Gone Girl-Gillian Flynn
Book — Gone Girl
Author —Gillian Flynn
Pages — 466 pages, Softcover
Genre —Crime, Mystery, Psychological thriller
About The Book:
Gone Girl is a 2012 crime thriller novel by American writer Gillian Flynn. It was published by Crown Publishing Group in June 2012. The novel was popular and made the New York Times Best Seller list. The sense of suspense in the novel comes from whether Nick Dunne is responsible for the disappearance of his wife Amy.
Book Review:
Right off the bat, this book was definitely not what I expected it to be. I found it lying around the house when I visited my grandma’s house and I simply concluded that it was all about a murder and a missing wife but things take a nasty turn when you slowly start to connect the dots around the middle of the story.
The initial plot is pretty usual: A cheating husband, Nick comes home on his fifth anniversary and his wife is missing. There are signs of struggle and a number of clues, but no one knows where Amy has gone. The number one suspect, as always: the husband. We find out that Nick is a Mississippi river, Midwestern boy who returned “home” after his life in New York came crashing down around his ears and his mother became terminally ill. He drags his New York wife with him, the famous Amazing Amy of the ridiculously popular book series. The rest of the novel uses both Nick’s and Amy’s perspectives (through a diary, mostly), hopping around in time (primarily over the days after the disappearance). We’re asking if Amy is alive. We’re asking if Nick did it. We’re asking if a husband has done bad things does that make him guilty of murder. And we’re asking if the real trial for murders is in the public arena. With several interesting characters and a solid style that draws you from page to page late into the night, Gone Girl looks to remain a popular book for first-timers and especially those who like thrillers or mysteries.
Gillian did a real justice to Amy’s character which is almost psychotic and insane. In the first half you’re pitying her, in the second half you can’t comprehend the way her mind works. My favorite things about the book were the playful form and how that interacted with the story itself, how it helped to reveal both the characters and their flaws and the plot in slow and purposeful ways that keep the reader guessing, and also the questioning of the whole system of post-disappearance. It really makes you think about how public opinion is fickle, driven by the media, shallow, and important. It can determine fates. Most people really like the twists, and I enjoyed them as much as the next guy.
Would I recommend this Book?
Yes! Definitely! If you don’t mind the explicit scenes or are in for something that messes with your mind, you wouldn’t dare to miss this one. There is really not a a lot to say without spoiling the plot. The twists are the thing, or at least most of the thing. It is also written pretty darn well and has a unique form which serves it well. It makes you go through a roller coaster of emotions and forces you to go from pity to vengeance to disgusted.
My Favorite Quotes From Circe by Madeline Miller
“There’s something disturbing about recalling a warm memory and feeling utterly cold.” — Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
“Sleep is like a cat: It only comes to you if you ignore it.” — Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
“People say children from broken homes have it hard, but the children of charmed marriages have their own particular challenges.”— Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
