Gone Girl

Let me start off this review by issuing a massive SPOILER WARNING for a novel that came out a little less than a decade ago. There will be major spoilers ahead, so I would advise you to read this book (if you, like me, have been living under a rock for the past 8 years or so) before looking at this review.. As a matter of fact, this won’t be as much of a review, instead, it’ll be a series of my reactions to a couple of things in the story. I was meaning to read this book in 2015 after I read and enjoyed Paula Hawkins’s “The Girl on The Train”. I’ve heard many people comparing that book to this one and I wanted to see how similar the two were. In my opinion, I didn’t get as much similarities as I was expecting, but they were both enjoyable psychological thrillers. Anyways, Gone Girl has been in my library for a while and I finally decided to read it. I’ll have to admit, about halfway through, I had a strong feeling that I would be giving this book 5 stars. It literally grabbed me from the beginning and never let me go. All the high praise I've heard about it throughout the years didn't do this story justice. The first -I wanna say- half of this book is the main story. Married woman mysteriously disappears, and the husband is left to find out what happened to his wife. However, the story changes point of views from the husband to the wife’s perspective through a series of diary entries she wrote, and I have to admit. I was completely fooled! As the story goes on, I’m wondering who kidnapped this man’s wife. I started gathering suspects right off the bat. The neighbor who informed Nick that the door was open. He was my number one suspect at first. Then I blamed the people from Amy’s past. For a brief moment, I thought Nick’s twin sister kidnapped her. I was just looking for answers and I knew the only way I would get my answer is if I keep reading. The beauty of mystery novels. So, for the first half of the book, I’m looking at all of the surrounding characters funny. Someone here is a murderer. And as I’m doing that, Amy’s diary entries begin to take a dark turn. She starts writing about Nick’s coldness. Nick becoming a completely new person than the guy she told us about in the first diary entry. He became someone who I honestly started to dislike. He treated her horribly, he even shows a weird abusive side. The later diary entries made me think that maybe HE did it all along and that’s the big twist. I also had a small thought that maybe she faked her kidnapping because he was so abusive and she wanted to escape him, but that seemed like it wouldn’t be it, so I shoved that theory to the side. Not like it mattered anyway. Lol. Turns out, I was half-right with that theory I pushed to the side. The whole time, I’m worried about this sweet, lovable woman and it turns out she staged the whole thing, knowing that all signs will point to her horrible, possibly abusive husband. After the halfway point of the novel, we find out that the Amy that we knew from the diaries was a made-up character. She’s nothing like who she appeared to be. She’s manipulative and has always been that way. There are a few moments where I screamed at my Kindle, “This woman is evil!” I was completely caught off guard and that doesn’t happen a lot. Then we see the beginning of Amy’s plan, living as a supposedly dead woman and even that builds suspense in itself because she has to continuously look over her shoulder and hope that nobody ever notices her. It’s a crazy way to live, but Amy is always three steps ahead in planning. She befriends two people who are also on the run apparently, and they end up turning on her, and stealing the money she had reserved for her new life, leaving her with a cut lip, no money, and a ruined plan. Leaving her to call her high school sweetheart, a man we met earlier in the story and he -to my disappointment- ends up helping her. Inviting a woman who is allegedly kidnapped to your house is a bad move. I knew that wasn’t going to end well. I thought Amy would somehow get into a fight with Desi (the guy who came to her rescue), but I didn’t expect her to actually murder him, but the more I thought about it, it makes sure he can’t tell the truth and pay a bunch of high-quality lawyers to make sure she spends the rest of her life behind bars. Another case of Amy being one step ahead of everybody. This woman is a criminal mastermind. Not only was this story a freaking roller coaster of a read, but it was just overall fun to read. So many layers to the story, so many twists and turns, clever dialogue all throughout, and even the end surprised me. I was sure this story would end with one of the main characters going to jail, but surprisingly, it was (sort of) a happy ending… at least for the puppet master it was a happy ending. 5 stars!

There's a lot to like about Gillian Flynn's GONE GIRL. It's a captivating mystery (did charming Nick have anything to do with the disappearance of his lovely wife Amy?) and a cleverly conceived thriller (there are enough twists and turns to satisfy any fan of the genre). But what really works - and what makes GONE GIRL a real page turner - is how beautifully Flynn dissects the disintegration of a marriage. This isn't really a book about Amy's disappearance; in fact, that aspect of the plot becomes fairly moot by the half-way point. This is a book about what it means to love someone, in all its terrifyingly selfish horror. It's about what we do to one another in the name of love and happiness. Manhattan-born Amy is gorgeous, rich, and successful, and she admits to playing roles in her relationships with men (she'll be the "Cool Girl," since men love Cool Girls - easy-going, fun, never a complainer). Nick is likable and charismatic, yet he is haunted by his relationship with an angry and deranged father (at first he can't believe pretty Amy loves him; later he can't remember why he ever loved her). Their marriage is great until they both lose their jobs -- then they leave Manhattan for the pressure cooker of small-town Midwestern life, and nothing is ever quite the same again. On the morning of their fifth anniversary, Amy disappears. Nick becomes the primary suspect. And the reader is left trying to figure out which of these two characters to believe. In the first part of the novel, the narration shifts between Nick's story and Amy's journal entries. Sometimes they both describe the same event, and we get a clear picture of how impossible it is for two people to really understand each other. These two hurt each other without ever understanding why. They also both lie . . . repeatedly. Later in the story, we get a different picture. At first we sympathize with Amy and grow suspicious of Nick (she's loving and caring; he's sullen and secretive). Later, we will sympathize with him, and despise her. By the end, we won't know what to believe or what to think. Is anyone in the novel telling the truth? The ending of this book has generated quite a bit of controversy, mainly because what ultimately happens is so depressingly awful. But at the same time, it's difficult to imagine any other ending, outside the Hollywood "feel-good" kind of thing you would expect from a big-budget movie. There's nothing "feel-good" about this book - not the story, not the characters, and certainly not the ending. This is hard stuff, about people who are psychologically damaged. It's hard to like either of them. Near the end, Nick says, "So let everyone take sides. Team Nick, Team Amy. Turn it into even more of a game: Sell some [*******] T-shirts." There is no "Team Nick" and "Team Amy" here. You'll find yourself hard-pressed to support either of them by the end. Do I recommend this novel? Sure - I loved parts of it, even as I was repulsed by other parts. It's a fascinating read, and Nick and Amy are fascinating, if damaged, people. It will remind you of Turow's PRESUMED INNOCENT (if you've read it, you'll know what I mean), Craig Jones's masterful BLOOD SECRETS (out of print, but well worth the search for a used copy), and the 1981 film BODY HEAT (there's a fine line between passion and betrayal). But maybe the best comparison is to the 1989 dark comedy, WAR OF THE ROSES. If GONE GIRL was a comedy (and it's totally not), it would be WAR OF THE ROSES. By the end of that film, there wasn't much left to laugh about. By the end of GONE GIRL, you'll wonder if there'll ever be anything to laugh about again. It's a powerful book. But it's certainly not an easy read.

Gone Girl Book Review AG “I’d fallen in love with Amy because I was the ultimate Nick with her. Loving her made me superhuman, it made me feel alive.” (Gillian 202) Amy and Nick seemed to be the perfect couple celebrating their seventh year anniversary. However, that is not exactly the true story. Amy moved to Missouri with her husband Nick once Nick’s mom became very ill and their money was running low. Amy was a New York questionaire journalist and her parents had a series of books called Amazing Amy. These books portrayed Amy as the perfect daughter. Nick was a man who owned a bar with his sister Margo and was a laid off journalist. Although life seemed smooth on the outside, it was a disaster on the inside and became even worse once Amy suddenly went missing on their anniversary. The book takes the reader on a roller coaster ride of events traveling through each character’s side of the story and the paths they take. Gillian Flynn creates a twisted story that has the readers pulled in right from the beginning. Did Nick murder Amy or was she kidnapped? Is Amy missing on purpose to escape from Nick? All these questions are running through the minds of the readers as they read this compelling novel. Gillian gives the readers a look into the true complex minds of each character and the twists and turns that occur with each entry, truly making it something everybody needs to read. My friends and I were very pleased that we chose this book for our book club. Of course, we weren’t sure exactly what to expect. First of all, we had never seen the movie, the author and style of writing was unfamiliar to us, and it just wasn’t a book we would normally read. However, we really enjoyed the book and its twisted ways. The author made the readers feel as though they were right in the epic story with the characters. As a reader of this book, I felt as though each minute I was on another character's side, making the story even more intriguing. I loved how the author had the reader at one time love Nick and then the next hate him and love Amy. My only criticism for the book is that I was not fond of the ending. The ending was left with many unanswered questions. Although the reader finds out what happens to Amy, there are still many unanswered questions It made me wonder if there will be a part two to the book. The ending had many events occurring without much explanation. There were many areas that left me wondering why did this happen or how did Nick deal with Amy. The conclusion all happened too fast, seeming as though the author did not want to make the book a thousand pages so decided to end it at a random spot that seemed to fit but had its questions. Overall I recommend this book for everyone. It is not just a mystery book, it is a novel about dishonesty, love, abandonment, and trust. The themes presented allow readers to learn true lessons in life while also reading this intriguing story. I would also suggest reading the book before the movie because I hear they do not include all events or characters from the book in the movie. Also, when one reads the book before the movie, it allows them to put an image in their mind about what they think each character will look like. Gillian Flynn is a great writer and she truly showed her skills in this novel that deserves to be on everyone's bookshelf as a must read. Gone Girl is a book with both thrilling and intense aspects woven into it. The novel does not have one dull moment. Each event that occurred will have the readers at the edge of their seat. It is a captivating book that will have everybody waiting desperately for the truth, what really happened to Amy?

Gone Girl is the first novel I've read by Gillian Flynn. I don't read a lot of suspense/thriller novels, but I made time for this one because I'd seen all the positive reviews. It mostly earns the praise it has received -- the writing is good, the characters are well-drawn, and you spend much of the story wondering what in the world is going on. The basic premise, in case you didn't read it above, is this: On the day of their fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne's wife, Amy, goes missing from their house under very suspicious circumstances (signs of a struggle in the living room, the door left open). The reader isn't told exactly what happened, but what's clear is that Amy is gone and it doesn't look good for Nick, who almost immediately begins lying to the police (why, we aren't told, but he does tell us in his narrative sections when he is lying). The novel is narrated alternately by Nick, in real-time following Amy's disappearance, and by Amy, through a diary that she had kept up until sometime before her disappearance. So you can get different perspectives on their relationship, and sometime on the same events. The novel is often, in addition to being a thriller, an interesting take on modern relationships. Flynn is a good, thoughtful writer and the book is engaging all the way up to the end. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you turning pages late into the night, and I won't spoil them here. As to my overall review: I can't give the book fewer than three stars, because 95% of it was really engaging, really fun reading. I can't give it more than three stars, however, because the ending was...disappointing. Without spoiling anything, I will say that once you've figured out what's happened and who the bad guys are, you really want the novel's conclusion to deliver some catharsis. It doesn't. This is clearly a deliberate choice on Flynn's part, and it makes sense given her interest in sort of poking fun at/analyzing how marriages work and don't work. But in terms of giving the reader what he or she will almost certainly want at the end of this novel, it's a complete let-down. I was actually annoyed as I closed the book, which is no way to feel when finishing a novel. Especially one that is really good until the last few pages. It's mostly a fun read if you've got a blank spot on your to-read list, and I will be following this author in the future, but, boy oh boy, what a disappointing ending.

I enjoyed reading the book . From the very first chapter, I was completely drawn into it. The story is full of twists and turns that I’ve never really saw coming, and every time I thought I knew what was happening, the plot would take another shocking turn. The characters are so well written and complex that I felt like really knew them in person, even when they were doing things that I quite didn’t understand why. What I loved most about this book was how susppenseful it was, I couldn’t put it down it was just really really good. It made me think about the story long after I finished reading, and I even found myself guessing on what might happen next. If you enjoy thrillers like I do or mysteries with surprising twists and lies, I would definitely recommend Gone Girl since it was one of my favorites to read.

WARNING - MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS Where do I begin? This novel is BRILLIANT, plain and simple. The main characters are strong and complex, and the story is totally engrossing, a real page turner. I have been curious about this book for a while now, before the movie came out, but having read the negative reviews first (I know, my bad, but it's what I always do) I decided against reading it, and I couldn't have been more wrong! After seeing a few gif sets of the movie, I decided to give it a go, and boy was I in for a ride! And I had read spoilers beforehand, but I was still completely sucked in and surprised by the turn of events. Amazing Amy is a psychopath, but that doesn't stop you from empathising with her and actually rooting for her. Granted, she takes things a bit too far, but I can guarantee there are people far worse than her in real life. The thing is that she does things to get her way and when things don't go her way, that's when her psychopathic brilliance unravels with full force. I that if Nick had not cheated, she wouldn't have gone as far as she did, she would have done something to get Nick's attention anyway, but nothing as crazy as what she actually did. She IS a psychopath, nothing will change that, it's what you don't do or stop doing that will get her going. And Nick cheating does exactly that, sends her into a tailspin (it was actually the cherry on top of the cake: both of them getting fired, having to lend most of her trust fund money to her parents, moving to Missouri...) I absolutely adored Amy's character! It is such a well written character and so different from every other female character that is out there these days. Nick was very good too. I don't understand how people can criticise the ending, a Hollywood ending where everything is tied up in a perfect little bow just wasn't possible, and honestly, who would want it?. She pulls the most ancient move of all time on the guy: trapping him with a pregnancy. And it is brilliant, because Nick knows he'll have to stay with her in order to protect that child, to ensure his/her safety, I have no doubt that Amy would go as far as killing her own child if something didn't go as she wanted or if Nick did something she didn't like (accuse him of child molestation or God knows what else). The ending is open, it leaves you wondering, because she thinks she has Nick in the palm of her hand, but does she, really? The question is, how will she retaliate to what he says: "I feel sorry for you because every day you have to wake up and be you", and she says she wishes he hadn't said that and that she can't stop thinking about it. To me it is obvious they will continue battling each other, to see who can outsmart who, Nick being at a disadvantage because he cares about his child; Amy, I don't think she gives a fu**, as long as she gets what she wants. I loved it, loved everything about it, the dual POV's, the diary entries, all the things she does, which some reviewers say are far fetched, I thought they were believable; a special mention goes to Margo, I really loved her character and the dynamic with Nick. Do yourself a favour and do not read the negative reviews, buy this book, and enjoy it! I'm going to start reading Ms.Flynn's other books now. Hats off to her for writing such a unique story.

I loaded this book onto my Kindle on July 4 and started reading. And didn't stop. Everywhere I went, the Kindle went, which meant I was sneaking in reading time when I was supposed to be paying attention to something else. Gone Girl is that riveting a read. Before I invested in the download -- you could get a couple of double lattes for $12.99! -- I read most of the reviews here. A lot of people loved the book but only gave it one or two stars because of the ending. I am stunned, but I'll get to that in a minute. Why did I like it? * The writing is almost unfailingly crisp and witty. The story is told entirely in the first person(s). Even if the reader starts to question the veracity of the stories which, by the way, you can't help doing once you realize that the narrators may not be as reliable as you might hope, there is no disputing the individual clarity and consistency of the three first person accounts. * The twists. All right, it's a mystery/thriller, so you're going to anticipate a few corkscrew moments. But every time I thought I knew which direction we were heading, the story took a u-turn and scurried up a back road I hadn't even spotted. * The sendup of the missing wife ritual. From OJ to Lacey and Scott to the Powells, we all know by now: the husband did it. Who else would have the motive? It's just a matter of figuring out how/when/what, and no one will be surprised if no body appears because there are plenty of places to hide one. Since the husband in this story is also a narrator, it's easy to doubt his version of reality, especially when the plot begins to track the Scott/Lacey story a little too closely for my taste. Indeed we do catch him in some lies. But even the lies may surprise us. As an extra bonus, Flynn throws in a few parodies of talk show hosts, but since all the current authors seem to be on that particular bandwagon, the device has lost some of its potency. * The emphasis on appearance, and appearances. Nick and Amy, as we are told many many times in different ways, are both several standard deviations above average in looks. Beautiful people can get away with behavior that the rest of us can't, or maybe they can't get away with anything because everyone assumes they're using their attractiveness to manipulate everyone else. This theme is reflected in the focus on appearances: any given situation can be interpreted in a number of contradictory ways. And the first interpretation may be the false one. Or maybe not. As an aside, Amy's riff on women being their true selves rather than their faux "cool" selves was one of the most delectable moments in the book. It could have been omitted from the story without any harm, but it was just plain wonderful. * The ending. Okay, I know that a lot of people hated it. It's not a neatly packaged happily-ever-after denouement, like a made for tv movie. If you need to have your mysteries resolved Agatha Christie style, you will be dissatisfied. But it's diabolical, it's clever, and it's the gun from act 1 that fires in act 3. There are many ways this book could have ended, and the author took a risk with this one, but if you're reading the book as a psychological thriller rather than as a police procedural, it's perfect. The book itself isn't perfect. There are a few plot deviations that nagged at me as I was reading. They're not material to the story or its outcome, just kind of sloppy. Because by the time I was 100 pages into the book, I knew Amy well enough to expect her to plan everything to the nth degree and was disappointed when she didn't, and I knew Nick well enough to know that he might do something really stupid but that he would at least think about what he was doing while he was doing it. Characters are allowed to surprise us, but they aren't supposed to step out of character. All in all,Gone Girl is a great and gripping way to pass a few hours. But try to pick it up before bedtime or you may not get to sleep until dawn.

Less a mystery and more a psychological thriller that details the very compelling dynamic between a perfectly complementary husband and wife, Gone Girl drags a bit in places, but will keep you springing from side to side and wondering which way the story will swivel. If you've read this and liked it, you should definitely check out The Girl on the Train, which publishes soon and is just as captivating, if not more so. When I first started reading Gone Girl, I wasn't wowed. It seemed like a Law and Order SVU episode, only with a less interesting concept and with more irritating writing. On the day of her fifth anniversary with her husband (Lance Nicholas "Nick" Dunne), Amy Elliott Dunne goes missing from her home with signs of a struggle in the living room. Nick is devastated—but maybe for the wrong reasons. Throughout the first third of the book, we rack up suspects, all the while delving deeper into Nick's persona (oddly uncaring, distant, serial-killer smile) and getting a sense of the woman who was Amy through snippets of her diary. "I think it's fair to say I am a writer. I'm using this journal to get better: to hone my skills, to collect details and observations. To show don't tell and all that other writery crap. (Adopted-orphan smile, I mean, that's not bad, come on.)" (10) At this point, only ten pages in, I began to find the style grating. And Amy, too, for that matter. Amy is the daughter of a pair of writer psychologists who based their successful children's books, the Amazing Amy series, off of the foibles of their own growing daughter. Because of this, Amy has always had very big shoes to fill. Poor Amy! Early in the novel, I liked Nick and had little sympathy for ditzy, quiz-writing Diary Amy and her wifely worries. But that's what's kind of beautiful about Gone Girl. As the first part of the book continues, you quickly realize that Nick is not everything he seems and that Amy (doting, loving Amy) is trying her hardest to be the good wife and bring Nick back to her after their marriage has deteriorated over the years. And with Amy now mysteriously gone, Nick has realized her worth all too late. Here, I try to restrain myself from adding a rousing, "But wait, there's more!" Because as soon as you think you have their relationship figured out, you realize that Amy and Nick are not quite Dunne. (Har har; this pun occurs a handful of times throughout the book. Hilarious, right?) Nick may be a little stiff, but is he a bad guy? And Amy's definitely gone, but is she a stiff? (Okay, sorry, no more puns. Promise.) The problems I had with the book were few. I thought that at times, the detailing of character backstories seemed to slow the progress of the mystery, but after I realized how essential the characters' personalities and histories were to the story (and how little this book resembles your typical mystery), I could understand why the novel is written as it is. As noted previously, I occasionally found the writing style irritating, but I can excuse those sorts of things in a first-person story. I think the biggest issue I had was that there were moments (though rare) that I found the characters (or their actions/dialogue) a bit unbelievable. Characters would periodically do something that didn't fit their profile at all (no matter what you knew or didn't know about them at that point). And sometimes, I could so clearly see the dialogue as an episode of Criminal Minds that it made me wonder how this book was supposed to be packaged. A clever and literary psychological novel? A battered-wife mystery? An edge-of-your-seat thriller? A Spy vs. Spy comic? At its worst parts, Gone Girl was a touch confused. Rather long and somewhat confused. All in all, though, I found the book a really excellent reading experience. It's tough to discuss this book without revealing anything more about the various twists and turns it takes, and to be totally fair, I don't think mentioning any revelations even ruins the enjoyment of the story. But to err on the side of remaining spoiler-free, I'll simply say that the various shifting character dynamics throughout the book as Nick discovers the secrets of Amy's past and disappearance are compelling enough to keep you reading until the bitter end.