Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Publication Date: May 24, 2012
Publisher: Orion Books
Page Count: 422 pagesSummary: 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. 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?
Honestly this was me through a lot of the book.
In the beginning we're introduced to Nick and Amy Dunne, two people happily married (or so they once were) to each other. The Book is split into three parts and each chapter switches between Nick and Amy’s separate point of views through the years of their relationship and marriage. As we get a peek into how they fell in love and how they got to where they are, we are also wondering, where’s Amy? Because she’s suddenly disappeared on the day of their 5th wedding anniversary. Nick comes home to obvious signs of a struggle, and it all spirals from there.
It's hard for me to review this, because I want to give it all away, but I can't!
I do have to say that when I first started the book I thought I had a good idea of what was going to happen. Especially because I had hints from the chapter titles for throughout the book beforehand, and was proud of the possible plot reveals that I might be able to guess before they occurred. Well, I was completely wrong. So so wrong. Even if I knew a specific thing was going to happen, I didn't figure out one thing correct about why certain things happened and the important details. This book was a major, pardon my language, mind fuck, and I loved every second of being played. Gone Girl is twisted in such an amazing way. I had never actually read any books fiction in the thriller genre but this one has me wanting to see more of what I can get. Or at the least, more of what Gillian Flynn has to give.
What I liked most: Amy Dunne’s character and what Flynn attempted to do with her. She did exactly what she intended and I was equally amazed and scared of how wild she was to read after part one had ended. I enjoyed the way the mystery and the very literal hints within the plot were gradually revealed. The beginning was a bit slow to read but I think that worked out well because once I finish with the first section I was experiencing such a rush and started flying through the rest of the book. It was an intense experience. Also, the cool girl speech in Amy’s point of view was absolutely fantastic and oddly spot on, especially with her play on feminism and using it for the bad (but oh so good) aspect of this character. Nick had me biting my nails as I read. I liked him at first. Then I didn't like him so much, as certain pieces of evidence were revealed, because then you begin to doubt his innocence. You begin to wonder about all that he's hiding. I've never experienced the kind of twists in this book before, and Flynn did a good job getting me.
I can’t really say there was anything I didn't like in Gone Girl. I even like the ending. It was messed up in a way, but rightly so. I wouldn't expect any less from a book as wild as this one. I actually got to watch the movie as soon as I could after reading and David Fincher did amazing with the book. Rosamund Pike was also perfection as Amy, she stole the show. This is definitely something I’d recommend to others who want something kind of wild.