Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller
I had a long debate in my mind before writing this review. Shall I really write the review. I guess, half of the world must have read it by now. What about the other half? Well, it seems they have seen the movie. Well, whatever. If you are already familiar with the story of Gone Girl, I hope this post amuses you and bring back some relating memories, otherwise keenly read this.
GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn is all about toxicity in a marriage between two virulent characters. Those kind of characters which will serve the our literature needs for quite a time. On the day of their fifth wedding anniversary, Nick’s wife Amy Dunne goes missing. Yes she is the Gone Girl. Their front door is open, the coffee table shattered, books scattered. Nick calls the police but there’s something off about his reactions. He keeps referring to Amy in the past tense, and then catching himself. And he is not quite worried enough about her disappearance but defends by calling himself a ‘laid-back’ guy. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media as well as Amazing Amy’s fiercely doting parents, the 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? The book is set in Carthage, Missouri.
Gone Girl switches between Nick’s narrative, as the hunt for the amazing Amy consumes the attention of America’s media, and Amy’s diary, as she writes about the early days of their relationship. The plot of the book is specimen of an imaginative mind and full of twists and turns. Though some of those twists and turns, you might be able to predict if you are familiar with the game of crime fiction novels. I conquered some twists before handedly and felt proud, I have a tendency to feel good and pleased with myself when I solve mysteries on myself; but then when I reached the end, I was stupefied as you will be. That feeling of pride is gone and never coming back. I am not even concerned about that any more. No reader will be. You will have to focus properly because Gone Girl is all about how it ends. The ending might not be amicable to many, but this is how it ends and you’ll have to deal with it. I am dealing with it too.
Gillian Flynn is impressive with her writing, her choice of words. The whole book is cleverly written. Clever, unreliable characters that are ready to blow your mind. Characters who will ‘earn’ your hate by the end of the book. Gone Girl is a part crime fiction and a part psychological thriller. After reading the book and putting it down, you might realise that in those four/five hundred pages (depending on the edition and publisher) you have read are not the part of the reality. It does not exist fundamentally in real life as you do. And it can take a nick of time to realise this fact.
4 out of 5!
Great review, thank you. I am one of the few who has not read the book, or seen the film! I think you have convinced me to give it a try 🙂
You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy it.
I am the other who has not yet read it or seen the movie. Might give it a try.
It is worth giving a try.
[…] BOOK REVIEW: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. […]
Nice review! I’ve seen the movie and it’s nice but I always believe books are better 😀
On screen is very hard to show everything, book unfolds a lot with one’s imagination.
I read this book LONG before the hype and absolutely loved it until the end. I abhor the end. Even a few years later, the end still pisses me off. But great review and bravo for managing to get a few folks interested in the book.
Thanks, yeah the end is pissing-one-of-type. But overall the book strongly grips a reader’s mind. Good to know, you read before the everyone.
WOW I’ve only seen the film but now that I’ve read this I would love to read the book too, thanks for sharing
You’re welcome. Did you like the movie?
Nice review. I enjoyed the book when I read it. Someone gave me Sharp Objects, so I plan on reading that one soon.
Do tell me about it when you are done with it.
I was impressed after starting Part II. The new realisations that came with that made me gasp out loud. Still, the Part II soon lost its appeal, and the ending was weak. And lame. And infuriating.
I was hoping the scriptwriters would improve the ending. They didn’t. Ah well. Have you watched the movie yet?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. This book still has its hold on me… so there’s something to be said about that, I suppose.
Yeah I watched the movie, not as good as compared to the book though. It could have been better. The disappointing thing about the movie was the script was written by the author and she could have done a better job to improve the latter half if the story.
She wrote the script? Uh. That may explain a lot.
The twist was great… What came after had so much potential… Ah, well.
Cheers!
Nope, not read it and certainly cannot watch it, until i have read it.
Reading before watching is a great idea. Do tell me, when you are done with the reading part!
Sounds kind of like a Ruth Rendell piece.
If you haven’t read it already, try her classic, “A Judgment in Stone.” Whew!
Thanks Lee, your recommendations are always interesting!
I watched the movie but haven’t gotten to the book yet. I am still expecting some surprises from the book though.
There are some surprises in the book which are not in the movie.
Hello. I’ve done both, read the book and seen the film. I enjoyed the book a lot; however, I thought the end of the book was a bit of a dud. But then I began to see – there really can be no other end, can there? It had to be the way it was!
Oh, and that middle-of-the-book twist! Oh, it shocked me like I have never been shocked by a book before. It was magnificently well-hidden. I suppose I’m not well enough acquainted with the crime genre to have predicted it, but I’m pretty glad I’m not. I think I liked it hitting me better than if I’d read it as a confirmation of my suspicions.
Anyway, thanks for the review!
Thank you for reading the review. I’m glad you enjoyed your reading time with book. When you read too much of one genre you will be able crack things initially but somehow a good writer’s words will still surprise you.
That was a great review 🙂 I much preferred the book to the movie – I thought the movie didn’t really portray Nick’s corrupted character as it was shown by the end of the story.
Thanks! Yeah you are right, movie did not portrayed that.
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[…] Three years since its publication and it continues giving chills to who ever reads it. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn […]
You are so right about the ending. I despised it as much as I despised the characters themselves, which made it all the more wonderful.
Yeah, it is a perfect situation where one’s love being or getting tormented or played with in his full consciousness.
Amazing book!!!
Indeed.