Gone Girl: A Novel

2.5
They both suck.
I’m team dumb cat.

this is my first Gillian Flynn book i read and it was really good. the twists and turns were really interesting and fun to discover and i really like the idea of "you think you know a person but you will never truly know what a person is thinking or going through and they might not be the person you think they are" which i found to be kinda scary but it was an entertaining read.

The story was great. Truly "amazing," you might say. But I hate the ending. HATE it. So many twists & turns. It was a book I couldn't put down & lost much sleep over. I like the format & loved the depth of the characters. The writing is phenomenal, but the dadgum ending ...

It was great schlock. Definitely entertained me. The last few chapters were a total downer and are why I couldn't bump this to a 4 star. 4 stars are not for schlock but this could have been the best schlock I have ever read and thus earn the accolade; however, the last few chapters failed for me. I contemplated getting pissed off about it but decided, given the genre, wasn't worth bothering about. Would recommend as light reading to anyone because it is a lot of fun.

This was certainly more than a mystery book that definitely kept my interest. There were so many twists I could barely predict what would happen. Unfortunately, no one changed, and I did feel the ending was not as dramatic as I expected. An ipad book that I liked! No more mysteries or thrillers for a while.

A diverting enough page turner, but I kinda felt annoyed by it all the way through. There is one main hook in the book, which I won't reveal, but the explanation of it just came across as false and hollow, and it kinda underpins the whole thing. It wasn't the actual hook itself - it was the character's rationalisation which just seemed off. But the main thing that annoyed me was that one of the narrators mentions a significant detail in passing, but doesn't explain it, which then raises the question of why they mention it: if it really was that character writing they either wouldn't mention it, or would explain it - depending on when and why they were writing. That they didn't means it's been inserted just to heighten tension, which means its the author ramping up the tension in an unnatural way - it broke me out of their world, and made me too aware of the author. Ignoring that fairly large - for me - issue, I thought it was reasonably executed without really adding up to much. The ending wasnt' very satisfying either - it felt like a relieved "that will do". after struggling to come up with somthing.

Not terrible, but I'd hoped for a lot more.

The movie is also nice to watch. (Translated from Spanish)

I'm not really sure what the point of this book was supposed to be - other than don't buy bestsellers because they're so seldom anywhere close to the hype, and mostly consist of un-relatable nasty people being mean to another in new york coffee shops, which pretty much sums up this one too. The only other possible interpretation is that grass is always greener on the other side, and to be satisfied with what you have, which isn't great given the situation they both find themselves in. It's also barely a crime drama - nothing actually happens in the entire plot, which is also a key feature of literary novels.

Told alternatively between Amy and Nick, it follows the events (and some of the prelude to) of Amy's sudden disappearance on the morning of their 5th wedding anniversary. Initially it all seems very clear, Nick if somewhat distant, is the anxious husband (this is not well written) and Diary entries from Amy show her to be a wife wonderfully in love with an unusual but caring man. There are several twists and turns as various 'reveals' are presented, some of which are more obvious than others. It runs out that neither of them is particularly likable. We never get to see an insight into the police investigation other than discussions the officers have with Nick.

The ending is lame and trite and lets down any possible sense of empowerment or responsibility or even empathy for either of the characters as well as being utterly unbelievable. Won't be reading any more of this author's works.

Amazing...TWO thumbs up

What a whirlwind. At times I barely felt like I could catch my breath while reading it.

LOVED this!!!! I could NOT put this one down!!!

As you read this book you will start disliking the characters, then hating them, then positively loathing them. many twists, some straining credulity...but certainly interesting.

The first section of _Gone Girl_, "Boy Loses Girl," is the most engaging. It immerses the reader in the particular historical setting of Brooklyn right around the time of the financial crisis / real estate bubble of 2008. Flynn gets close to a sort of fizzy social commentary - trust fund children, helicopter parents, the failing print industry, the new Brooklyn bourgeoisie. It becomes decidedly less interesting when it becomes a tabloid mystery about the disappearance of the female lead. There are some details about the social blight of small towns in the Midwest, but this seems more as set design than as relevant to the main thrust of the story. Flynn may be pointing out the decline of American culture into sensationalist, of the moment, team-choosing media products - but the relationship between Nick and Amy, which is supposed to form the emotional core of the novel, often resorts to easy gender stereotypes.

I couldn't put it down. Can't say much without spoilers, but Nick and Amy are amazing characters who grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, a new twist would surprise me.

Huh, thought I'd left a review here. This was a buddy read with Areg, and it was definitely fascinating. This is really THE book that launched the current domestic thriller craze, and so many twists have been done since this one that it was interesting to go back and see the "original." It was also interesting to hear how Areg was far less sympathetic to Nick Dunne than I was; where the morbidly fascinating fun of the story for me is seeing Amy run circles around Nick and watching the toxic implosion of their totally unhinged relationship--in the full knowledge that these are both fictional characters and really rotten people in their own way--he was pretty hung up on the, to me, run-of-the-mill crummy way Nick had treated Amy and had no pity to spare when Amy's claws came out. For me, Amy's an antiheroine you love to hate, and Nick is a character you begrudgingly have to root for just in relation to Amy's ultimate way-out-ness.

Anyway, we enjoyed reading it together and did end up picking up Flynn's Sharp Objects when we found it in a local little free library as we were dropping off Gone Girl. I haven't read that one. We'll see if we can get to it before we're limited to baby books!

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I borrowed this on audiobook from my library.

Thoughts: I waffled between 3 and 4 stars for this book. While I respect some of the clever twists and analysis of psychosis in this book, I honestly didn't really enjoy it all that much. People are fairly familiar with this book so I won't go into a synopsis but just provide some of my comments and feelings about the story. I did listen to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done if you enjoy audiobooks.

The first half of the book is slow moving and pretty boring. I listened to this on audiobook and at 20 hours it's fairly lengthy. The first 10 hours or so are pretty basic husband-being-accused-of-murdering-wife type of murder mystery stuff. Not all that interesting.

The second half of the book does turn all the typical murder mystery tropes on their head but mostly left me just feeling depressed and yucky. All of the people in this book are huge assholes (with maybe the expectation of one of the cops and Nick's sister). This ends up being an awful story about how twisted and awful people can be to each other. Really it just wasn't my cup of tea.

I am not a huge murder mystery type of person. I don't really enjoy reading about a lot of brutality or about people screwing each other over. I read this because it's been so popular and I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. I read "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" for the same reason and hated that book.

So, there you go. As someone who enjoys humorous fantasy with the occasional dash of romance and also enjoys sci-fi reads...this wasn't for me...at all. I did appreciate some of the clever twists, but they ended up being almost too clever and felt contrived. I did finish it, so there's something to be said for that. However, the ending was just as twisted and disturbing as the second half of the book.

My Summary (3/5): Overall while I didn't absolutely hate this book and am glad I read it (I think). This really wasn't the type of book I enjoy. There were some interesting twists but the people were so mean and nasty to each other that it was a bit nauseating. My overall feeling with this book was frustration. Frustration at how pointless the characters' actions were from a big picture perspective and at how mean they were to each other and at how long it took me to finish because I just wanted to be done with it and move on to something else. I won't be reading any other Gillian Flynn books in the future. If murder mystery books involving twisted psychopaths are your thing, you will probably enjoy this. However, it wasn't for me.

Some part of me liked the book - it was an incredible page-turner. But there was no depth to it and the plotting (which started out as interesting) just felt gimmicky after a while. It was entertainment for a few hours but I think that was about all.

***Spoilers***

Notes I made along the way reading this masterpiece:
1. Why did I think the author was male? Was it her style of writing or simply her name? Gillian (Jillian)...
2. Amy is rare but nick is most people
3. I do not feel bad for Lance Nicholas Dunne
4. Good guys can make mistakes, but sociopaths with a lack of emotion and selflessness are another realm
5. One of the few book adaptions where the actresss hit everything on the nail shoutout to her
6. Amy is 99.999% an aquarius (I am an aquarius)
7. I wish desi was more explained cause that "Bates Motel" had a lot of damage
8. Should someone save Nick?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A lot to unpack about the female psyche. To be crazy or not we truly are capable of making change and moving mountains. My favorite character Amy and least favorite Gilpian. Polar opposites he didn't question enough to simple but at least he isnt a liar, murderer, and evil thing...right? Only 9 people will ever know the truth of Mrs.Elliott-Dunne: Nick, Go, Rohnda, Tanner and Betsy, Hilary, Desi (In the end), Tommy, Jacqueline...Maybe the future son will see it too but highly doubtful by 65%. People can be so dumb, so awful, and yet think they deserve better. I feel bad for Margot she will suffer the most. I am glad their mom passed because that case would have killed her or she would have killed amy. In a spinoff book special ending I can see Jacquline, tommy, hilary, or margot someone who knows the snake in camoflauge will murder Amy or try to. After the baby most likely. But she would never be foolish enough to let them close to her, nick, and Jr. The poor kid won't know the truth ever. Amy wouldn't let nick outlive her probably. Imagine is amy was male then that would be Jr. for the world's sake i would hope not. I did not appreciate the extent of her lies. I have never been comfortable with lying to people. Why lie was always my thoughts so I don't do it. But her mind twisted maze of logic, reasona dn self righteousness is pure Death Note vengence and Game of Thrones Queen dragon egotistical tale of absurd actions. Her parent were dead wrong in writing those books. After the successful birth of amy they should have sought couple and seperate therapy.

Questions:
Do they move back to New York?
Does the ending imply she had to punish nick once again?
How does she keep Noelle her BFF in check from driving her mad?
Will Amy sell the bar?

What a level of toxicity, I was very impressed with everything the protagonists represent. (Translated from Spanish)

If you start Gone Girl and the main characters strike you as wildly irritating, please read on, because they will only get worse from there. Heteronormativity is a plague and this book is unironically great.

When I feel compelled to read a book quickly, turning page after page to find out what happens, I have trouble giving it less than 4 stars. However, it is definitely not for everyone. It's not for those who like happy stories, not for children, not for those who object to lurid language, violence or sexual content. It contains elements of misogyny and misandry. This book is a disturbing mystery and psychological thriller. The plot is intricately conceived and masterfully executed. It contains mostly unlikable characters, as it is difficult to feel empathy for narcissists and sociopaths. If you want to read about the dark side of human nature and don't mind the lack of positive characters, you may be interested in this book.

This book started out strong and kept me hooked. It started to drag midway but soon picked back up. I absolutely hated the ending. I think it was overrated and have no desire to read anymore by this author. I do want to see the movie as I can picture Ben Affleck as the husband.

You know when you just want to read something different? I had one of those feelings recently and this book was one of several rec'd to me by Goodreads friends. I'm so glad they did.
Great writing, great and intelligent storyline/plot, believable and fatally flawed characters, intrigue, excitement, passion.... this book has it all. It's so refreshing to see things from both sides of a story like this and it all works wonderfully well. The only down side was that those who had seen the film seemed intent on commenting! 'People', I said time and time again, 'The film is NEVER as good as the book.'

Loved the book, wanted more from the ending. I could not put it down for the last 200 pages.

I prefer the movie, but I would gladly revisit this story in any type of media. That's how good it is.

I am so in love with this book that I could say the words and the simplicity with which it was written were impactful; it is mind-blowingly incredible. (Translated from Spanish)

One of the big mistakes before reading this book is watching the movie first. This is one of the few cases where the movie surpasses the novel. Not predictable at all, very atypical ending, not bad, but it leaves you thinking about the toxicity of relationships. I admit that I almost put it down because certain scenes were causing me a reading block, but I managed to get through it by alternating it with other readings. A big plus is that the author manages to make us feel disdain for certain characters, or maybe a desire to tell them to "wake up." (Translated from Spanish)

This is a very strange twisted book that left me wondering how someone could come up with this.

An excellent thriller. Even better than the movie. (Translated from Spanish)

Even though I had already seen the movie, by the time I finished reading it I was in shock, just like when I saw the incredible adaptation. One of the best things I've read this year. (Translated from Spanish)