Gone Girl

Gone Girl


Where to even begin?
Probably by saying that this is the craziest book I have ever read, and to this day, several months after I turned the last page, I have no idea whether or not I even liked it.  The movie comes out today, and I find myself excited to see it, so I must have enjoyed the book on some level....right?
Or maybe I'm just curious.

The book begins and we meet Nick Dunne.  His wife, Amy has gone missing on their 5th wedding anniversary.  Nick is the obvious choice of suspect not only because the husband is always a suspect, but because he has recently increased her life insurance, he comes across as not being invested in the investigation to find his wife, and to top it all off, he has been having an affair.  The nails in the coffin of his guilt come in the form of a diary that Amy had been keeping. Within its pages, she chronicled the deterioration of her marriage and her husband, painting the picture of an unhappy man who was beginning to turn violent in his frustration.  We spend the first half of the book being convinced of Nick's guilt.  He insists he is innocent, but there is nothing to support his claims.

This is the point where I have to stop giving you any information about the book.  There is no way to even loosely describe the last half without giving away major spoilers.  In fact, just saying that is probably a spoiler in itself.  Here is what I promise you, however....not matter what it is you think happened to Amy....you're at least partially wrong.

 I will tell you that as I read this book, I was fully engaged in what was happening.  It is well written and engrossing.  I burned to discover what had happened to Amy, and once I found out, I needed to see the resolution and the comeuppance.  The tricky part in this review is when I have to tell you that I found every single character in this book to be loathsome.  The redeeming qualities were few and far between, and I was unable to root for anyone. Yet I think that was the whole point.  I can't know what the author's intentions were, but I got the impression that she relished the idea of telling a dark, twisted story in an interesting, disturbing way.  If that was her intention, I can say with certainty that she hit the mark.

So don't pick up Gone Girl expecting to get any warm fuzzies.  It is not a feel-good book, and it will not leave you satisfied.  If you are looking for an interesting, buzz-worthy mystery with an obtuse angle, however...this is the book for you.  I will give it an "R" rating, simply because this book is Disturbing.