Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Gillian Flynn's previous novels, Sharp Objects and Dark Places, showed both Flynn's talents as a writer and her ability to peer at the ugly, dark side of human nature that most people don't want to admit exists within themselves. With Gone Girl, Flynn takes both to a new level. Here is a good thing gone very bad, a mix of passion and poison that is terrifyingly believable.
Amy Dunne was the subject of a string of incredibly succesful children's novels, Amazing Amy, off of which her parents made a fortune. Amy's husband Nick was a journalist and together they had a fairy-tale life in New York City. Then Nick lost his job, like so many other writers in the internet era. Nick pulled Amy out of New York and moved her back to his hometown of North Carthage, Missouri, along the banks of the Mississipi River. Its proximity to Hannibal, boyhood home of Mark Twain, is intentional: Flynn uses a number of subtle (and a few obvious) Twain references throughout.
On their five year wedding anniversary, Amy goes missing. Nick calls in the police, but knows he has to be very careful: he's lying to them about a number of things. Under intense police and media scrutiny, Nick's story looks feeble. Things don't add up, his alibi is flimsy, and the media, and public opinion, turns against him. He admits he was not an ideal husband, but maintains he did not kill his wife. The story is told initially in alternating voices: Amy's journal entries and Nick's present-day narration. Amy's journal shows the change from her big city newlywed happiness to being a wife in a small town fearful of her husband's violent nature.
This novel deserves the widespread acclaim it has received, as well as its international best-seller status. Flynn shows Nick to be an imperfect husband, and plays through so many twists and turns that predicting where the story is headed is nearly impossible. Amy Dunne is one of the most fascinating and unique characters I've read in contemporary fiction. Flynn has taken the subject of modern marriage and tossed it in a blender with a poisoned apple, Drain-O, and a heavy splash of terror. This cocktail won't let you sleep until you've finished every last drop. High school students might be so moon-dreamy about love that this tale of marriage gone wrong will seem entirely impossible, but anyone with a few years of marriage experience will be terrified that this novel is entirely dead-on and entirely plausible. Highly recommended for adult readers. There is graphic language and on-page sex that will likely keep this out of most school libraries, or at least out of the hands of all but the most mature high school students.
Amy Dunne was the subject of a string of incredibly succesful children's novels, Amazing Amy, off of which her parents made a fortune. Amy's husband Nick was a journalist and together they had a fairy-tale life in New York City. Then Nick lost his job, like so many other writers in the internet era. Nick pulled Amy out of New York and moved her back to his hometown of North Carthage, Missouri, along the banks of the Mississipi River. Its proximity to Hannibal, boyhood home of Mark Twain, is intentional: Flynn uses a number of subtle (and a few obvious) Twain references throughout.
On their five year wedding anniversary, Amy goes missing. Nick calls in the police, but knows he has to be very careful: he's lying to them about a number of things. Under intense police and media scrutiny, Nick's story looks feeble. Things don't add up, his alibi is flimsy, and the media, and public opinion, turns against him. He admits he was not an ideal husband, but maintains he did not kill his wife. The story is told initially in alternating voices: Amy's journal entries and Nick's present-day narration. Amy's journal shows the change from her big city newlywed happiness to being a wife in a small town fearful of her husband's violent nature.
This novel deserves the widespread acclaim it has received, as well as its international best-seller status. Flynn shows Nick to be an imperfect husband, and plays through so many twists and turns that predicting where the story is headed is nearly impossible. Amy Dunne is one of the most fascinating and unique characters I've read in contemporary fiction. Flynn has taken the subject of modern marriage and tossed it in a blender with a poisoned apple, Drain-O, and a heavy splash of terror. This cocktail won't let you sleep until you've finished every last drop. High school students might be so moon-dreamy about love that this tale of marriage gone wrong will seem entirely impossible, but anyone with a few years of marriage experience will be terrified that this novel is entirely dead-on and entirely plausible. Highly recommended for adult readers. There is graphic language and on-page sex that will likely keep this out of most school libraries, or at least out of the hands of all but the most mature high school students.
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