Sharp Objects Chapters 5 - 8
Chapter 5
In the morning, Camille joins Adora and Alan for breakfast. They apologize for Amma’s tantrum the previous night, and Amma herself apologizes too. She asks Adora if she’ll be loved less now that Camille is back, to which Adora replies “no”. Amma expresses a morbid wish to be murdered, claiming that death makes one perfect.
Amma plans to play Joan of Arc in the forest with her friends, but Adora forbids it. Adora asks Camille about her plans, and Camille suggests they could all visit Chicago’s lake museums. Adora, still affected by Ann’s death in a creek, declines. She admits to knowing both murdered girls, which prompts Amma to leave abruptly. Camille tries to learn more about Adora’s relationship with the girls, but Adora accuses her of attacking rather than comforting her. Alone in her room, Camille struggles to make sense of the murders. She decides to seek Richard Willis’ perspective. At a diner, Richard offers to help Camille in exchange for her insights into Wind Gap’s secrets.
Camille agrees to Richard’s proposal of sharing information about Wind Gap in exchange for his insights on the murders. They both suspect that the crimes were committed by a local. Richard suggests meeting for a drink to discuss this further. Reflecting on her past, Camille recalls her birth out of wedlock and her grandparents’ anger at her mother. Adora married Alan, a family friend when Camille was an infant. Despite being considered Alan’s child, Camille feels no connection to him. She believes Adora prefers it this way, controlling all relationships in the house. Adora and Alan had another daughter, Marian, who was often sick and died young. Camille believes that Adora has turned her grief into a “hobby”.
Driving around town, Camille sees Amma and her friends stealing things from a makeshift shrine for Natalie. Amma, dressed differently from the previous night, confronts Camille about her story about the dead girls. She insinuates that Natalie’s brother might be the killer. The girls leave, leaving Camille feeling raw. That night, Camille calls Curry, her editor, apologizing for her lack of progress. Curry encourages her to persist but also asks about her well-being. Camille admits that Wind Gap affects her negatively. Curry reassures her that he’ll help her leave if necessary.
Chapter 6
Camille visits a local upscale eatery, where she encounters Jackie O’Neele and Adora’s friends. They reminisce about their childhoods and discuss Adora’s strict and difficult mother, Joya. The conversation shifts to the murders, with Jackie suspecting Bob Nash and another woman suggesting John Keene. Camille, recalling Amma’s gossip, questions John’s potential guilt. Jackie warns Camille about Amma’s troublesome nature as well as her mother’s condition. She says that it would be best if Camille were to avoid her mother, given how her disposition has been in recent months. After brunch, Camille, contemplating Jackie’s advice, decides to visit the Nash family instead.
Camille questions Bob and Betsy Nash about their daughter Ann’s personality and behavior. Their reminiscing disrupts the household’s harmony, causing the other children to fight and cry. Camille continues her inquiry with Bob as Betsy leaves to care for the children. They discuss Ann’s rumored aggression and the possibility of her following a stranger. Bob insists a man committed the crimes and he suspects John Keene, who lacks an alibi, as a potential suspect. Adora unexpectedly arrives at the Nash residence and apologizes to him for Camille’s intrusion. Bob is surprised to learn Camille is related to Adora, who has been a close family friend to the Nashes. He reveals that Adora had tutored Ann and they were close, leading Camille to realize Adora genuinely mourned the girls. Adora’s tutoring of Ann, a girl from a less privileged family, puzzles Camille. Adora asks Camille to leave, causing Camille to feel punished. She thanks Bob and leaves. She bursts into tears before she reaches her car.
Chapter 7
Camille often feels invisible, a feeling she attributes to her lack of knowledge about her past. She never felt close to her mother, Adora, and believes Adora has always struggled with motherhood. Camille recalls a disturbing incident that she had observed as a child unbeknownst to her mother. Camille saw Adora secretly bite a baby during a social gathering, and then comfort the squalling child. Camille sees this incident as further evidence of Adora’s complex relationship with children. After a challenging encounter at the Nashes’, Camille goes to a bar to unwind. On her way home, she spots Amma driving a golf cart toward the family-owned pig farm. Camille follows her from a distance. She watches Amma observing a stripped-down sow nursing its piglets with fascination. Disturbed by the sight and the environment, Camille decides to leave. As she leaves, she begins to grasp that something eerie is going on inside her house and that it is having a clear effect on Amma.
Chapter 8
Camille, initially indifferent to Amma, becomes intrigued by her after witnessing her behavior at the farm. Needing a quote for her feature, Camille visits the Keenes to learn more about Natalie. She’s let in by Mrs. Keene but feels guilty for not identifying herself as a reporter. When she does so, Mrs. Keene immediately asks her to leave.
Outside, Camille encounters Meredith Wheeler, John Keene’s girlfriend, who had looked up to Camille when she had been in High school. She promises to get John to talk to her. Later, Camille meets Richard Willis at a restaurant. They discuss Wind Gap’s violence. When Richard asks for an example, Camille mentions seeing a woman bite a child, but quickly dismisses it as a vague memory. Camille lists off further disturbing incidents including a story about a teenage girl being used for sex by a group of four men. Richard is horrified but Camille doesn’t quite believe that this incident is too violent. He believes that Wind Gap’s tragic outlook on crimes against women is somehow connected to the murders of the young girls.
They begin to talk more freely with one another, and Richard attempts to learn more about Camille. She inwardly thinks about how he would feel if he discovered that she was the girl who had been passed around for sex by a group of boys in her school. They end up in Garret Park on a swing set, and they become a target for bullying by Amma and her girl gang. They make fun of Richard for being unable to solve the crime and poke fun at Camille for the “juicy” stories of her past.
Analysis
Amma leaves breakfast upset when Adora ignores her costume and mourns Ann and Natalie’s deaths. This shows Amma’s need for constant attention. At home, she is eccentric but outside, she’s provocative and craves attention. Similarly, Adora’s friends view her unfavorably and compare her to her terrifying mother, Joya. They assume men committed the murders and gossip about the Crellin women, describing Amma as cruel and promiscuous, and Adora as potentially dangerous.
Even Camille, who rejects traditional femininity, struggles to believe a woman could commit violent murders. Richard sees Camille, a Wind Gap native who has distanced herself from the town, as a valuable asset to the investigation. They join forces, despite not knowing each other well. Camille hasn’t fully recovered from Marian’s death, with Adora’s performative grief drudging up Camille’s traumas.
Camille and Adora’s encounter at the Nashes’ reveals Adora’s close relationship with the girls. She’s suspicious of Adora’s connection with Ann, a rebellious girl from a different social circle. Camille’s return to her hometown has been controlled by Adora, causing frustration. Camille’s feelings of inadequacy and rejection stem from Adora’s apparent dislike of her. A childhood memory of Adora’s attitude towards children, a mix of possessiveness and cruelty, is highlighted when Camille sees Amma enjoying a violent scene. This foreshadows Amma and Camille’s competition for their mother’s affection.
