Beware of Sharp Objects

Try not to read this thriller, Sharp Objects, before bedtime; but be aware that it will completely absorb you. Gillian Flynn’s debut novel draws you in to the life of Camille Preaker, a second-class reporter from a third rate newspaper in Chicago. Struggling to leave her dysfunctional upbringing behind her, she is barely succeeding. Until, of course, she is sent to her hometown, a tiny community in Missouri, to cover the murders of two little girls. With the details of victims’ deaths and the torturous existence of small town life in Wind Gap, Missouri, Camille is reliving the worst of her past. Her attempts to self-anesthetize with whatever alcohol comes to hand are not nearly enough to stop her from seeing parallels between her own life and that of the murdered girls. Torn between the longing to fit a normal life within the confines of her tempestuous family relationships and the desire to slough off the past along with the words excised on her skin, Camille reassures us that our life could always be much, much worse.