Review: Gone Girl by Gililian Flynn

Title: Gone Girl
Author: Gillian Flynn
Publication Date: January 2013
Publisher: Phoenix
Goodreads

From Goodreads:
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?

What are you thinking? How are you feeling? Who are you? What have we done to each other? What will we do?

So I am taking a creative writing class this semester, and the class is using Gotham Writers Workshop: Writing Fiction as the handbook. The handbook is pretty good; it talks about creating desire for your characters and giving them good and bad traits and showing readers that the characters have the ability to change. I was reading Gone Girlat that time, and I was like, “OH.” No wonder there are so many praises for this book.

Because Nick and Amy, the main characters for this book, possess all the quality for good characters in a book. They have desire, they have their own amazing and condemning traits, and we can see how they change throughout the story. They are two of the most intricate characters I’ve ever met, carefully woven and crafted with the most absolute care. There are so many twists in this story that I actually laughed out loud when I reached the second part of the book. I didn’t see it coming and I loved it.

This is the psychological thriller I don’t even know I’m yearning for. It’s too cynical for my taste, yes, but I have to admit that it’s so cleverly written it blew me away. I had hard time putting down this book. I even bring this book everywhere in my bag – thankfully I bought the pocket book edition – and read it between classes. I need to know what actually happen in the mystery. This slow-pacing mystery that almost drove me crazy in the first part of the book.

This book brought me on an emotional turmoil in which I want to hug/smack a character every few pages. Often wishing the actions at the same time. I sympathize Nick then I hate him then I love Amy then I found out everything is not what we were told to believe in. So, yeah. Nick and Amy play a very clever game with a bizarre result. I do think that in a way, they deserve each other. {spoiler, highlight to read} Let’s cross fingers and hope that they won’t slit each other’s throats anytime soon.

Gone Girl may start out seeming like your average story, but I assure you there’s nothing average about this story. It will mess up with your mind in a way, and just like the praise on the back cover of the book: you will feel the urge to beg others to read it, only so you can discuss this book with them. Brilliant and delightfully written, Gone Girl is a must read for anyone looking for great psychological thriller novel.

I was told love should be unconditional. That’s the rule, everyone says so. But if love has no boundaries, no limits, no conditions, why should anyone try to do the right thing ever? If I know I am loved no matter what, where is the challenge?

 4 cups of tea!

Wrecked my mind in a way.