first book set in Regency London and my first time reading Julia Quinn’s writing as well. And imagine my surprise when I flew through the pages in an afternoon.
Julia Quinn’s writingwas witty and hilarious. I loved the banters and the sibling’s taunts. Even if they followed a half of Julia’s dialogues in the Netflix version, I won’t be surprised at what a hit the Bridgerton series has been. (Yes, I haven’t watched it yet.)
I loved the Bridgerton family dynamic and the drama. I would definitely have to keep a watch out for the other books.
On the other hand, I didn’t like the female lead at all, not even before that ONE SCENE. Don’t even start me with the Duke. He was lying and manipulative as well. So made for each other I guess.(?)
I loved the book and had a merry time with it, until that one scene.
Yes, it was cringe-y, manipulative, non consensual scene that spoiled everything for me. I understand the book was written in early 2000s, the “rules were different” then (no, they weren’t) and blah blah, but I completely lost it after that. (I am hoping that Netflix guys changed this one.)
What worked for me
- The funny, witty banter sprinkled all through the book. I loved them. Julia Quinn made chuckle, grin, laugh and even snort at one point.
- I loved the Bridgerton family dynamics and the younger ones were funny as well. I want more of the Bridgerton world y’all!
What may have been better
- Both the leads were flawed, manipulative and lying. But given the time period it was set in, maybe it was normal I guess. Anyway, I was able to look past it.
- Why did I have to read a non consensual sex (rape?) scene. It spoiled everything for me.
Content warning
Non consensual sex, parental neglect
Bottom line
While I loved the writing, the character building and the Bridgerton world, there were things that put me off The Duke and I by Julia Quinn. But I will definitely read Julia Quinn’s other books and continue the Bridgerton series soon (assuming they were not problematic or off putting).
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Drama, review |
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman is one of the most anticipated and well loved book of the year 2020. I have had some great and a few not so good experiences with Backman’s books. Read my book review of Anxious People to know how it fared on my scale!
About the book
Book Name: Anxious People
Author: Fredrik Backman
Genre: Fiction – Drama
Characters: The bank robber, Roger and Anna Lea, Zara, Linnart, Estelle, Ro and Julia, Jim and Jack.
Setting: Sweden
Plot Summary
When things go spectacularly wrong, a bank robber tries to escape by entering into an apartment across the street. In a moment of panic, the robber ends up taking everyone there as hostages.
And the hostages being the apartment viewers scheduled in by the realtors. Unfortunately for the bank robber turned hostage-taker, the eight people in the apartment end up being the worst hostages ever.
They are anxious puddles themselves, they do not fear the gun nor the robber, they fight among themselves and they even order pizza for dinner. They even are worse at helping the police capture the bank robber.
Did they succeed in catching the robber? Did these anxious people hold themselves together until the end? Read Anxious People by Fredrik Backman to know more.
Book review
I have read Backman’s few other books and I can safely say Anxious People is very different from them. Anxious People is not a story of a person, it is about people and their quirkiness and their insecurities. It is about them looking out for a connection.
Anxious People is filled with well written and warm characters that will stay with you long after you finish reading the book. As the author correctly says, the book is full of “idiots” and yet you will adore them.
I loved how the author maintained the mystery/puzzle element throughout and the writing style helped it work. For some the writing style might seem slightly odd to get into but you will grow to love it, as I did.
What worked for me
- Anxious People was dark and hilarious and at the same time, it pulls the right strings of your heart.
- If you like Ove from A man called Ove, you are gonna love Estelle. In fact you will love all these characters.
- I loved Backman’s outlook into the human nature and struggle to fit in and be loved.
What may have been better
- The writing style is kinda odd. So if you find it hard to get into, give it a chance. You might end up loving it.
Content warning:
Suicide, Attempted suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Depression, Hostage crisis
Bottom line
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman is an endearing and hilarious book that will surely make you laugh out and even tear up at places. Another fabulous book by Backman!Man called Ove, A by Fredrik Backman
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Drama, review |
I reading about China in The Joy luck club last year without knowing that I would be spending a month in Macau (a country that is still a part of Chinese government) soon after I finished it! Has this ever happened to you? So how did it fare on my chart? Let us find out.
About the Joy luck club
Book Name: The Joy luck club
Author: Amy Tan
Genre: Fiction – Historical, Drama
Characters: Jing-mei (June) Woo, Suyuan Woo, An-mei Hsu, Rose Hsu Jordan, Lindo Jong, Waverly Jong, Ying-ying St. Clair, and Lena St. Clair
Setting: San Francisco, The United States of America and China
Plot Summary of the Joy luck club
Following her mother’s death (Suyuan Woo), Jing-mei (June) Woo replaces her in the monthly Mah jong game. Suyuan and her friends started this tradition years ago when they moved into San Francisco as way to keep in touch with their Chinese culture and history. Through the years, the four mothers share their festivals, their daughters’ birthdays and achievements during the game.
While the mothers tried to preserve the culture, their daughters chase the American dream and lifestyle. They do not have the patience or interest in knowing their mother’s history and they scoff at the Chinese superstitions. Despite living under the same roof for years, the mothers and daughters live a life separated by their culture and life experiences.
The harder their mothers are on them, the harder the daughters rebel in their own way, without realizing unwittingly they are following their mothers’ path. They also are quick to leave behind their Chinese culture just like their mothers had.
During their game, Jing-mei finds out that just before her death Suyuan had traced her two other daughters that she had to leave behind during the World war II. And her mother’s friends urge her to take her mother’s journey to meet her long lost relatives who are still in China. Did she take that journey and find her sisters forms the rest of the story in The Joy luck club.
Book review of the Joy luck club
The Joy luck club is one of those classic cult hit when it was released in 1989. While it does feel a little bit dated, her major themes on mother- daughter relationship and generational gaps, especially between the first and second generational Chinese-Americans still holds good.
The Joy luck club contains sixteen short stories narrated by four Chinese born mothers and their respective daughters who make it a point not to learn Chinese over half a century! While it was fun to try to read this structure, the truth was it was a little difficult to remember all the secondary characters.
I loved how the daughters who scoffed at their mothers and their traditions in their childhood and well into their marriages, turn around as they mature and even get closer to them. And how their mothers in turn, learn to adapt into their new roles over the years. To be honest, The Joy luck club made me stop a moment and examine my own relationship with my mother.
Things that worked for me
- I loved the friendship/co-dependency between the mothers.
- The stories about the mothers before coming to the USA were haunting and so historically rich. I loved them.
Things that didn’t work for me
- Did the author somehow help the strict, cold Asian mothers and absentee Asian fathers stereotypes? (UPDATE: upon reading other reviews -YES SHE DID, AND FACED A SEVERE BACKLASH)
- I wish the book’s structure was a bit easier to follow through.
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Bottom-line
The Joy Luck Club is culturally and historically rich, even though it plays a bit to the stereotypes or even went to setting those stereotypes in the first place. If you are looking for a literary / historical fiction The Joy luck club by Amy Tan is a good choice.
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Romance, YA |
I jumped at the chance to buddy read Five feet apart by Rachael Lippincott, because it is not something that has ended up quite well for me historically and I would not pick it up on my own even though it was on my TBR. Go figure!
It has been a while since I read a young adult based in a hospital romance (or sick-lit, if I may). Yes it is supposedly a trope by itself, if you had not known earlier.
About Five feet apart
Book Name: Five feet apart
Author: Rachael Lippincott
Genre: Fiction – Romance, Young Adult
Characters: Stella and Abby Grant, Will Newman, Poe, Camila, Mya
Setting: The United States of America
Plot Summary of Five feet apart
Stella Grant is a high schooler who is at the final stages of Cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic disorder that mainly affects the lung. She has been a regular at the hospital for most of her life. She loves lists and being in control is the only way she knows to cope up with her health.
While she has a great support system and friends circle in and around the hospital, she has to avoid putting herself at the risk of infections she would be eligible for lung transplant.
Will Newman is a new CF patient to the hospital and all he wants is to get away from it. He has spent most of his life between clinical trials and staying at various hospitals and is now waiting to turn eighteen so that he can get away from all these restrictions and enjoy life as it should be.
When they both stumble upon each other, they know they should stay away from each other. But what if they maintained a five feet distance between each other? Would that be so bad forms the rest of Five feet apart.
Book review of Five feet apart
Due to my earlier disappointments with the romances with sick teens, I was skeptical when I started reading Five feet apart and I was mildly surprised that I enjoyed it as much. Though I have a few misgivings about the plot, the easy writing and witty dialogues kept me going.
I wish books would stop portraying that kids who are suffering some physical ailments do not get to enjoy anything in life and they need to break free of their treatments / medical restrictions to get to be “normal”.
I liked reading about the CF which is a new thing for me, and the story was cutesy as YAs tend to be and am totally looking forward to watching the movie Five feet apart starring Cole Sprouse now.
Things that worked for me
- Five feet apart plays exactly into the trope of sick lit and does a good job with it.
- I enjoyed the easy writing style and the witty banter between the characters.
Things that didn’t work for me
- I didn’t feel related to the characters but it is just me. It did not hinder my reading.
- As I mentioned earlier, I personally had issues with the trope that encourages patients to break free of the treatment.
Bottom-line
Five feet apart is a typical sick lit that does its job in opening up talks about the CF with a positive ending. I would recommend it for all John Green (of course) and Nicoola Yoon fans.
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