Book Review: Gone Girl

Yes!!!! I finally, finally finished Gillian Flynn's super popular novel, "Gone Girl". I started this book in January, read like twenty pages, and then never got back around to it. Usually, I'm the type to never put a book down once I start it, especially one that came with such high recommendations, so this was a rather unusual exception. But I FINALLY picked it up again on Tuesday, determined to finish it before the movie is released (October 2nd), and I flew through it. Gillian Flynn is an incredibly engaging and innovative writer, and I literally could not put down Gone Girl again. It's all I've been talking about for the last 48 hours because I'm still so invested and obsessed with it. Every time I find someone else that's read it, I get so excited because I get to discuss my opinion of the ending and how I feel about each character's twisted, complicated personality.

Amy and Nick Dunne are seemingly the picture perfect couple: attractive, wealthy (at one point), intelligent, from New York and so in love. Behind close doors however, they are as far from perfect as a couple can be: disenchanted with one another, nearly broke, childless, jobless, and to top it all off, stuck in the middle of Nowhere, Missouri. On the day of their 5-year anniversary, their worlds are completely thrown off balance when Amy disappears into thin air, and Nick becomes the main suspect in her disappearance. As we, the readers, further our journey through the novel, our perceptions of the main characters are solidified and shattered, our allegiances shift back and forth, and by the end, our brains a complete mish-mash of who to trust and who not to trust. Gillian Flynn does a wonderful job of playing with our emotions and most importantly, with our first impressions.

I particularly enjoyed Flynn's style of alternating the storyteller between Amy and Nick, because it's so interesting to see two completely different (and oftentimes, unreliable) versions of the same event, and to see what one character makes of the other in their version of what happened. I would love to say more about Amy and Nick's individual personalities and how utterly fascinating I find their psyche and their motives and their outlook on life and one another, but I don't want to give too much away and risk ruining the thrill of the novel for anyone. Gone Girl is definitely fully deserving of the title "Thriller of the Year" and is truly a fascinating read for any adult.

I'm definitely excited for the movie, and while it seems as though they did a wonderful job of casting, I'm looking forward to seeing how Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike portray their deliciously complex, fictional counterparts.