Review: ‘Gone Girl’ by Gillian Flynn

Marriage can be a real killer.

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

(Amazon product description)

Wow.  Just...wow.  This book was so not what I was expecting, and I mean that in the best possible sense. 

I have always said that no one can truly know what happens inside a marriage. For this reason, I try never to judge or pick sides when it comes to the marriages of my friends and family. Gone Girl is a perfect illustration of now different a marriage can really be compared to the way it appears from the outside. 

On the surface, Nick and Amy are perfect--good looking, successful, rich.  So when Amy goes missing the country is up in arms over the possibility that Nick is responsible for her disappearance.  As a reader, I wanted to believe in his innocence.  Nick doesn’t make it easy to keep that faith in him up.  He lies to the police, behaves strangely and holds his secrets close.  As the book progresses, the perfect Amy’s flaws begin to show also, deteriorating her character so much that you begin to feel Nick is better off without her. 

The cool thing about how this book is written is that it is first person point of view alternating between Nick and Amy.  This gives you glimpses into each of their heads.  However, this is a perfect example of unreliable narrators, because you can never really trust what either is tell you is the truth.  It makes for a fascinating read! 

My only sort of criticism is that when I finished reading it, I wanted to throw the book across the room.  The ending is so different than what I was expecting, and not what I wanted to have happen at all.  At the same time, it was strangely perfect.  I’m dying to talk to someone about this ending!  I think I will assign this to my book club next time it is my turn to pick the selection.

Gone Girl explores complex themes of trust, fidelity, child exploitation, economic recession, mental illness, bias in the media and the court of public opinion.  These themes are layered over a fast-paced, suspenseful plot, creating a rich and poignant novel.  One of my favorite books of 2012!

Overall, I give Gone Girl...

Plot - 5 bookmarks (intricate and fast-paced)

Character Development - 12 bookmarks!!!!  (Okay, so my rating system only goes to five, but this is my review, and I can rate it how I want.)

Mystery - 5 bookmarks (Not one that you are likely to figure out a head of time.)

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) - Rachel McAdams (Amy), Chris Pine (Nick), Ashley Greene (Andi), Cherry Jones (Bony)

Review: ‘Lost Boys’ by Orson Scott Card

Set in the early 1980’s recession, Step Fletcher and his wife Deanne are forced to move their family to North Carolina for Step’s new job.  They soon realize that the job is awful.  Step has to bide his time until he can find a way to quit, while Deanne struggles to balance the kids and her church duties while pregnant.  In the background of the story, there are young boys going missing in the town, causing the Fletchers to be weary and safety conscious and at times, overly-protective of their kids. 

Their oldest son, eight year old Stevie, doesn’t adjust to the new town well.  He has difficulties with his teacher and kids at school and begins to accumulate imaginary friends.  Terrified that their son is going crazy, Step and Deanne work together to help him, eventually finding out that his imaginary friends are not as imaginary as they had thought at all. 

Usually after reading a book, I take a glance at the Amazon reviews to gauge how others reacted to the book.  While some might agree with me and some might disagree, I like to see how others think about what they’ve read.  I can honestly say that I’ve never seen Amazon reviews which are as “all over the board” as Lost Boys.  Some liked it.  And even though many didn’t, they disliked it for many different reasons. 

Probably the biggest complaint was that people felt the book was a commercial for Mormonism.  It’s true that the Fletchers are Mormons and their religion plays a prominent role in the book, but I found this to be more interesting than distraction.  Religion can add a certain depth to a character, providing them with a belief system and a place in the order of their world.  I’ve read many books with characters from many religions and haven’t encountered this much negativity from readers as this book generated.  It makes me wonder if the fact that the characters are Mormon and not Catholic or Baptist or Jewish that is the real reason why people have a problem with it.  I found the insight into Mormon life fascinating, and it adds to the plot nicely.

One complaint that others had that I agree with is that the book tended to drag a bit.  There is a lot of day-to-day life and issues that these characters go through that frankly should have been cut down to about half.  Some explanation for daily activities is fine, but I found myself wanting to skip ahead several times. 

Step’s issues with his employer played a prominent role in the first part of the book, but as things went on, this all became subplot.  I’m not sure how I feel about that.  On one hand, anyone who has suffered through a boring job with a nasty boss will relate to Step, and might even get a chuckle or two out of it.  On the other hand, there was a point when the job issues wrapped up and weren’t mentioned much again.  I felt the pacing of this subplot could have been timed to better coincide with the novel’s conclusion, giving a more climatic feel. 

In the end, I enjoyed this book and am glad to have read it.  This is the first Orson Scott Card novel that I’ve read.  I will definitely be checking out Enders Game in the near future.

Overall, I give Lost Boys…

Plot - 3 1/2 bookmarks

Character development -4 1/2 bookmarks

Fantasy elements -3 1/2 bookmarks

Creepiness -4 1/2 bookmarks

Dream cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) -Billy Burke (Step), Gretchen Mol (Deanne)