“There’s a difference between really loving someone and loving the idea of her.”
Gillian Flynn
Gone Girl. At first glance, it seems to be another run-of-the-mill mystery thriller: troubled marriage, cheating husband, runaway wife.
It cannot be further off. Let me just say that this book has become a sensation for a reason. It’s nothing like anything I’ve ever read.
The general synopsis is this: On the morning of his wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne receives a call from a concerned neighbor and finds that his wife, the beautiful and perfect Amy Dunne, is missing. This case quickly gains coverage in the media, and Nick becomes the prime suspect for his missing wife. And, as the blurb on the back says, Nick is a liar; Nick is weak; but is he a killer? And is his wife as perfect as others believe?
This book was absolutely exceptional. Written with clever and daunting prose, the novel spins out a uniquely complex and twisty plotline that is told through the alternative narratives of Nick and Amy Dunne. There are nuances to each character; while none of them are deserving of any real empathy, Gillian Flynn’s ability to dish out these unlikeable characters while embedding the jarring twists that seem so naturally done is commendable. Flynn’s crowd control in her writing is also in her own league. I often found my feelings for Nick, Amy, and the other characters jumping around, enough for the occasional twists to hit me with an effective shock bomb.
I hated Amy’s character per se, but she was phenomenally written. While it seemed somewhat rushed and/or cut off, the ending was breathtaking. Nick’s idea of the marriage’s power balance was completely overturned: his “daddy-issues” subdued and him left cowering under Amy. What an image. I applaud.
One downside to this thriller is that it fails to set a readable pace early on. I almost didn’t get through the first section of the book, which had barely any action and focused more on Amy and Nick’s marriage. I know the story is structured on these foundations, but it really made it a painfully slow read.
~3.5 stars
