Dark Places - Antara's thoughts on the book (read after completing)

I have to say, this author really knows how to hook in her readers. I read this book in 3 evenings, and that felt leisurely for how quickly I would have wanted to read it.

I had actually first heard about Gillian Flynn a couple of months before 'Gone Girl' was released when she was a guest on my favorite NPR comedy show - 'Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me!' The hosts kept making fun of how f---ed up her mind was -- and jokingly kept asking 'What's WRONG with you??' And so I immediately wanted to watch the movie, bc I have a love-hate relationship with psychological thrillers -- I love them, bc they scare the crap out of me, and I hate them bc I'm traumatized for months afterwards.

And so that brings me to 'Dark Places.' Might I recommend not reading this on a wonderful, happy, family vacation when you're going to celebrate someone's marriage? I found myself feeling really morose, and down on life in general, and then realized the only reason I could be feeling this way was because I had spent the last three evenings immersed in the life of really down-trodden people. I agree with Karen, that she did such a great job characterizing each person - they weren't caricatures of each personality type, and seeing Libby's growth was very believable. I also liked the sort of friendship she developed with the Kill Club guy (forgetting his name) - and that they didn't try to push it too far and introduce undertones of romance. God, I hope they don't do that in the movie version.

The final climax did feel a little orchestrated. I started getting flashbacks of 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' where I felt like the story started in one place, and ended up somewhere totally else. But I was still hooked (Flynn's forte for sure). Agreed that 'Angel of Debt' was too convenient, and so was the timing that the information was revealed of all the people he had 'assisted' in his years at work.

But I actually liked the ridiculousness of Ben choosing to stay in jail, since that was the only way Diondra (who I freakin' HATED) would love & respect him. He was so pathetically trying to be liked by her - it was infuriating when reading - but the ending to me was thematically similar to Gone Girl (*spoiler alert*) where Ben Affleck chooses to live the next 18 years with his psychotic wife, because of some strange, twisted logic that makes sense to him.

Anyway, a very entertaining read. Skeptical about the film, esp with Charlize Theron, who I agree, does not fit the look as far as I imagined. Her character was not only super-petite, but I think they said she looked like she never aged after everything that happened to her, and looked like she was 12. I'm sure the movie will be decent though, as long as they don't totally screw it up.

Looking forward to reading other people's thoughts! 

Dark Places -- finished the book **SPOILERS**

Just finished the book last night. Overall I thought it was good, and I liked the format of switching between the flashbacks and the present day. This device worked especially well towards the end to set the more frantic pace as the impending hour of doom approached. I was also taken by the fact that though none of the characters were likable, they were real and rang true to life. We have seen the detached, depressed girl with the traumatic past. The harried single mother. The weirdo teen guy. The deadbeat dad. The sociopathic rich girl. I also liked that while Libby was an emotionally stunted taker, she was able to kind of evolve on her quest to find out what happened to her family -- at first she started out with the money motivation, and by the end it was her own quest for self-actualization. This made you actually want to root for her towards the end.

Now getting into what I didn't like -- while the Angel of Debt angle was a very interesting twist, it seemed a little too "deus ex machina" for me. The more I thought about it, the more it didn't make sense. Although Patty didn't have her shit together, she still cared about her kids a lot, so it seemed odd that she would want to be killed at home with her kids there sleeping. For example, Michelle was known to be always snooping and skulking around at odd hours...it seemed like a horrible risk to take. And then for the Angel of Debt and Diondra to be killing members of the family *at the same time* was a little much for me as well. Also, the idea of Ben standing by idly while Diondra killed Michelle really bugged me. I know the book kept saying Ben "hated" Michelle, but to me it came off as more of a typical brother-sister annoyance thing, not such a deep hatred where he would stand by as his own flesh and blood was murdered. Or maybe it was not even that, but that the scene was playing more to the general idea of how deep Ben's impotence really ran, even in a moment of crisis -- just standing by and letting other people make the decisions.

Another thing that bothered me was that Ben was still covering for Diondra even after everything. I appreciated the portrayal of their relationship when they were teenagers and could easily imagine the emotionally abusive relationship between them being true to life. It was believable to me that a lame teenager like Ben would grovel at a cruel, manipulative sociopath's feet in exchange for some small crumbs of inclusion that she threw at him. However, I would think that after 20+ years in the slammer, he might have matured a little into realizing what a horrible person Diondra was. I get that there's the argument of their child, but I think I'd rather my child be raised in foster care than a crazy manipulative killer. Interested to see others' thoughts on this.

Despite these little incongruous moments, I generally found the book very engrossing, and am looking forward to reading Flynn's other works. She did a good job of scene-setting, combining the decay of the heartland with her troubled characters, and I'm interested to see the format of her other books and compare against this one.

So apparently they are making a movie that comes out this year based on the book. Charlize Theron will play Libby, which I think is a terrible miscasting. As much as I love Charlize and thinks she does troubled characters well, she is too old and too statuesque to play a small (I think the book said under 5') stunted 31 year old. I think Rooney Mara would have been a way better choice, personally--but I guess she doesn't have the same draw that Charlize does, obviously.

Looking forward to all your thoughts on the book!

-Karen

Little Bee & December

Let's start a discussion about Little Bee. Randomly one thing I want to mention is how Charlie's English seemed a little contrived to me. His grammar was almost TOO wrong. Wasn't it a bit annoying? Hmm ... I just wanted to open up discussion but I don't know exactly what to discuss.

Also, any suggestions for December's book? I'll look into it.

November's Book?

Ok, now the book club is really re-kindled ... bc there are only three of us left! I don't mind -- quality, not quantity!

I wanted to suggest the book 'Little Bee' for this month -- I read the sample and was intrigued by it -- the description (or lack thereof) online is really strange, but if you guys are cool with it, we can do this book. I'm going to read it regardless this month, so let me know if there's something else you'd much rather do instead.

Amazon Best of the Month, February 2009: The publishers of Chris Cleave's new novel "don't want to spoil" the story by revealing too much about it, and there's good reason not to tell too much about the plot's pivot point. All you should know going in to Little Bee is that what happens on the beach is brutal, and that it braids the fates of a 16-year-old Nigerian orphan (who calls herself Little Bee) and a well-off British couple--journalists trying to repair their strained marriage with a free holiday--who should have stayed behind their resort's walls. The tide of that event carries Little Bee back to their world, which she claims she couldn't explain to the girls from her village because they'd have no context for its abundance and calm. But she shows us the infinite rifts in a globalized world, where any distance can be crossed in a day--with the right papers--and "no one likes each other, but everyone likes U2." Where you have to give up the safety you'd assumed as your birthright if you decide to save the girl gazing at you through razor wire, left to the wolves of a failing state. --Mari Malcolm

Hangman's ... Daughter?

A book like the Hangman's Daughter makes me think that I could write a bestselling novel. That being said, it was really easy to get through and I guess I stayed somewhat engrossed, but I have many issues with it.

First of all, the character Jakob Kuisl started off really awesome, especially with that prologue that gave you an understanding of his trauma associated with being a hangman. But that's practically where his characterization ended. I would have expected him to be this stoic, introverted guy that has a soft side, but by the end, he was just this suave, cool, friendly guy. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but it just seemed cheesy.

Then there's the fact that the 'suspense' wasn't really a suspense at all and I figured out (as you all probably did or will) who the culprit was. So you're basically waiting until the characters figure it out. And it's not like it's that exciting of a twist or anything, even if you didn't catch on to it.

This also reminds me of what my mom always says about Indian movies, that after all the action is done, the characters verbally explain to you what just happened, as if you didn't get it through all the action. The dialogues are so cheesy and childish like, "Oh my god, so the mastermind of this operation was you all along! I had no idea!"

Anyway, I feel like maybe I should write a suspense novel that isn't that suspenseful or interesting and maybe I can give up my astronomy career and make millions off of some sub-par novel.

Speaking of which ... why is this book named The Hangman's Daughter?

September Book?

Can we please decide on a book? Otherwise it'll be me, Antara, and Ferah deciding. If you have suggestions, or opinions on the books that have been brought forth, please reply by tomorrow, Friday, September 2nd at 5 p.m.

My vote is for The Imperfectionists.

Month Off?

Since this book club is starting to consist of only me and Antara, should we take this month off and hope for a fresh start in September? Antara, at least you and I can discuss Stranger in a Strange Land since we're both reading it and it'll keep the book club alive in essence.