Gone Girl

Title: Gone Girl
Author: Gillian Flynn
Pages: 395
Published: May 24th 2012
Rating: 3

Synopsis (Goodreads)
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 from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. 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?
As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

My review:
Do I like this book? Yes. Do I hate this book? Yes. It’s in my love and hate category where I just cannot decide what I think about this book.

So, Flynn tells her story from two narratives; one from the husband, Nick, in the pretense time. Another from the wife Amy’s diary that starts seven year prior to the event. The switching of the point of views was well written, the two personalities could not be more difficult. The contrast was obvious. Flynn’s writing technique was amazing, the way she explored Amy’s character as the defenseless, caring, loving wife compared to the aggressive, hateful, nasty husband was spot on and let you chose your side quickly. Both of the characters are unreliable, it’s a she says, he says sort of thing so you have to choose what one you actually believe.

Obviously, there’s a plot twist involved. What sort of thriller wouldn’t have a plot twist? A boring one. Gone Girl was not boring, at times. It was sort of sick – I felt my stomach churn at some parts. Looking into a mind of a psychopath is not pretty. The characters are so well detailed that it creates the dramatic effect of what’s going to happen next, in fear of turning the page. Throughout the book, I had no idea what it would end like. Gone Girl is just full of plot twists that you will never see coming.

I’m allowed to say I just didn’t like the ending, right? The ending was just an anticlimax for me, that disappointed me. The book was building up to something amazing until the end which makes me sad.  Oh, and if anyone, and I mean anyone calls me a ‘fucking bitch’ anytime in my life, I will punch them.

I wouldn’t rush anyone to read this book, but if someone likes thrillers, I would give it a shot. Gone Girl’s hype sort of made me expect more which made me disappointed. But if I went into this book, knowing nothing and expecting nothing, I would probably have liked it much more. I gave it a 3, just because the first half of the book was great and exciting but the second half dragged on a little. But the author’s writing is fabulous so I will be definitely checking out her other books.