Title: Gone Girl
Author: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
First published: 2012
Finished reading: January 12th 2015
Pages: 422
“There’s something disturbing about recalling a warm memory and feeling utterly cold.”
It sure took me ages to finally pick up my copy of Gone Girl. There has been such a hype around this novel by Gillian Flynn that I was afraid it wouldn’t live up to expectations. And now I’ve finally managed to read and finish it, I’m not sure what to think of it. While the story is actually very well written, I was still able to absolutely dislike each and every main character by the end of the book. Which in general is the very sign of hating the book as well. But in the case of Gone Girl, it’s not that simple. The fast pace and the fact that Flynn keeps dropping plot twist bombs like it’s WWIII just makes it impossible to stop reading. This book seriously messed with my head; I’m still in the process of figuring out whether that is a good thing, but I cannot deny it sure is one heck of an entertaining read. The swearing is too much for my taste and I didn’t like the ending, but Gone Girl is without doubt worth reading anyway.
Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary is not starting the way it was planned… Or at least it seems that way. The couple had to move back to Nick’s hometown in Missouri after losing their jobs back in New York, and Amy has a hard time fitting in. Nick has some issues of his own, and while he was able to open his own bar with his sister Go, he is not exactly happy. Both have changed a lot since they first met seven years ago and their marriage is not the way it was. Amy is trying to revive their marriage by preparing the yearly treasurehunt for her husband, but she never gets to see his reaction… Because on the morning of their anniversary, she suddenly disappears and their now empty house shows signs of violence.
Soon Nick is the main suspect, as according to the police the husband usually ends up being the bad guy. It doesn’t help that Nick is acting strange and doesn’t seem to have an alibi during the hours his beautiful wife supposedly went missing… Amy’s parents fly over from New York and while they initially believe in his innocence, sooner or later they start to doubt Nick. What is Nick hiding with his series of lies and inappropriate behavior? Is he really a killer? And is Amy the perfect daughter and wife she seems to be?
I decided to keep the summary short to avoid spoiling the fun of the enormous amount of plot twists Gillian Flynn has used in her novel. What I can say is that both Nick and Amy are definitely twisted and on the border of being serious nutcases. Does it show that I didn’t like their characters, nor her parents or Nick’s sister Go? Well, at least the story was highly entertaining… Gone Girl is without doubt a pageturner. Even though I had some problems with this novel, I still think it is worth your time in case you haven’t read it yet. Just make sure you are ready for a crazy and bumpy ride and don’t forget to prepare some popcorn before you start reading!
I agree most of them aren’t particularly nice – but Amy is totally psychotic! Unfortunately, she’s also smarter than pretty much everyone else. And the planning she clearly put into everything just emphasises how crazy she is! I did love this book, I must admit. It really keeps you on your toes. Looking forward to seeing the film when it comes out on DVD.
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I completely agree, Amy is completely psychotic and it is part of the charm of this novel… It makes you want to keep reading to see what crazy stuff she has invented next. I might reread it when the movie comes out; knowing the characters and why they are unlikeable might improve my reading experience.
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“dropping plot twist bombs like it’s WWIII” – good one! 🙂
I read this one and thought it was a sick twisted dark read….but I liked it. 😀
Haven’t seen the movie yet. I have nothing against Ben Affleck but I just can see him as Nick. Hope he makes me change my mind with his performance when I get to see it.
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It’s definitely not the normal read, but I guess that’s what makes it interesting. 😀 I do completely agree with you that Ben Affleck seems to be a bad cast as Nick (and I also imagined Amy completely different). I haven’t seen the movie yet either, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed I am wrong. 😉
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Keep us posted when you watch it. I’d love to read your input on the movie too! 🙂
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