Book Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I recently finished Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn.  I admit that I really had no idea what it was about before I started the book, but was pleasantly surprised as it got going. I gained access to the book through Kim, who always seems to know the best and hottest books. I, on the other hand, would be happy to read Water for Elephants or The Secret Life of Bees over and over again because I don’t usually just randomly pick a book to read.

As I mentioned before beginning these book reviews, I haven’t been reading them, I have been listening to them in my car as I have a 2.5 hour roundtrip drive I make 3 times a week. I find that, while I LOVE music, I just can’t find enough to fill up that amount of time and keep me alert enough to dodge deer and opossums.

Well, I loved this book.  Gillian Flynn made me keep wanting more – I didn’t want to stop listening to it, I was so intrigued by what was going to happen next that I found myself sitting in the car when I would arrive to school and home, just so I could finish a chapter. It’s that good.

Plot:

The plot of this book revolves around a husband and wife – Nick and Amy Dunne.  The two met by fate in New York City and were both acclaimed writers and well known in the print journalism community.  Nick worked for a magazine, as did Amy, but she is also the daughter of a famous book series her parents wrote when she was young, Amazing Amy.

While living the high life from their incomes from their respective jobs, and Amy’s hefty fund from her parents success from the exploiting book, Amy and Nick find themselves in a jobless slump from the recent growth and establishment of online media.  With their marriage rocky and funds decreasing, Nick and Amy move to North Carthage, Missouri – in order to take care of Nick’s ailing father and mother.

And the book starts getting twisted.

The plot is told from Amy and Nick’s perspectives. However, Nick’s perspective starts on the day his wife, Amy Dunne, goes missing from their rented home in North Carthage, Missouri.  On the other hand, Amy’s perspective is told from multiple journal entries, starting back to the time they began dating. This story portrayal from Gillian Flynn is creative, addicting, and amazingly unique.  It allows the reader to be able to understand and connect with the characters…

The duration of the book recounts the story from the day Amy Dunne disappeared from their home, on their 5th wedding anniversary.  It seems as though the couple was in constant struggle and turmoil with their every day lives and marriage which causes Nick Dunne to be considered a suspect in the disappearance of his wife.

This book is like a rollercoaster – one you want to keep riding over and over again, despite the 3 hour wait line.  Your mind will be flipped one way and turned back the other as Gillian Flynn explains the disappearance of Amy, through two very different eyes.

Main Characters:

Nick Dunne – I don’t necessarily know if I like books that make the man look like a cheating, murdering scumbag.  But, I read this one anyways.  Nick is portrayed in a fashion that makes him seem lazy, self-loathing, unappreciative and unloving towards his wife and his mother and father. The only person it seems he has a real connection with is his twin sister, Margo (or Go).  Raised in a broken household, with a father who despised women, Nick survived the odds by finding himself a pretty, successful, wealthy wife. Only to begrudgingly return to his home town to open up a bar with his sister, with his wife’s money.  Nick is a complex individual and continually develops throughout the entire book. But I can’t even explain how many times I was yelling at him in the car for his actions, thoughts, and words – he is a very complex and deep character.

Amy Dunne – Amy’s character is a complete brain tease.  She will push and prod and your own internal morals, heart-strings, and perceptions of what a wife should be. Amy appears to be a sweet, innocent, loving wife and daughter who will do anything to provoke success and love in their household.  She comes away being a psychological mind f*ck, which causes so much of the suspense, thrill, unease, and devotion to this book, the plot and the characters.  The only child of her two psychologist parents, Amy had a fruitful upbringing and wanted nothing but to be “normal”, she didn’t want to be held up to the standard of Amazing Amy, but was, and appears to always fall short.

Rating:

4.5/5 – as I have said, I was hooked. I didn’t want to stop listening to this book and I didn’t want it to end. The characters are so complex and the plot line is suspenseful and intriguing.

Recommendation:

I absolutely recommend this book. I am not usually one to read mystery-type books, I like the “brain candy” books – the ones I can listen to and check out of the world for a bit and be engulfed in someone’s love stories, family issues, or work complications.

Check this book out, give it a chance – I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

 Warning – it does have a decent amount of vulgar language – which absolutely doesn’t phase me – but it is a little bit different listening to it then reading the words in a book.

Book Information:

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Crown; First Edition edition (June 5, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 030758836X
• ISBN-13: 978-0307588364
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.7 x 1.4 inches

 

Next book reviewed: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.  I started to read this, along with Julie at Peanut Butter Finger’s and her followers for the October book club. I flew through it – so be looking for this next review!

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Razorbill; Reprint edition (June 14, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159514188X
• ISBN-13: 978-1595141880
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches