It is no doubt that the attention attributed to Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl has gotten much higher since the movie was produced and came to theatres in October of last year. However, I decided I’d get a better use out of reading the book first. It definitely takes a little time and attention, but it is easily the best time and energy I’ve ever spent on a book. It is thrilling, intellectual, tricky, witty, and most of all, incredibly plot-twisting.

It isn’t easy to explain the most important and interesting parts of the book without giving too much away, however, simply the idea of not knowing what sharp turns and flip-flop of events that may occur just might be enough to spark any curious reader to take a closer look.

The story opens with Nick Dunne, the husband of Amy Elliotte Dunne, giving the reader a good idea of what his wife is like and how he sees her. He explains that she is very unordinary and unpredictable, capable of really anything. The perspective then goes back in time to a 2005 diary entry of Amy Elliotte Dunne, writing about the first encounter she had with her soon-to-be husband. The remainder of the book is basically a flip-flop perspective between Nick’s present-day story and Amy’s diary entries up until Amy mysteriously disappears on July 5, the night of the couple’s fifth wedding anniversary.

As time goes on, Nick works with authorities to attempt to find out what exactly happened to his wife. He is acting very calm and collected-for some, a little too calm- while the perspective is still flip-flopping back and forth from Nick’s continuing journey and Amy’s continuous diary entries. The public begins to think that Nick is the one who killed his wife, and throughout the story, proceeding evidence-unfortunately for Nick- supports that theory. Nick is forced to battle with the public and Amy’s loved ones to prove himself innocent.

Flynn’s narrative style is very interesting- she wrote it in a way that you are able to see what is presently going on, while at the same time, the reader learns more about Amy and Nick and their relationship through Amy’s diary entries, making each character easier to read and explains present scenarios that are occurring in Amy’s disappearance.

Not only is the plot written incredibly clever, Flynn has created a group of characters that are the contrary to a storyline’s typical cliché. Every character is its own; there’s no stereotyping or familiar situation. Everything presented in this novel is completely new, raw, and unusual.

our society is “utterly, ruinously derivative”, and
that “those of us who are like most of us, who grew up with TV and movies and now the Internet. If we are betrayed, we know the words to say; when a loved one dies, we know the words to say. If we want to play the stud or the smart-ass or the fool, we know the words to say. We are all working from the same dog-eared script. It’s a very difficult era in which to be a person, just a real, actual person, instead of a collection of personality traits selected from an endless Automat of characters. And if all of us are play-acting, there can be no such thing as a soul mate, because we don’t have genuine souls. It had gotten to the point where it seemed like nothing matters, because I’m not a real person and neither is anyone else”

This was my favorite part of the book, only because she is the first person, at least that I’ve heard, that has been smart enough to express this. It’s just nice to see a fresh perspective on things, especially when we live in a world that does exactly what she says: “reads from the same dog-eared script”.

Overall, I’d highly recommend reading this book if you haven’t seen and/or read it yet. Reading the book gives much more insight into the character’s brains and explains things more in depth, something you simply can’t get from watching a movie. It is a thrilling plot-twist at every corner, and I guarantee one could not be bored reading this book.