n  “I just think some women aren't made to be mothers. And some women aren't made to be daughters.” n

I see what you did there, Gillian Flynn. Very clever. You say women are meant for motherhood? Well, let's play with that shit. Let's play with it good.

n  My mother finally was handed the baby, and she cuddled it ferociously.

[...]

She pressed her lips hard against the baby's apple slice of a cheek. Then she opened her mouth just slightly, took a tiny bit of flesh between her teeth, and gave it a little bite. n

You say the majority of serial killers are men? Let's add some equality to that:

n  "It is sort if a wild story, you know? A crazy lady snatches Natalie in broad daylight," he said. "Besides, why would a woman do something like that?"

"Why would a man do something like that?" I asked."n

You say women are weak, innocent creatures, like some women's rights activists did in the 1950s and that is why they require shorter working days and maternity leave? Think again.

n  “And sometimes drunk women aren't raped; they just make stupid choices--and to say we deserve special treatment when we're drunk because we're women, to say we need to be looked after, I find offensive.” n

I once read a study that compares how boys and girls interact during playtime when with the same sex. Boys are more aggressive and enjoy having pissing contests. Girls tend to keep the peace and use more polite terms when correcting wrongs.

The author criticizes past research that states girls act that way because they're such good, innocent creatures. No, they're polite and inclusive to win popularity points.



We get so caught in feminism lite and getting rid of the wicked-witch caricature that we forget women can be wicked witches sometimes. There are good men, and there are bad men. As such, there are good women, and there are bad women. Gillian said it best on her website:

n  “I particularly mourn the lack of female villains — good, potent female villains. Not ill-tempered women who scheme about landing good men and better shoes (as if we had nothing more interesting to war over), not chilly WASP mothers (emotionally distant isn’t necessarily evil), not soapy vixens (merely bitchy doesn’t qualify either). I’m talking violent, wicked women. Scary women. Don’t tell me you don’t know some. The point is, women have spent so many years girl-powering ourselves — to the point of almost parodic encouragement — we’ve left no room to acknowledge our dark side.”n

Sharp Objects is a story of bad women. Wicked daughters, wicked stepsisters, and wicked mothers.

And yes, it's feminist.

n  

“Sometimes if you let people do things to you, you're really doing it to them.”

n

It's freaky and twisted. It's terrifying and compelling. You'll sit down, grab the book and read it until you've reached the last page. No kiddings here. I read this in one sitting, no pause for water, no pause whatsoever. It'll creep you out and fascinate you and you'll connect with the story on many levels. I did. I connected with the character and I'm still having nightmares about it.

By all accounts, this is a Gillian Flynn novel. Having read all of her books now, I can safely say that she has a very dark mind. I cannot for the life of me understand how someone can put so much fucked-up in less than 300 pages. She will take the safest of things. The one thing everyone considers safe and regular, and she'll twist and turn it until there's a monster made out of it. I don't know if it's a curse or a talent.

Dark Places &  Gone Girl were amazing, incredible. They both left me wanting for more. But this one really did the job from me. I was fascinated from the first page till the very last hence the five stars.

I think what mainly got to me was the fact that this book had a main character who was full of weaknesses and sensitivities. Camille has about one hundred insecurities and has only ever known hurt and betrayal and not for once in her life has she felt loved. And I mean, never. Not when she was a baby, not while she was growing up and certainly not now. In comparison with Mrs. Flynn's two other books, whose characters are more tough and more independent and sure of themselves and are just bad bad people, this one pictures a character who every reader can connect with and feel for and maybe identify themselves with.

Camille Preaker is a reporter, coming back from a psych ward she throws herself at her job. That's it until her boss sends her to her hometown where there seems to be a serial killer on the loose and has yet to be covered by the media. Her hometown is really secluded, not in the way of no nearby cities and that shit but in the way of secrets having the tendency to never get out of the town. People there turn their heads around when something bad is happening, denying having ever seen it. Is a girl having sex with 4 boys at plain sight and a neighbor sees it? No, it didn't happen. People have a short-term memory, like goldfish.

Having lost her younger sister at the age of 13 and having never known motherly or fatherly love, Camille was a teenage girl who'd let anyone take advantage of her. She'd harm herself in more than one way. She'd do it over and over again. No stopping.

What's terrifying is seeing the world through Camille's eyes. She chooses to see the best in people even when they haven't given her a reason to do so. That's what really got her to where she is, in the first place.

Dark is a word to characterize this book, twisted is another. The killings go way deeper that what you'll first imagine and think another "solve the mystery" novel. After every book of Mrs. Flynn I read I feel insecure and have a feeling of dirt, not the physical kind but the mental one. No shower will ever rid me of it.

Update 10/2018
Doesn't seem that edgy 8 years later. We are not lacking in female anti-heroes now. The novel and the show complement each other rather well. Liked the neater ending of the book more though, but the show is a visual feast. Interesting how the show creators chickened out and made Amma older, to not offend our sensibilities? Amy Adams is fantastic as Camille.

Original review
If you ask me which words come into my mind first whenever I think of this book, my answer will be: nasty, dark, twisted, disturbing.

In this rather traumatizing psychological thriller Camille Preaker, a troubled newspaper reporter, is sent to her home town to get the inside scoop on the murders of two preteen girls - both were strangled and had their teeth removed. As we follow Camille on her quest to obtain as much information as possible about the crimes, we learn much more than we bargained for. The small town of Wind Gap, in the fashion of Twin Peaks, is filled to the brim with dark secrets, and not the least of them is the twisted dynamics in Camille's own family...

For me the most remarkable aspect of this book is that Gillian Flynn succeeds in creating a novel main characters of which are nasty women. I am so used to books where women are victims and all evil is committed by bad, bad men. Not so in Sharp Objects. Women of Wind Gap are both victims and perpetrators, they are promiscuous and abusive, self-destructive and violent. Men are only fixtures in their lives and pawns in their sick games. If anything, this is a refreshing twist on the old tired genre of murder mystery.

I liked the psychological aspect of this novel as well. Flynn skillfully portrays how differently people react to the abuse in their lives - some direct the pain onto themselves, some inflict it on others - and both ways are equally damaging to one's psyche.

I definitely wouldn't recommend Sharp Objects to squeamish. There is a lot of disturbing stuff in this book - promiscuous young girls, self-mutilation, sexual abuse, drugs. This is not a comfort read by any means. However I found it fascinating (in a I-can't-stop-watching-this-train-wreck way) and hard to put down. I will certainly read Flynn's other novel - Dark Places. Well, as soon as I psychologically recover from Sharp Objects.

عالم النساء..معقد، متشابك، صعب فهمه..مضطهدا سواء كان المجتمع شرقيا أم غربيا
وهذه الرواية الكئيبة السوداوية تقتحم جانب مظلم من هذا العالم

كتبتها أمرأة..تقتحم جوانب نفسية معقدة لثلاث شخصيات رئيسية من النساء بأعمار مختلفة..شخصيات قاتمة ، مظلمة
قد تجد بعض تصرفاتهم كريهة، بغيضة..صعبة ،مريضة.. لكن من أنت لتحكم عليهم، بالاخص من مكاني بعالم الرجال
فالرواية تعرّي ايضا استغلالنا لهم احيانا، تعرّي المجتمع ونمطية نظره وتمييزه ضد المرأة

هناك روايات تتعايش مع أحداثها ، كأنك في موقع اﻷحداث وتعرف اﻷبطال جيدا..قليل من الروايات النفسية التي فعلا تؤثر علي حالتك ومزاجك النفسي وقت قراءتها..قليل من المؤلفين ينجحون في ذلك ، وجيليان فلين أحدهم
التي نالت مؤخرا شهرة ضخمة بروايتها الأخيرة الصادرة في 2012
Gone Girl
والتي ايضا قامت بكتابة السيناريو الخاص بالفيلم المقتبس عنها لتصبح احد رواد العصر الحديث في ادب التشويقي النفسي
وبالرغم من أنها روايتها اﻷولي 'صدرت 2006' لكنها متقنة بحق وستجعلك تعيش بها، ولكن للأسف ترغمك أيضا علي عيش ظروف نفسية مظلمة...سوداوية كئيبة...إذا ركزت بها قد تترك بنفسيتك أثرا كأنه محفورا
بأداة حادة

ولنبدأ ب

اﻷحداث
----
الرواية الكئيبة تلك تبدأ بجريمة قتل في بلدة صغيرة 'ويند جاب' لفتاتان في عمر الزهور
فتاتان لم يمهلهما القاتل الوصول لعالم النساء

صحفية في بداية عقدها الثالث تعمل بصحيفة متواضعة بمدي��ة كبري 'شيكاغو' يطلب منها رئيسها الذهاب لتغطية الموضوع
هي دونا عن اي صحفي أخر، هي ﻷنها أصلا من تلك البلدة الصغيرة
هي من هربت منها بمجرد التخرج لتبعد عن مجتمعها الضيق، ضيق المكان، ضيق اﻷفق ، لايهتم بشئ قدر النميمة واشائعات
هي من هربت من اﻷم المهووسة باﻷمومة، والتمييز بينها وبين أختها -غير الشقيقة-، والتمييز بينها وبين أختها المتوفاة
تعود لبلدتها بعد أن صارت في الثلاثينات من عمرها..غير متزوجة..تعمل بوظيفة عادية..لمجتمع عالمة أنه سيجلدها بألسنتهم
تعود لتغطية صحفية لجريمة بشعة ، كريهة ، مقبضة..غير عالمة ما قد يكون رأي اهالي الضحايا بها

بل، وليقلل رئيسها من النفقات، يطلب منها أن تمكث مع أمها وزوجها وأختها المراهقة الصغيرة
يطلب منها أن تمكث مع أمها, التي لا تجيد أن تداري برودها مع أبنتها الكبري,عدم إكتراثها بها..بل وربما كراهيتها بلا سبب واضح
يطلب منها أن تمكث مع شقيقتها الصغري,المراهقة المطيعة لأمها بشكل غريب الأطوار بالبيت والمشغولة باللعب في بيت الدمي المثالي...المراهقة الصاخبة,الشرسة المتنمرة والجامحة خارج البيت
يطلب منها أن تمكث مع زوج أمها ,الذي قد يبدي إكتراثا لكتاب ممل عن الأحصنة أكثر مما قد يبديه إذا ما كانت أبنة زوجته هي الضحية التالية لقاتل طليق

تعود كاميلي لأبشع كوابيسها، لمن سببت لها ضغطا نفسيا طيلة حياتها، أمها، والبلدة الصغيرة...وتحاول جاهدة التركيز في حل لغز كابوسي لقاتل شنيع لكتابة قصتها
وكل هذا تفعله وهي تحاول ألا تعود لما كانت تفعله وقت مراهقتها
كلما تأزمت الأمور..كلما تحطمت نفسيتها
كلما أظلمت لها الدنيا
أن تحفر علي جسدها كلمات.....بأداة حادة
تحفر وتكتب ...'شريرة، مؤذية، حبيبة أمها، وجع، ألم، خوف'وغيرها
كلمات علي جسدها...بأدوات حادة

هل ستعود لمرضها؟ هل ستعرف حل القضية؟ هل ستفهم أمها أكثر؟ هل ستتصالح مع أختها المراهقة؟ هل ستقع في الحب؟ أم ستكون مجرد علاقات عابرة، تغلبها المصالح؟
هل ستنجح في العيش بتلك العائلة المعقدة نفسيا ولو لأيام قليلة؟
علي الأقل دون أن تعود لجرح نفسها والكتابة علي جسمها
بأدوات حادة؟


اﻷسلوب والشخصيات
-------------
جيليان فلين تكتب كمثلي اﻷعلي في اﻷدب 'جي كي رولينج' ، أو كالكتاب اﻷنجليز عاما
من حيث وصف البلدة التي تدور بها اﻷحداث وشوارعها وسكانها وطباعهم وتاريخ البلدة، ثم تاريخ الشخصيات بشكل تفصيلي ويميل للأسهاب أحيانا ..بما يخدم الأحداث أو بما يخدم أجبارك علي تعايشها والتعرف بشكل أكبر علي الشخصيات و،اﻷهم هنا، نفسيتهم

الرواية درامية ، كئيبة وسوداوية كما يظهر حتي من سطرها اﻷول
n  

'كنزتي الجديدة، حمراء فاقعة ، وقبيحة'

n
لك أن تتخيل مدي القبح الذي ستراه لاحقا إذا ما كان السطر اﻷول هكذا
كما قلت ، جانب من الرواية يفضح المجتمع الذكوري ونظرته للمرأة والتمييز باﻷخص في المجتمعات المغلقة الصغيرة كتلك البلدة الصغيرة بميزوري 'نفس بلدة المؤلفة' ، هذا السطر التالي هو واحد من الأهوال التي بالرواية
n  

"في الصف الخامس ، قام ولدان بمحاصرة فتاة في الفسحة وأرغماها وضع عصا بداخلها"
"رغما عن أرادتها؟ هل أرغموها"
"مممم..بعض الشئ علي ما أعتقد. لقد كانا متنمران. قالوا لها أن تفعل، ففعلت"
"وهل رأيتي ذلك أم سمعتي عنه؟"
"لقد قالوا لبعض منا أن نشاهد. عندما علم المعلم باﻷمر كان علينا اﻷعتذار"
"للفتاة؟"
"لا، الفتاة كان عليها أن تعتذر أيضا. للفصل. 'النساء الصغيرات يجب أن يتحكمن في أجسامهن ، ﻷن الولاد لا يفعلوا ذلك'"

n
هل الرواية تدافع عن المرأة،نصرتها؟ 'فيمينسم'؟ أم تهاجمها وتعريها
هي لا تفعل ذلك ولا ذاك...هي فقط تظهر المساوئ المجتمعية، أمراض نفسيه يسببها المجتمع أحيانا في المرأة
أمراض نفسية عديدة ناقشتها الرواية بما يخدم اﻷحداث فحسب -كم أمقت الروائيين العرب في الفذلكة ،والاسماء المعقدة لروايتهم في حين رواية كهذه ناقشت أمراض نفسية عديدة ولم يكن عنوانها سوي 'أدوات حادة'- وأهم هذه اﻷمراض هي عقاب الجسد الذاتي بجرحه بأدوات حادة كالموسي، وفي حالتنا هنا ليس جرح فحسب وإنما كتابة كلمات أيضا

الرواية تعمقت في نفسية البطلة ، وجعلتنا نعاني معها كل تلك الاحداث والكوابيس، والشخصيات المريضة اﻷخري التي منها حتي أمها وأختها المراهقة

أعجبني جدا وبشدة الأجزاء بين كاميلي وأختها أمّا وتطور العلاقة بينهما ولمست كثير من نفسيتي لاسباب شخصية في علاقتي مع اخي
شخصية أمـّا نفسها عجيبة وتأرجحها بين الفتاة الوديعة حبيبة أمها التي تلعب ببيت الدمي ثم المراهقة القاسية عندما تبعد عن أمها كان ممتازا

أما علاقتها مع أمها فكانت مقبضة ومثيرة للشفقة والكآبة بنفس الوقت


علاقتها مع اصدقاءها القدامي من ايام الكلية
Reunion
وعودتها لهن بعد سنوات وشعورها أنها صارت أقل منهن -صار كل اصدقاءهن متزوجات وفي مستوي مادي كمستوي والدتها العالي ,بعكسها -أيضا كان واقعي وطبيعي جدا

علاقتها مع المحقق أيضا برعت المؤلفة في رسمها من بدايتها للنهاية بشكل متقن، مثير للشفقة أيضا في بعض الأحيان

حتي شخصية أمها "أدورا" التي تكرهها بلا سبب واضح تعرفه البطلة هي شخصية عجيبة وفعلا شعرت بكآبة تجاهها كثيرا , تصورت شخصيتها تمثلها نيكول كيدمان بالأخص فيلم ستوكر 2013

الشخصيات عاما بالرغم من بعض أعمالهم الكريهة او البشعة ، وحتي الجنسية المتحررة-والتي كان وصفها بالاحداث ليس فجا وإن كان صادما في بعض الاحيان - إلا أنك ستشعر بشئ من الشفقة تجاههم بل والتعاطف أحيانا خاصا عندما تتعمق في طبيهة نفسيتهم..لن تكره شخصية ، أو علي اﻷقل هذا ما حدث لي، ولكنك ستشعر باﻷسي لهم


والغريب ان حتي الضحيتان، الفتاتان الصغيرتان، ستجد لهما جانب مظلم
كئيب..وشرس


هل فهمت اﻷن لم قلت علي الرواية أنها سوداوية ، وأثرت فعلا علي نفسيتي بالسلب؟

~~~~~~~~~~
أما عن جريمة القتل والقاتل، فأنت ستحاول مع كاميلي البحث عن قصة والتورط مع المحقق الوسيم لأخذ تعليق علي اﻷحداث لخبطتها الصحفية بالرغم من تحفظه، او تعليق من احد اسر الضحايا بالرغم من كراهيتهم لتدخل الصحافة
لكن الدراما تغلب عن الاثارة هنا لذا وجب التنبيه
فهي قد تصنف رواية بوليسية ، جريمة، غموض-ولكن ليس رعب بالمعني الحرفي كما هو مكتوب في التصنيف بالصفحة هنا-..ولكن المهم هو أنها دراما في المقام اﻷول ..دراما نفسية ، متقنة


النهاية
----
ربما سيشك ويخمن الكثير من الباحثين عن النهاية فحسب في حل اللغز وربما يصيب تخمينهم
ولكن اﻷحداث والدوافع وكل أجزاء الحوار ستجعل من حل اللغز أمرا متقنا
أعجبتني جدا النهاية، مقنعة ومثيرة ولم تتوقف عن المفاجأت
ويجب أن أعترف أنني لم أتوقع النهاية بعكس الكثير تقريبا
فأنت إذا ما قرأت الرواية ستكون بالضبط كاكميلي ، البطلة...مشتتا، مرهقا..تشعر بالانقباض والسوداوية لدرجة إنك ستفاجأ معها في كل تتابعات النهاية
المقبضة
السوداوية
التي تليق بباقي الرواية
التي قد لا تجرح جسدك كما كانت تفعل البطلة ولكن ستجرح شئ من نفسيتك
بأداة حادة


محمد العربي
من 4 سبتمبر 2015
إلي 9 سبتمبر 2015

Little buddy read with Her Majesty La Lionne and Jerry on January 31st!! :D

This is my third Gillian Flynn book, after Gone Girl and Dark Places. The first one blew my mind, the second one freaked me out a little and this one really scared me.

Sure, after reading 5% of it I was like

--a creepy story with the potential of giving me special nightmares,

but by 90% I was like

WTF did I just read??

All the characters were disturbing, especially even the children.

Allow me to start with Camille. She's a reporter, a writer. She's practically obsessed with words, even if they are scribbled on her skin

and not necessarily with a pen or marker, if you get my drift. You see, Camille used to be a cutter. She's a little better now, but you never know what can make her snap and get back to her old habit.

I can't say I liked her. I hated the way she used Richard and John, her lack of reason, her irresponsibility when she took X with Amma, her 13 year-old half-sister. Yes, Camille, I get that you're fucked-up, but you're 30, get a grip or see a therapist!

Amma, Camille's 13 year-old half-sister, is a piece of work.

It sure would, sweetie, it sure would...

I hated her with a vengeance for countless reasons, but most importantly because she was a little bitch, in all the senses of the word.

Adora, the matriarch of the family, Camille and Amma's mother, was also a vision to behold: a bad mother suffering from Münchausen syndrome, who felt the need to bring another child into the world, after Marian, only to smother her in torture and drive her to madness and eventually murder.

Who's left? The only character I remotely liked was Richard, the cop. He was hot. He would have been so good for Camille. But noooo, she just had to ruin it all by becoming a cradle-robber under the convenient pretext that she felt the need to comfort and be comforted.


As much as the characters annoyed and disturbed me, I enjoyed the story very much. It was shocking, unexpected, creepy, not funny at all and extremely well-written. I will definitely be reading more of Gillian Flynn's novels!

5 stars!!

n  I’ve returned to my childhood, the scene of the crime.n  
n

Part Southern gothic horror, part murder mystery, part domestic thriller. Sharp Objects is a brilliant book. I loved it even though I didn’t enjoy the experience of reading it—it left me very uncomfortable and disturbed.

Pretty much every content warning I can think of applies to this book, so please heed the warnings before you wade in. The book focuses heavily on themes of murder, child abuse, sexual violence, and all other kinds of violence.

n  
n  “Sometimes if you let people do things to you, you’re really doing it to them. If someone wants to do fucked-up things to you, and you let them, you’re making them more fucked up. Then you have the control.”n  
n

Camille, a Chicago reporter, returns to her claustrophobic hometown in rural Missouri to report on the murders of two young girls. Her unreliable narration, made worse by lots of substance abuse and trauma, colors the story until you’re never quite sure you can trust anything anyone tells you.

I was never really on my side in any argument. I liked the Old Testament spitefulness of the phrase got what she deserved. Sometimes women do.

The horror is there from the very first page. Gillian Flynn’s writing is incredibly evocative; she’s a master at setting the tone with descriptive language. Even if not a single bad thing had happened in the entire book, it still would have left me feeling unsettled and horrified.

n  
n  She smiled leeringly again and clicked her round brown eyes open and shut. She reminded me of a ventriloquist dummy come alive. With hard skin and broken capillaries.n  
n

Highly recommend from a literary perspective but this book is not for the faint of heart.

sweet jesus.

"It's impossible to compete with the dead. I wish I could stop trying." Sharp Objects, Page 100

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn follows Camille, a reporter who is tasked with returning to her small hometown to write a story on the murders of two teen girls. Straight from a stay in the psych hospital, Camille was the perfect mix of an unreliable, unhinged, yet likeable main character. Flynn's writing was, per usual, gripping and fast-paced, I truly couldn't put this book down. This was darker than the other two Gillian Flynn books I read, but I liked it, and it was unique, which is hard to do in a thriller these days. Around 40% I thought I had guessed who the killer was, but in the end I was wrong, which I loved.

If you are a fan of Gone Girl or The Grownup, but have yet to pick this up, this is your sign, it's worth the read. I am really excited to check out the tv show for this now too!

Decent book. I haven’t seen the TV program, so I did not know the story, but was able to predict everything as the story unfolded. Enjoyable, would probably rate 3.5 stars if possible.

I really liked Gone Girl, but was quite disappointed by Dark Places, so I had absolutely no idea what I would think about this book. I'm happy to report that this one was another win for me! It was a super easy and fast read with a solid plot and interesting characters.

In fact, I think the main character Camille is my favorite one out of all the ones Gillian Flynn has created over the years. Some actions of hers seemed a bit too hectic (?) for me though; I couldn't understand why the author decided to write some (to the plot completely unnecessary ) scenes involving her in there. These scenes didn't really line up with the rest of her character traits. On the other hand, this also kind of fit in with Camille's overall personality. So I didn't mind this too much.

However, I did have a bigger problem with the portrayal of her little sister Amma. I feel like she acted way to mature for her age. Sure, some teens grow up faster than others, but she seemed a bit too "out there" for my liking. At some points I was even questioning if maybe Camille (who narrates this novel) just majorly exaggerated her behavior and that this would somehow tie into the story. Since this wasn't the case though, it's hard for me to view Amma as a realistic character. But maybe I'm just too much of a prude to believe that someone like her would actually exist...

The topic that gets dealt with is very interesting, but also very heavy. Too heavy, in my opinion, to wrap up in such a short amount of pages. Some deeper explanation and exploration would have been needed for a deeper impact. Everything wrapped up a bit too easy and quickly in the end.
It was still shocking and highly entertaining though, which made this a great thriller to pass some time.

Sharp Objects, Gillian Flynn

Sharp Objects is the 2006 debut novel by American author Gillian Flynn. The novel follows Camille Preaker, a small newspaper journalist, who must return to her hometown to report on a series of brutal murders. She is not particularly satisfied with the job, which includes writing stories about human neglect and crimes such as murder. Camille gets along somewhat well with her boss Curry, who supported her during a recent hospitalization due to self-harm. Camille has carved many words onto her body—having previously hallucinated them on her skin.

Curry gives her a reporting assignment to her hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri, where one girl has been murdered and a second is missing. Once in Wind Gap, Camille manages to gain some information about the crimes from the townspeople, including the family of Ann Nash, the murdered girl. The local police are not particularly forthcoming about the murder, but the town sheriff divulges to Camille off the record that he believes that the murderer is a Wind Gap native, not a stranger. Soon the body of the missing girl, Natalie Keene, is discovered in an alley in town. Both she and Ann were strangled, and had all of their teeth removed. Camille publishes a story, only for Curry to ask her to remain in Wind Gap for further coverage of the murders. ....

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و چهارم ماه آگوست سال2017میلادی

عنوان: چیزهای تیز؛ نویسنده: گیلین فلین؛ مترجم: مهدی فیاضی کیا؛ تهران، چترنگ؛ سال1395، در347ص؛ شابک9786009594221؛ چاپ دوم سال1397؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده امریکا - سده21م

عنوان: چیزهای تیز (اشیای نوک تیز)؛ نویسنده: گیلین فلین؛ مترجم: سمیه کرمی؛ تهران، میلکان؛ سال1395، در250ص؛ شابک9786007845554؛

عنوان: چیزهای تیز؛ نویسنده: گیلین فلین؛ مترجم: سحر بستام؛ تهران: پادینا، سال‏‫‬‏1397؛ در338ص؛ شابک9786008588672؛

چیزهای تیز، نخستین رمان از نویسنده ی امریکایی «گیلین فلین» است، که نخستین بار در روز بیست و ششم ماه سپتامبر سال2006میلادی، انتشاراتی «شی آرهارت بوکس» منتشر و سپس همین کتاب توسط «برودوی بوکس» بازنشر شد؛

داستان رمان درباره ی «کمیل (کامیله) پریکر» روزنامه نگاری است، که برای گزارش قتل‌های وحشیانه به زادگاه خویش برمیگردد؛ شخصیتهای داستان «کمیل (کامیله) پریکر»: روزنامه نگاری جوان که سعی دارد در «شیکاگو» زندگی خوبی برای خود بسازد؛ «اما»: خواهر ناتنی و سیزده ساله ی «کمیل (کامیله)»، که او هم زندگی دوگانه ای دارد؛ «آدورا»: مادر «کمیل» و «اما»، که زنی سختگیر است و به نسبت به «کمیل» بی احساس، و با «اما» همچو عروسک رفتار می‌کند؛ او خانواده بسیار ثروتمندی دارد و صاحب بسیاری از کسب و کارهای شهر است

نقل از متن: (یکبار در یک گوشه‌ ی سرد «شیکاگو»، پشت چراغ قرمز منتظر ایستاده بودم، که مرد نابینایی عصازنان به من نزدیک شد؛ پرسید: این کدام چهارراه است؟ و وقتی جواب ندادم، برگشت و پرسید: کسی این‌جا هست؟ گفتم: من این‌جا هستم، و آن کلمه‌ ها به‌ طرز غریبی آرامش‌بخش به نظر رسیدند؛ وقتی هول می‌کنم، این کلمه‌ ها را، با صدای بلند، به خودم می‌گویم؛ من این‌جا هستم؛ معمولاً احساس حضور ندارم؛ گویی همین حالاست که همراه باد گرمی محو شوم، باد مرا با خود ببرد و برای همیشه ناپدید کند، و حتا تکه‌ ناخنی هم از من به‌ جا نگذارد؛ روزهایی هست که با این فکر از درون گرم می‌شوم، و روزهایی هم باعث می‌شود یخ کنم؛ گمانم دلیلِ این احساس بی‌وزنی ناشی از این ا‌ست، که بسیار‌ کم درباره‌ ی گذشته‌ ی خودم می‌دانم؛ یا حداقل حرف‌ روان‌کاوهای توی بیمارستان این بود؛ خیلی وقت است که از تلاش برای شناختن پدرم، دست کشیده‌ ام، وقتی تلاش می‌کنم او را تصور کنم، تصویری عام از «پدر» در ذهنم شکل می‌گیرد؛ نمی‌توانم با جزئیات درباره‌ اش فکر کنم؛ مثلاً نمی‌توانم تصور کنم که برای خرید بیرون رفته باشد، یا صبح‌ها، مشغول نوشیدن یک فنجان قهوه است، یا عصرها از سرِ کار برمی‌گردد؛ ممکن است روزی دختری را ببینم که شبیه من باشد؟ وقتی بچه بودم تلاش می‌کردم بین خودم و مادرم شباهتی پیدا کنم؛ مثلاً چیزی که ثابت کند من بچه‌ ی او هستم؛ وقتی حواسش به من نبود، چهره‌ اش را بررسی می‌کردم؛ قاب‌ عکس‌های اتاقش را کش می‌رفتم، و تلاش می‌کردم به خودم ثابت کنم، چشم‌های او را دارم؛ یا شاید شباهت در چهره نبود؛ شاید ساق پایم شبیه ساق پای او بود، یا مثلاً انحنای گردنم!)؛ پایان نقل

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 06/03/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ 13/01/1401هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

Terrific book, truly creepy. A page turner about a journalist going back to her tiny Missouri home town to cover the recent murders of two little girls. Gillian Flynn's writing in Entertainment Weekly has always been a notch above, and her first novel is no disappointment.

What's remarkable about this book is that it focuses on some of the most damaged and interesting women I've ever seen in fiction. Strong women in fiction usually means one of three things:

1) Ass-kickers in fantastic outfits that talk, think and fight like men (think Tarantino)

2) Delicate little homebodies with surprising reserves of strength when needed (think Jane Austen)

3) Raging bitches (think Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada)

What's great about the women here is that they don't really fit into any of the above categories. They're conniving, manipulative, sweet, deeply insecure, fierce and hopelessly crippled people whose flailing at one another feels very real and very scary. Great book.