The Brief
Sharp Objects, Dark Places, and Gone Girl are stand-alone, thriller novels written by Gillian Flynn. She aims to paint the not-so-pretty reality of her characters, and she isn’t afraid to write it down to the gruesome details. The concept of the book covers is the exploration of the metamorphosis process the book’s main characters go through to survive in their twisted, dark realities.
Why?
The books show the ugliest parts of the human experience, something that people usually shy away from. However, it is a very interesting - and important - part of being human.
Who is this For?
People who love collecting limited book editions and general readers of thriller novels.
Survival through evolution.
The animal chosen to represent each main character goes through an evolutive process that resembles that respective character’s journey in some way or another.
In Gone Girl, its protagonist, Amy Dunne, pretends to be someone she is not to be someone she thinks her husband will love. She offers the world an image of a “perfect” wife, while the reality of who she is much darker than that. She is represented by the chameleon, who changes colors in order to adapt. This is best represented by the term “social chameleon,” a person who changes attitudes, opinions, and feelings in an effort to fit in and be accepted.
In Sharp Objects, Camille is a woman plagued by many demons from her past. Her neurotic, uncaring mother abused both her and her little sister by constantly drugging them, eventually resulting in the death of the latter. As a result, Camille results to self-destructing habits as an adult dealing with depression and self-harming.
A snake would then fit her, as they are animals that self-harm when stressed. It’s fitting for the concept of being reborn, too, since snakes shed their skin, and Camille comes out as a stronger individual by the end of her story.
Libby Day is the sole survivor of the massacre of her mother and two sisters by her brother, Ben. As an adult, Libby is a broke, selfish woman that takes advantage of her victim status to grab as much money as possible. Like Camille, she deals with low self-esteem and loneliness. In Dark Places, Libby goes through a journey of self-discovery as she tries to find the identity of the real murderer of her family. By the end of the book, she discovers the truth about the murders and moves on to rebuild her relationship with her brother.
Like a butterfly coming off its protective cocoon, Libby leaves the snarky, selfish attitude she adopted as a defense mechanism against the world to become a better person.
