Monday, March 30, 2015

Review: Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn


Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn


On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife's head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn't do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?


Review: I went into this book knowing very little about it, and I’m glad I did. It wouldn’t have been nearly as awesome to read if I’d been spoiled. The plot has so many twists that it’s impossible to predict them all. I’ll try to keep my review completely spoiler-free.

Gone Girl has a simple premise: Amy goes missing, and her husband Nick is the prime suspect. That’s where the simplicity ends. The plot, characters, and story structure are very intricate.

My favorite part of the book is the characters. They are all extremely well-developed. Nick and Amy are devious, manipulative, and unlikable. I had to keep reading because they become more shockingly nasty with every page. The story is told from alternating first-person points-of-view, so the reader gets to see the plot from both Amy and Nick’s perspectives. I love this because the characters have different interpretations of the same events. There’s no way to know for sure which character is telling the truth about what really happened to Amy.

Another great element of the story is the role that the media plays. The media creates their own versions of Nick and Amy: Nick is a heartless murderer; Amy is an innocent victim. The media’s versions of the characters aren’t quite accurate. It made me think about real life and how the people involved in murder cases are presented by the media.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, so it’s hard to come up with criticisms. I did find it difficult to get into the story. The beginning has a lot of character development and not much else. It took about 200 pages for the story to really grab my attention. After that, I couldn’t put it down.

If you like mysteries or books with fascinatingly horrible characters, I’d recommend Gone Girl

13 comments:

  1. This book was fantastic but that ending, darn that ending. I shook my fists at it but it was still a good read! Great review :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, that ending is definitely something that I didn’t see coming. I wanted to write about it in my review, but I didn’t want to spoil anybody.

      Delete
  2. I've seen this book around so much, but I had no idea what it was actually about until I read your review! It sounds like the mystery aspect is really awesome, which isn't always the case. I love it when I have no idea who did it!! I'll definitely keep this one on my radar for when I'm in the mood for a good contemporary mystery! Great review! :)

    Tracy @ Cornerfolds

    ReplyDelete
  3. You review is definitely me all the way, so awesome review! I don't think I ever hated the media more because of this book. With Criminal Minds, I learned the advantages and disadvantages of the media, but it still manages to piss me off with the whole "the public deserves to know" crap.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I’ve never been a huge fan of major network TV news. They’re all so biased and ratings-hungry. I dislike them even more after this book.

      Delete
  4. I've been meaning to read this for ages. Like you I don't know much about the story but I'm really interested in finding out what the hype is all about.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I actually liked Nick ...? Well, I've quit 50 pages in and still have to pick the book up again. I heard that there's a lot of twists, but I haven't been spoilered so far (thank god!) I hope our experiences will be similar when I do decide to pick the novel up again. I hope it really does get better after 200 pages...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I put the book down a lot in the beginning. It does get better at the end.

      Delete
  6. I have never read this book, but I really want to. Though, I also don't really understand the blurb HAHA. But yes, I shall pick up this book when I see it. Great review, btw! :)

    Maryam @ Captain Swan Bookishhh

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, the blurb is a little weird. I got it off Goodreads. I probably should have looked for a better one. Sometimes there are multiple versions of blurbs.

      Delete
  7. I remember reading this book back in 2012 and feeling the same exact way. In the beginning, before the mid-book twist, I thought I had all of this figured out and actually was about to put the book down because I didn't think it was all that interesting. But then... Oh, I ate my own words. I want to read Gillian Flynn's other novels now. Have you read them?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven’t read any other Gillian Flynn books. I looked at all of them, and this one sounded the most interesting.

      Delete