Overall Rating and Opinion of "Gone Girl"

Discuss the October 2014 book of the month, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.
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How do you rate Gone Girl?

1 star - poor, recommend against reading it
1
1%
2 stars - fair, okay
16
10%
3 stars - good, recommend it
54
34%
4 stars - excellent, amazing
88
55%
 
Total votes: 159

britt1125
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Re: Overall Rating and Opinion of "Gone Girl"

Post by britt1125 »

It was a good book. Could have been better but I've gotten in to much worse. I like the story for the most part but the ending is lacking.
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Post by klnadams »

I am just starting the book. I really think that I am going to like it.
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mellysw
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Post by mellysw »

I don't want to give this book a four star rating. I really don't. I can't remember a time I despised EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER in the story. I despise the premise of this book, all the twisting and layered lies and deceit and deception.

But I have to give it four stars because it is an exceedingly well written book. I could not put it down. I empathized with the very characters I hated. I LIVED Gone Girl like a transfixed television audience member watching the train wreck of human lives take place before my eyes. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a sign of good writing. So four stars for Gillian Flynn - I hated your book.
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Post by Phoebe Moon »

I'm not sure why but I don't have the option to vote. Maybe it's because I don't have a high enough post count or something? Anyway I'll give it 2 stars.

**SPOLIERS**

I'm really at a loss to understand why so many people rave about how amazing this book is. I totally feel as if I'm being deliberately contrary lol.

For me it was a total disappointment. I bought the book because it was buy one get one free when I bought another book for someone as a gift so it wasn't as if I sought it out. I chose it simply because it was number one on the bestseller list in the supermarket. If it had been something that I'd been waiting for or that I had deliberately chosen based on reviews, I would have been super-let down.

I'll start off with what I liked about it. Flynn's writing style is fantastic. I love her use of the unreliable narrator style. There's no doubt that this woman can write. The way she uses the two different tenses for each character's viewpoint is clever and gave me a strange feeling of unease that I can't explain.

I wish Flynn's writing talent carried into her ability to maintain a solid plot :( I could pick out sooo many flaws in the book's believability but I'll just settle for one or two... firstly, the police would never have left Amy's return and far-fetched story uninvestigated. It would be so easy to disprove most of what she said. Secondly, we come to see that Amy is a sociopath. Her whole life is full of sociopathic behaviour. People around her are always coming to harm and she always comes away unscathed. Yet none of this is recognised by her parents - who are both child psychologists.

Usually a book will have at least one character that I really like. The character might be a goodie or a baddy, but something about them will be loveable. I found no such characters in Gone Girl. All the characters were nasty, egocentric, shallow idiots. Of course, Amy and Nick thoroughly deserve each other.

Apart from that, I just found the whole thing totally unbelievable. It started off so well. I am the sort of person who can and will put a book down forever if it doesn't grab me straight off so this book really did reel me in. Strangely, it was page 98 that I figured out where the plot was going. I'm pretty good at working out whodunnits usually but page 98 is pretty quick especially considering the slow pace the plot advances at. So aside from the nitty gritty detail of it, I had it down at page 98. I was disappointed to say the least but interested enough to keep reading because I was really keen to know how the author was going to bring it all together in the finale.

Finale. That's a word that makes me think of explanations, resolutions... but unfortunately for me there wasn't one. The book simply... ended. It ended in such a way that I was actually quite embarrassed for the author who, in the acknowledgements admits she got stuck two thirds of the way through writing and had to have her editor help her finish it. The ending was like one of those childish stories you write at school, where you get bored writing and quickly finish with... "... and then he woke up. It had all been a dream." If the ending hadn't been so ridiculous, it might've been a pretty good book. But come on, getting pregnant using artificial insemination is difficult. Yet Amy manages to get pregnant that way pretty much immediately upon her return from being "brutally kidnapped and raped". Surely her husband's permission would have been needed for her to use his sample to get pregnant?

So you may have guessed if you've bothered to read my whole review that I didn't like it much lol. The reason I'm so annoyed is that this is a bestseller. Not just any old book that I may have picked up, but a bestseller. Meaning people are reccommending this to their friends... it's such a shame that there are so many talented authors out there and something like this is what people seem to want.

Hopefully Flynn will get her head around how to plot and write a novel that will prove she's an awesome writer. I am going to give one of her previous books a go, maybe this was just an anomaly. Finger's crossed...

-- 17 Oct 2014, 04:07 --
mellysw wrote:I don't want to give this book a four star rating. I really don't. I can't remember a time I despised EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER in the story. I despise the premise of this book, all the twisting and layered lies and deceit and deception.

But I have to give it four stars because it is an exceedingly well written book. I could not put it down. I empathized with the very characters I hated. I LIVED Gone Girl like a transfixed television audience member watching the train wreck of human lives take place before my eyes. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a sign of good writing. So four stars for Gillian Flynn - I hated your book.
That's a pretty accurate summation and a really clever review. I feel kind of the same. But the unbelievability of it all just meant I couldn't give it more than 2 stars. But yeah, props to the author for being probably the first ever book I've read where I didn't like a single character.

-- 17 Oct 2014, 04:14 --

My post has disappeared... very strange. I posted and then edited it and now it has disappeared :/
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Post by FAHenfrey »

I really enjoyed reading Gone Girl and the wonderful writing with all the twists and turns drew me in to the point where I had to sit for a few hours without interruption to finish the book. However I feel like I can't give it a four star rating because of the general apathy it inspired in me. Although I was desperate to know how the book ended I felt that was more for my personal satisfaction rather than from an emotional investment in the characters which is a shame as it put a dampener on an otherwise fantastic read.
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Post by GKCfan »

A lot of people complained about the ending, but personally I think that Flynn may have been looking ahead– in several years she may be in prime position for a sequel!
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Chrystal
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Post by Chrystal »

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Elliott 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.

The question everyone - friends and family alike - are asking, is who would want to kidnap or harm "perfect Amy?" after all she had a series of "Perfect Amy" books written by her snotty obnoxiously doting parents that chronicled her entire life of perfection. She and her husband Nick were both magazine writers who played their Mr. and Mrs. Roles to perfection for all to see. Yet when the alpha-girl perfectionist wife goes missing, Nick's charm and role as Mr. Perfect is overshadowed by his display of inappropriate behavior, evasiveness, and lies - lies that continue to mount each day she is missing, but through it all, he maintains he is innocence of any wrong doing. However, if Nick had nothing to do with his wife's sudden disappearance – as he absolutely denies, than who did? Well, surprisingly, dear perfect Amy herself is cleverly providing quite a number of clues.

Nick Dunne made the mistake of having an affair and unknowingly allowed his wife Amy to find out about it. Even worse than his wife discovering the affair, was Nick marrying Amy five years ago, not knowing that Amy Elliott Dunne is/was a manipulative spiteful cunning and extremely vindictive witch with a capital B.

This story reveals one of the worst cases of vindictiveness, any one human-being should ever harbor - in short, Amy was a psychotic sociopath. Although Nick was no longer emotionally invested in the marriage, because he was involved with his student...does that mean he deserves the hail storm that poured down on him after his wife mysteriously disappears; Maybe, maybe not.

Regardless if readers like, hate, or despise the characters of Gone Girl, most can agree that, author, Gillian Flynn employs her psychological insight and delivers a fast-paced, dark, and skillfully plotted thriller. Yet, the ending makes you want to throw the book on to the floor and stomp on it, repeatedly with annoying fury.
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Post by klnadams »

I had a little trouble getting into the book at first. Then I could not put it down. My goodness, I didn't see that coming. I liked how the book was written with past and present taking turns. I did yell "no" at the ending... Not what I was expecting at all. However, I really enjoyed this read.
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Post by hollirm »

I was reading the comments/replies about this book on here, but I'm only getting a little bit of info. What exactly is this book about? Whats the genre of the book? How many pages does it have? I know that I could go to the other topic about the book but I don't want any spoilers, but I can't decide to read it or not. Help?!?!
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Post by Phoebe Moon »

hollirm wrote:I was reading the comments/replies about this book on here, but I'm only getting a little bit of info. What exactly is this book about? Whats the genre of the book? How many pages does it have? I know that I could go to the other topic about the book but I don't want any spoilers, but I can't decide to read it or not. Help?!?!
It's a drama/thriller, approximately 200 pages. If you like something with some big twists and lots of nasty characters, this is the book for you.
Vini, legi, vici
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hollirm
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Post by hollirm »

Phoebe Moon wrote:
hollirm wrote:I was reading the comments/replies about this book on here, but I'm only getting a little bit of info. What exactly is this book about? Whats the genre of the book? How many pages does it have? I know that I could go to the other topic about the book but I don't want any spoilers, but I can't decide to read it or not. Help?!?!
It's a drama/thriller, approximately 200 pages. If you like something with some big twists and lots of nasty characters, this is the book for you.
Thanks, for getting back to me, this book does sound like something that I would like to read. I love big twists, I cannot stand to read a predictable book, so if all my guesses are correct, then the book didn't challenge me. Thank you.
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Post by Linda7228 »

hollirm wrote:
Phoebe Moon wrote:
hollirm wrote:I was reading the comments/replies about this book on here, but I'm only getting a little bit of info. What exactly is this book about? Whats the genre of the book? How many pages does it have? I know that I could go to the other topic about the book but I don't want any spoilers, but I can't decide to read it or not. Help?!?!
It's a drama/thriller, approximately 200 pages. If you like something with some big twists and lots of nasty characters, this is the book for you.
Thanks, for getting back to me, this book does sound like something that I would like to read. I love big twists, I cannot stand to read a predictable book, so if all my guesses are correct, then the book didn't challenge me. Thank you.
This book is probably not everyone's cup of tea/coffee (coffees way better :lol: ) but trust me this book is anything but predictable.It keeps you guessing at every single turn, sure the characters aren't likable or relatable but the story line is unique.
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Phoebe Moon
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Post by Phoebe Moon »

You both have the same avatar. How synchronicitous!

-- 20 Oct 2014, 08:29 --
hollirm wrote:
Phoebe Moon wrote:
hollirm wrote:I was reading the comments/replies about this book on here, but I'm only getting a little bit of info. What exactly is this book about? Whats the genre of the book? How many pages does it have? I know that I could go to the other topic about the book but I don't want any spoilers, but I can't decide to read it or not. Help?!?!
It's a drama/thriller, approximately 200 pages. If you like something with some big twists and lots of nasty characters, this is the book for you.
Thanks, for getting back to me, this book does sound like something that I would like to read. I love big twists, I cannot stand to read a predictable book, so if all my guesses are correct, then the book didn't challenge me. Thank you.
Well hollirm it seems that this book is a bit like Marmite, you either love it or hate it.
Vini, legi, vici
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Post by Lenerd24 »

The misdirection was so refreshing. The entire time I was on the edge of my seat and honestly had no idea how it was going to end until I read the last page! How I could love and hate each character was brilliant writing. I would reccomend this book to everyone.
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Post by SarahCox »

My overall rating of Gone Girl is around two and a half. This book kept me engaged until the very end, in that I was curious to see how the story would resolve itself. At no point was I completely astonished or surprised by the turns the plot took. I feel that for a story to be fully absorbing, the characters should be somewhat relatable. Once the truth of this story is revealed, it's so sensational that it becomes completely unbelievable. The best thrillers are the ones where you start to suspect the people that you see every day of misdeeds because the antagonist in your book is just like your neighbor, or your friend from school is so relatable to the quiet serial killer. I don't think I felt affection for a single character in this book. At no point did I hope for a happy ending, or any form of justice, or anything at all as a matter of fact.

I should say that this isn't the type of book I would normally read. It was recommended by a friend and I am always interested in popular books that get people to read who otherwise might not- but it really just isn't my "thing". Any story that stays with the reader long after turning the last page is worth the time spent reading it. However, I finished this book with the same kind of feeling I have when I'm forced to go to a party I'm not interested in- it's a whole lot of effort for such unenjoyable people. When I finished Gone Girl, I hated every single character written into the story. That being said, kudos to the author for being able to illicit real feelings from the reader, that's so much better than nothing.
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