Gone Girl

You can read my review here:
http://abshepherdsreinventedreader.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/gone-girl-by-gillian-flynn.html ( )

Long and boring. ( )

I loved [b:Sharp Objects|66559|Sharp Objects|Gillian Flynn|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298431315s/66559.jpg|3801] and [b:Dark Places|5886881|Dark Places|Gillian Flynn|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320483555s/5886881.jpg|6873353]. I didn't like this one as much. I think it is more of a 3.5 stars. I have to say I hated Nick and Amy, towards the end I hated Nick a little less than Amy. They were just awful people (Amy definitely). Amy has serious problems and that doesn't describe half of it. It's hard to believe what she did and all the planning it took. It wasn't a horrible book and I do love [a:Gillian Flynn|2383|Gillian Flynn|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1232123231p2/2383.jpg]'s writing. I took me a while to actually get into the book, unlike her previous books. ( )

Summary: Nick Dunne is just your average guy. Things haven't been going particularly well for him and his wife Amy lately - they both lost their NYC jobs, and had to move back to the small Missouri town where he grew up to care for his ailing mother and mentally deteriorating father. Nick knew Amy wasn't particularly happy, and that their relationship had its share of troubles, but then he comes home on the day of their anniversary to find the front door open, the living room in disarray, and his wife missing. As the police investigate, they come to believe that Amy is dead... and Nick is their number-one suspect.

Review: This is one of those reviews that's almost impossible to write, because the best things about this book, the things I most want to discuss, are super-spoilery, and half of the fun of this book is the twists and turns that Flynn takes her readers through, and I don't want to take that away from any potential readers. For starters, I will say that my summary above is really only a summary of the first section of the book, due to the plot twists. Flynn's great at yanking her readers around; every time I thought I had the book pinned down, and thought I had a handle on what was really going on, she'd throw another completely unexpected wrench into the works. It's not what I would consider a "typical" unreliable narrator book (like Liar or The Lace Reader), although there's definitely elements of that. Both Nick and Amy are never entirely truthful, either when it comes to their interactions with others, or even with themselves, and it's very easy as a reader to get caught up in their perspectives on things, and very difficult to remember that what we are being told may not be entirely true either.

Flynn is also good at building and maintaining a crazy sense of tension. Maybe too good: while I read the last half of the book all in a rush, during the early stages I could only read for an hour or less before the tension in the book would start making me anxious and I'd have to put it down. Part of that is because while neither Nick nor Amy are particularly likable, there are elements of each of them that are recognizable, and relatable, and that was a pretty uncomfortable feeling. A big theme of the book is "how well do we ever really know the people we love," and to hear those familiar thoughts from characters who went on to do the things they did was pretty discomfiting. The tension of the book is also aided by Flynn's incredibly tight plot, for all the twists and turns; every time I'd think I saw an out, something the characters hadn't considered, Flynn was always two steps ahead of me.

I read this book for my book club, and I'm really glad; I don't think it's something I necessarily would have picked up on my own. It wasn't exactly a fun read, but it was definitely an engrossing and fascinating one, and one that is going to stick with me for a while. This book totally messed with my mind, but it was a hell of a ride. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: There are some definite similarities to Tana French's In the Woods, although Flynn's prose doesn't hold a candle to French's. (It's not bad, either, just unremarkable, which actually works in the book's favor by forcing the attention onto the plot.) Fans of psychological thrillers should definitely enjoy this book, and even those (like me) for whom it's not their usual fare should give it a chance. ( )

I just finished one of the best books I have read in a while - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. It is a great psychological thriller, complete with manipulation, murder, deceit, and denial. Flynn is such an excellent writer, you really feel like you are in the novel and want to jump in and smack some people around. I felt like I knew the characters, even though I didn’t want to know them; they are those people you just want to stay back from, but they are so brilliant, you almost have to admire the way they think and plan and cover details.

The book alternates viewpoints each chapter; the two main characters each get to tell their tale in their own voice. The novel starts on the day Amy goes missing, on her 5 year wedding anniversary. Amy’s husband, Nick, gets to start the book and tell us about how he finds Amy missing from their house, the disarray he finds, and the fear he feels. Amy’s chapters start on the day they met, and describe how in love she is and how perfect they are for each other. As the investigation into Amy’s disappearance progresses, the police begin to suspect Nick has murdered Amy and is trying to cover it up; they even have motives. But halfway through the book, a twist in Amy’s chapters blow you out of the water! And the story changes from there – I could not stop reading this book; I stayed up too late several nights reading. It just sucked me in and made me think. And want to run from people who seem to be so super sweet nothing can be wrong. ( )