Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn

[Lilypad]

One of those books you have to stay with even if you dont want to. If you actually stick with it though, you find the relationships to be believable, the plot to be stirring, and an ending that will leave you wanting more. I would recommend this to anyone who has the time and definately a lot of patience.

[BizzyLizzy]

I started reading this book a while ago, and it took me a bit to get through the first half as I kept delaying it. About a week ago, however, I got about halfway through the book and have been reading it every day since! Gripped!!

The characters in this book really feel 3 dimensional and real. I LOVE the writing style (conversational, yet descriptive in a way I've never encountered before!) and the twist at the center of the book is executed excellently!

I'm also really pumped for the movie coming out on Oct 3! I'm a big crime genre junkie, and I have a special interest in the theme of the darker side of human nature, specifically how people go about veiling themselves to protect either the people they love or themselves from their own faults and shortcomings. So far that I've read (about 74% of it), this seems to be a big part of the book, and I'm pretty excited to reach the conclusion as well as see how this plays out on a big screen!

[BookFever]

Pros: This book and its characters were very original in my reading experience. I found the characters to be so interesting, and, without spoilers, the more you read, the more interesting they get. I liked that the story is set in an environment that most people can identify with - small town, a couple who has issues because…who doesn't? It did start out a little slowly but it picks up and then you can't put it down.

Cons: While I appreciated the ending for its originality, it did not leave me feeling great. I don't know, maybe that's not really a con but after the roller coaster ride I went through while reading it, I would have been okay with an ending that was, we'll say, more logical.

[aysha_yh]

I loved this book so much! I read it in three days I couldn't put it down! If anyone hasn't read the other books by this author "Sharp Objects" and "Dark Places" I would strongly recommend them. Stay away from books dubbed "the next Gone Girl" like "The Silent Wife" or "The Shining Girls" - they were both a disappointment

[kellyann1214]

I couldn't agree more that Gone Girl and all of Flynns 3 books have been addicting and gripping. I was lured into The Silent Wife as well from a website that suggested if I liked Flynn I would like Silent Wife. It was a disappointment at best. I kept reading and waiting for something to happen. I skipped pages that held useless information that felt like filler pages. The writing was not the best and I was displeased at having paid for the book. A let down

[amen jamir]

I recently got this book but I'm yet to read it...I hope it is good as majority says. So much hype! Can't just ignore it.

[Rere2684]

This book was highly recommended to my by a friend. I will say it was not my favorite book. It stared out great but by the second half and especially the end, I was not happy. The last few chapters were not great. I did not like the ending at all. It leaves you hanging with no indication of a follow up. It just ends. I will say I am excited to see the movie and see how it corresponds with the book as many movies venture off the book itself.

[jamiegilt]

I recently got this book but I'm yet to read it...I hope it is good as majority says. So much hype! Can't just ignore it.

It really is! It's such a great book, that it's really hard to put down. You won't regret it a bit.

[Courtney Whittamore]

On Christmas, I can always be sure that I will receive a book from my uncle, who is also a book fanatic like myself, and two years ago he gifted me Gone Girl. I was shocked that this is what he had picked for me, because he either sticks to the classics he knows I love or buys me a book he himself feels changed his life. This book did not fall into either one of those categories. Upon asking him about his seemingly impulsive buy, he revealed that he allowed his wife to pick out the book for me that year, as she had been wanting to do so for several years at that point but he had been hesitant to hand over the tradition. Peeked by the curiosity to know her taste in books, I immediately dove into the thriller.

I am one who is easily scared. I don't do thrillers. I even avoid the song thriller if possible. But this book and it's structure was so intriguing that I couldn't help but continue to read on. In the beginning I was rather confused, but then as soon as the characters began to reveal themselves and the structure with which the book was written began to aid in the development of these characters, I was in awe of the genius of it all. I was living with my then boyfriend at the time, and even though it was night time and I am prone to nightmares, I continued to read the disturbing details of the plot late into the night. When the hour reached an reasonable hour in my mind for crime to begin, I woke my boyfriend and made him stay awake with me and leave the light on as I dove deeper and deeper into the psychosis of this woman and her husband. Since I wasn't too horribly far into it and he was a very fast reader, we started from the beginning and read aloud to each other straight through the night, giving it the kind of sophisticated campfire ghost story quality it deserves.

We both called in sick the next day to finish the book and then to obviously sleep for the rest of our lives. There were certainly parts that I would have left on the cutting room floor simply to make it shorter and flow a little better, but perhaps those sections were left it to allow our heart rates to return to normal and regain some semblance of calm again. Never have I been so interested in a book that I had to stay up all night and call in sick to work the next day to simply find out what happens in the end. Boy let me tell you that ending made the hair on my arms and neck stand on end.

I hear that they are making a movie out of it soon which initially I was very excited about, but then upon realizing I am now separated from my ex that I will have to brave this thriller alone, and knowing Hollywood they will play on the demented and pathological aspects of the movie even more than Flynn did. But because I loved the book so much I will have to find a way to overcome it one my own.

And by the way, my uncle's wife's taste in books now has my seal of approval based on this book.

[MF1983]

I don't see how they can make a movie of this book without totally giving it away. And Ben Affleck?! Not who played the part in my head.

[cyndiha11]

I thought this book was great; what a twist, and well written! It had me hooked from the first chapter

[reginabally]

My rating: 4/5 stars. Original post from my review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1059622495

A dark and twisted psychological thriller. I made the right choice of picking up this book.

It's a warm summer morning on the day of fifth wedding anniversary of Amy and Nick. Amy disappears from their house at North Carthage, Missouri. She's gone. They have no idea what happened to her, whether she runs away or she's been kidnapped, or worst, she's been killed. During the police investigation, more and more evidence points towards Nick. And Nick is splitting out more and more lies before he realizes. Is he really a wife killer?

This book is narrated in first person POV for both Nick and Amy. Part 1 of the book mainly talks about the details of the investigation after Amy is missing in Nick's perspective whereas in Amy's, is her diary entries for seven years (from the day she met Nick until the week before their fifth anniversary).

Part 2 of the book I would say it's the real drama in the story. Everything is twisted. You'll feel that you're totally fooled by what you've read in Part 1 and you'll start to appreciate the intelligence of Flynn to steer the direction she wants to in the book.

Some of the readers might think part 1 is unnecessary but I appreciate that part so that the impact on the twist and turn of the plot will be strong enough to stun you. If you're stuck at part 1, I would suggest that you read through to get the excitement at the later part of the book.

There's a paragraph in the book says this: "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." IMO, this quote can be best describe the two main characters in the story. But I believe it is applicable to some of us as well. Sometimes we tend to shape ourselves to adapt into the environment or to compatible with someone. Most of the time, only those who are very close to us (spouse especially) will know our true self. (Yes, I'm talking about myself.)

After finished reading the book, I have a feeling of "wow" but yet a bit disappointed. It could be a happy ending but not what I (or some of the readers) hope for. You'll know what I mean if you start to read it.

[jweber]

Sounds for the most part like a book I need to try! Can't wait to do so! I love reading reviews from others as a way to find new reads!

[TheSheep]

Gone Girl has flooded various book stores, but it wasn't until i watched the trailer that i felt the urgency to read the book. Though i read the first 80 pages nonstop, it got a bit dreary afterwards. I had to put the book down for about a month or so before i realized that i needed to finish reading it before i watched the movie, and let's just say i was really disappointed. It feels a bit weird typing this, especially with the flood of great reviews, but this book left me feeling annoyed and even yucky. While I was constantly on the edge of my seat while reading, especially in the beginning of the 2nd half, i didn't appreciate how the ending felt abrupt and irrational. I applaud Flynn for her in-depth character development, but i'm just shocked how Amy spiraled out of control. I was expecting more closure in the end, and didn't like how fast paced the 2nd half was.

[doglvr]

Gone Girl has flooded various book stores, but it wasn't until i watched the trailer that i felt the urgency to read the book. Though i read the first 80 pages nonstop, it got a bit dreary afterwards. I had to put the book down for about a month or so before i realized that i needed to finish reading it before i watched the movie, and let's just say i was really disappointed. It feels a bit weird typing this, especially with the flood of great reviews, but this book left me feeling annoyed and even yucky. While I was constantly on the edge of my seat while reading, especially in the beginning of the 2nd half, i didn't appreciate how the ending felt abrupt and irrational. I applaud Flynn for her in-depth character development, but i'm just shocked how Amy spiraled out of control. I was expecting more closure in the end, and didn't like how fast paced the 2nd half was.

I was beginning to think I was the only one who felt this way.