Gone Girl in Our Shared Shelf

Jul 11, 2012 Rachel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I was really torn on what rating to give this book. While it's a very well-written narrative, I found some of the plot points clunky and inherently difficult to believe. I understand that the story is based on the points of view of two very unreliable--not to mention unlikeable--characters, but I did have some trouble with what happens at the book's midway point (don't worry, no spoilers here) when the reader is asked, seemingly, to switch gears along with both of those characters.

All that and I ...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Heather rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, fiction

So refreshing to read a really good book again! Even though I was enjoying those Coben mysteries, they don't really count. So I feel like it's been awhile. I feel like I can hardly say anything about this without using spoilers, so I will just say it was highly entertaining and made me want to keep reading. I will also say, in what is hopefully a vague enough way, that the first half is kind of a whodunit, and the second half is more psychologically interesting and suspenseful in other ways. In So refreshing to read a really good book again! Even though I was enjoying those Coben mysteries, they don't really count. So I feel like it's been awhile. I feel like I can hardly say anything about this without using spoilers, so I will just say it was highly entertaining and made me want to keep reading. I will also say, in what is hopefully a vague enough way, that the first half is kind of a whodunit, and the second half is more psychologically interesting and suspenseful in other ways. In general, I thought it was really creative. Now, all my other comments, I will hide:

(view spoiler)[ In the first half, I really liked all of the teasers - she bought a gun, he has a disposable phone, the revelations in the diary, etc. I also thought it was the best use ever of two narrators, because she'd leaving you hanging with one, and you'd have to read the other to get back to the first, but then you wouldn't want to leave the second narrator, either...

When I got to the second half I was initially surprised and kind of annoyed, both that the mystery was over and that the plot might be getting really dumb. During the first line or two, I literally thought she was dead, like in Lovely Bones. Luckily I figured out that she obviously wasn't, and then the story created the new suspense of whether anyone would figure it out, etc. It was almost like 2 different books though, because the first half was really a whodunit, and then that got solved and the second half was different. All good, though.

In general, I thought it was a really creative story. I liked how the author turned gender stuff upside down by making the reader do the stereotype of thinking it's the husband and then having it not true, and also that the man is really the one who ends up tied into any abusive marriage. Interesting!

I tried not to think too much about how realistic the portrayal was psychologically, but I will say that I do think that type of presentation is possible, but that it would probably be classified as something different from sociopathic - sociopaths really do not care about people at all, including what people think of them or whether people like them. If she actually existed, she would probably be diagnosed with some other personality disorder.

One of the only things I was surprised about in a writing sense is that Nick's father didn't play more of a role. I mean, I get that he was in the plot to show how Nick developed psychologically, but when he kept leaving the nursing home and showing up and stuff, I thought that maybe he killed or, or that he'd be the one to know what really happened, or something like that. I guess it was either extraneous, or maybe intentionally meant to be a red herring.

(hide spoiler)]

I could see some people (Bridget) potentially thinking this was ridiculous, but I thought it was very entertaining! I recommend! ...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Cindy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I knew little about the book going in. I only knew there was a troubled marriage and a disappearance. That's it. So I was riveted to this book from the first few minutes. Literally, every page revealed a clue to be explained later and you can't stop reading because you can't wait to find out what something means AND THEN, halfway through the book, you are sideswiped, completely thrown, and continue on the suspenseful journey.

BUT the reason I'm not giving this four stars...I really hated the end ...more

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Jun 25, 2013 Angela rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

This was a lot of fun.

I am a little disturbed that I found myself cheering on an obvious sociopath, but it was just so much fun seeing how that character could twist and manipulate events to always, always, always end up winning.

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Nov 07, 2013 Lord Beardsley rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read2013

I just finished reading this bracing, incredible story. Gillian Flynn is a marvelous storyteller and the backdrop of this novel is so brilliantly evocative and creepy in its surreal weirdness. I've never seen the reality of gothic midwestern failure so beautifully rendered. The characters are incredibly interesting and conflicted.

I definitely plan on reading all of Flynn's additional novels. ...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Stephanie rated it liked it · review of another edition

I have mixed feelings about this book. Was it compelling and easy to listen to? Sure. I was anxious to know the end, but when I got there I was somewhat disappointed. Of all the crazy plot twists, it was the final one that threw me.

It's difficult to review this book without giving away too much. All I can say is that it is well-written and very well plotted. The author clearly has control of narrative and detail. The characters are very real, and I hated both of them. As for the central plot tw ...more

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Mar 01, 2013 Terry rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: terrys

Wow. Love a book that makes you stay up all night to read and that you want to immediately re-read once you're done. There is so much cleverly thought out detail in the book my head is still spinning trying to process it all. No spoilers here. I am looking forward to the film for which Gillian Flynn has written a third act. I can only imagine what the third act is going to look like. A really great read. Wow again. ...more

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Mar 07, 2013 erin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Lived up to the hype

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Jan 05, 2014 Stephanie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club

The first half gets 5 stars; the second half, 2 or 3. The structure and pacing were great, but all characters became a little predictable and uninteresting as the resolution neared.

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