Gone Girl in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Oct 09, 2012 Jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, book-club

I am torn about what to think or say about Gone Girl. It's a thriller, which is not a genre I have read widely in, but it seems like it's the nature of the genre to be something you get sucked into and want to read quickly, and that's certainly the case with Gone Girl.

The story details the slow unraveling of the marriage of Nick and Amy, two magazine writers who met and married in New York and then moved together to Missouri when Nick's mother fell ill. When Amy goes missing one day, the signs I am torn about what to think or say about Gone Girl. It's a thriller, which is not a genre I have read widely in, but it seems like it's the nature of the genre to be something you get sucked into and want to read quickly, and that's certainly the case with Gone Girl.

The story details the slow unraveling of the marriage of Nick and Amy, two magazine writers who met and married in New York and then moved together to Missouri when Nick's mother fell ill. When Amy goes missing one day, the signs keep pointing to Nick as the guilty party; he maintains his innocence, but has a terrible alibi and is weirdly unaffected by Amy's absence. Gillian Flynn does an impressive job of keeping the reader guessing whether one of the spouses was up to no good, or whether Nick's cruel, senile father was involved, or whether any of a number of distasteful people from Amy's past had resurfaced.

Nick and Amy are both thoroughly unlikable people, and it's to the book's credit that you want to keep reading in spite of hating both of them. No matter what was going on, it's clear their marriage was in a bad place and that neither one had been willing to compromise.

Without spoiling the ending, I'll say that it made me very angry and left me with a lot of conflicted feelings about the implications of the final scene. In a lot of ways this is a two-star book - it gets cliched; the only characters you can sympathize with at all are barely-fleshed-out secondary and minor figures; the ending is designed to piss you off. However, the fact that I kept thinking about the ending for days after finishing the book is what makes me think it succeeded at what it was trying to do and caused me to be generous with the stars. It's not a great book, but if it's a page-turner that sticks in my head for days, it must have done something right.

I wouldn't recommend Gone Girl, exactly, but it's a solid choice for reading on an airplane (like I did) or at the beach or in some other kind of situation where you want a quick read that will suck you in for a few hours. Also, it would be nice to have someone to rant with about the ending. ...more

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May 31, 2012 gwen g rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The purest definition of a page-turner -- I wasn't sure I liked this book the whole time, particularly in the beginning, but I absolutely couldn't stop reading it. Flynn didn't convinced me that these characters were real, believable people (and they certainly aren't likeable), but I also didn't care, because the book was just so entertaining.

I also think it's unusual for a book this popular and beach-read-y to be innovative, too. I loved that the style changed several times to fit the story, a ...more

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Aug 26, 2012 Rae rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense-adventure-thriller, 2012

A wife disappears under suspicious circumstances and her husband, of course, is seen as the person of interest in the case. Nothing is quite as it seems in this intriguing plot. The story is told from the point of view of both the husband and the wife.

I loved a few things about this book--including a rather fresh plot that I thought I had figured out, but didn't--but the reading experience was pretty much ruined for me by the massive amount of vulgarity and sexualized narrative the author includ ...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Nadine rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Yes, I finally read it, so I could go see the movie. I was underwhelmed. It's hard to enjoy a book where the two main characters are so awful. I know that was the point, but it made it hard to be invested or really care about any of it. Hopefully the movie will be better. ...more

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Jan 19, 2013 Carolyn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: recommended

I don't even know where to begin. It was quite the page turner and I was so interested in the story that I couldn't put it down. But I couldn't like Nick or Amy. Reading it felt a lot like watching a crime slowly unfold on a morning news show. It felt so invasive. The back and forth bothered me a bit, but that's a personal style preference. The end about killed me. I stayed up late reading it and put it down thinking "What did I just read?" and concluding that Nick and Amy deserve each other. ...more

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Sep 14, 2012 Stephanie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, 2016, 2021

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 22, 2012 Monica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

I'm not sure what to say about this that hasn't already been noted by a million other folks. The twist is twisty, the writing is solid, the characterizations are fun. One of those terrific books that can inspire you to blast through in 24 hours.

Also, just realized that Gillian Flynn was one of my favorite Entertainment Weekly columnists back in the day. This makes me so happy for her. ...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Journeywoman rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 5starbooks, w-50-new-books-in-2013

So many people told me to read this book, even with that I did not expect to like it as much as I did. The characters are fairly rotten people, and yet I I could not stop reading. I highly recommend this book.

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Oct 08, 2012 Sarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This book is a roller coaster of emotion. And there really is no end to the suspense, even when the book is over.

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Oct 23, 2012 Deb rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Whoa... a total mind-f. In a dark and delicious way. Makes me pretty darn thankful for my marriage. If you're up for a little dark psychological journey, this is the perfect book for you! ...more

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