Sharp Objects Chapters 1 - 4
Chapter 1
Camille Preaker, a journalist in Chicago, is working on a distressing story about four abandoned children. Her boss, Frank Curry, calls her into his office to discuss a new assignment. He asks her about her hometown, Wind Gap, Missouri, a small town known for hog butchering. Camille describes the town’s residents as either wealthy or poor, and she identifies herself as “poor from a wealthy background.”
Curry reveals that a young girl was strangled in Wind Gap last August, and another girl has recently gone missing. He instructs Camille to return to Wind Gap and cover the story. Despite her reluctance and fear, Camille agrees, seeing it as an opportunity to deliver a unique story. She packs her bags and leaves her minimalist apartment, her only keepsake being a photo of her late sister, Marian. She spends a night in a motel close to town, drinking and worrying about her impending visit to her overbearing mother. The next day, she continues her journey to Wind Gap, which she finds to be surprisingly deserted. Upon arrival, she heads to the police station, hoping to hear that the missing girl, Natalie Keene, has been found so she can leave as soon as possible. Camille enters the local station only to be told that most of the people in town are out searching the woods for the missing girl, Natalie. She meets Chief Vickery, who is reluctant to share details about Natalie’s disappearance and another girl’s murder. Camille convinces him to talk by revealing she’s a local. Vickery, recognizing her family’s wealth, shares minimal information about the murdered girl, Ann Nash, who had been found strangled in a creek some months ago.
Camille joins the search party in the woods, where she encounters a group of girls, one of whom catches her attention. She chats with a man who believes Natalie’s disappearance is unrelated to Ann’s murder, he believes Ann was killed by a passing “loony” who also happened to remove all of her teeth after killing her. Camille visits the creek where Ann’s body was found, triggering memories of her youth, including disturbing encounters with older boys who liked to hunt. She remembers discovering a horrifying hunting shed filled with the viscera of hunted animals as an adolescent, the smell of blood and death touched something primal in her. Later, Camille masturbated for the first time while remembering the horrors she had found in the neighbor’s hunting shed.
Chapter 2
Camille leaves the search party and visits a local bar before heading to the Nash household, the family of the first murdered girl, Ann Nash. She’s nervous about intruding into their lives. At the Nashes’ house, she meets Bob Nash, who surprisingly welcomes her questions about his deceased daughter, Ann. Bob shares that Ann loved cycling and went missing on a bike ride. He believes a “sick baby killer” is at large and fears for the missing Natalie.
Bob suggests a “homo” might have killed Ann because she wasn’t sexually assaulted. Bob states that she was better off dead than being alive and raped. He criticizes the local police and a detective from Kansas City for their lack of help. He describes Ann as a strong-willed tomboy.
Afterward, Camille drives to her mother Adora’s grand Victorian house in the affluent part of Wind Gap. Despite Adora’s cold reception and warning that the house isn’t ready for visitors, Camille finds it immaculate and filled with fresh flowers. She asks to stay with her mother, Adora, and her step-father, Alan, while she is working in town. Adora is visibly reluctant to have Camille as a house guest but she welcomes Camille to stay with cordial words. Adora, a youthful woman in her late forties, is surprised to learn that Camille is covering the stories of Ann Nash and Natalie Keene for her paper. Adora, who knew both girls, is upset and asks Camille not to bring her work home. Camille also learns that her half-sister, Amma, knew both girls.
After a restless night filled with troubling dreams, Camille wakes early to join the search party and get a quote from Chief Vickery. On her way, she encounters a distressed couple and a horrifying scene - Natalie Keene’s body, missing all her teeth, propped up between two shops. As the police arrive and the investigation begins, Camille finds herself wishing she could comfort Natalie in some small way, like putting a fresh Band-Aid on her scrapped knee.
Chapter 3
On the day of Natalie Keene’s funeral, Camille observes her mother, Adora, preparing for the event. Despite being in Wind Gap for several days, Camille hasn’t seen her younger sister, Amma. She also hasn’t managed to get a quote from the Keenes or permission to attend the funeral as press, but decides to report from the service as a guest by accompanying her mother.
The funeral is crowded, with Natalie’s parents leading the procession. Camille starts taking notes but is reprimanded by Adora. The priest quotes “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”, which strikes Camille as a little insensitive given Natalie’s teeth were removed. After the service, mourners gather at the Keene’s house. Camille, breaking journalistic code, gathers material for her article without revealing her reporter status. She encounters old friends and Jackie O’Neele, Adora’s friend, who rescues her from her gossiping high school friends. Jackie, who has recently had a facelift, shares that she and Adora are quarreling. She invites Camille to call her while in town. That night, Camille writes a brief article using quotes from Mrs. Keene’s eulogy and their phone conversation. Her editor, Curry, requests a larger feature, giving Camille a chance to have a career-defining story. Despite disturbances, Camille tries to sleep in late, sipping vodka in bed to tune out the noise in the house.
Adora visits Camille in her room, offering her a vitamin E lotion and changing the subject when Camille brings up Natalie’s funeral. Adora dislikes Camille’s plan to visit the police station and asks her to lie to her about her work. Later, Camille encounters her step-sister, Amma, working on a dollhouse replica of Adora’s house. She realizes Amma is the same girl she had come across when she had first come to town and gone to the forest to help the townspeople with Natalie’s search. Amma had been dressed in much more revealing clothes then, and Amma explains that she dresses as she likes outside of Adora’s purview. At home, she dresses how their mother tells her to dress.
Camille meets Chief Vickery, who criticizes her for making a living by reporting on child murders. He hints that the killer is a local, not a stranger or hitchhiker as the Kansas City detective believes. Camille tries to ask more questions but she is interrupted by the arrival of the detective.
Chapter 4
Camille visits the park where Natalie was last seen. She learns from a boy that his friend, James Campisi, saw Natalie being taken by a woman. Camille finds James’ address and visits him. James describes the woman as elderly and pale. He says that she took Natalie quickly as soon as she entered the woods near the park and disappeared into them. She was wearing a white gown and seemed to know Natalie since Natalie went willingly with her. He admits he told the police, but they didn’t believe him.
Later, at a local bar, Camille is confronted by Detective Richard Willis for interviewing James without parental consent. Despite their initial friction, they agree to a truce. Richard refuses to comment on the investigation but admits his frustration with the small town. He offers to buy Camille a drink, which she accepts. Camille and Detective Richard Willis share drinks and stories. Despite her fatigue, Camille finds comfort in Richard’s company and is intrigued by his experiences with crime cases in Kansas City. The Wind Gap murders are the biggest cases he’s worked on, and Camille empathizes with the pressure he’s under.
Returning home, Camille finds Adora comforting Amma, who’s dressed warmly despite the summer heat. Adora explains that Amma has the summer chills. Camille is reminded of her childhood when Adora would often offer her and Marian home remedies, which she usually refused. When Amma throws a massive tantrum over a flaw in her dollhouse, Camille retreats to her room, feeling her scars “flare” at her.
Camille reveals her past as a cutter, using the act to express her feelings and thoughts. After her sister Marian’s death, she became popular and started cutting, finding solace in caring for her self-inflicted wounds. Despite stopping, the carved words on her skin still “squabble” with each other. After cutting the word “vanish” into her neck at thirty, she admitted herself to a psychiatric ward. During a visit, Adora criticized her for self-harming, leading Camille to realize she couldn’t compete with Marian’s memory and decided to stop trying.
Analysis
Camille has deliberately distanced herself from her hometown and family to the point where she’s unaware of current events. Curry, aware of Camille’s past, believes that returning to Wind Gap could be therapeutic for her despite the challenges. Camille’s sparse apartment reflects her lack of attachments and disregard for traditional feminine norms. In addition, she’s a heavy drinker and neglects her well-being. Her job as a reporter, which involves prying into people’s private lives, contrasts with her secretive nature.
The deserted Main Street in Wind Gap suggests a serious issue in the town. Camille’s past experiences and possibly current desires are tied to a place that rejects femininity and finds comfort in patterns of abuse. Bob’s reaction to his daughter’s death reveals not only grief but also a misogynistic view that equates a woman’s worth with her purity. Adora attempts to belittle Camille’s work and creates a secretive atmosphere at home, shielding herself and Amma from the harsh realities of the murders. Camille’s first encounter with Amma, who leads a double life, adds to the house’s atmosphere of secrets and lies. Amma’s obsession with her dollhouse mirrors Adora’s need for perfection.
