Gone Girl Characters-Spoilers

Discuss the October 2014 book of the month, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.
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Re: Gone Girl Characters-Spoilers

Post by amybo82 »

obiebookworm wrote:I've had another thought and that is Gone Girl in many ways reminds me of Stephen King's novel Secret Window, Secret Garden, where the storyline zeroes in on a psychopath but the characters don't seem to fit that description until the end.
Any thoughts?
I haven't read the King novel, but I bet I'd like it better than I did Gone Girl! However, I kind of thought that both Nick and Amy seemed a little crazy all throughout the novel. Early on, I remember thinking, "This Amy girl sounds like a psycho."
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Post by FAHenfrey »

I found myself hating Diary Amy even before the great reveal because I found her far to one dimension so I was glad when we got a version of Amy that had some guts. However by the end of the book that Amy had started annoying me too as she seemed too ruthless, too heartless and too amazing and perfect at what she did. Nick on the other hand I didn't like on a personal level for. His flaws and weaknesses but I felt he was a very well written character that had plenty of depth and was designed to elicit that sort of a reaction. What I found most annoying about the characters however was the lack of depth to the secondary characters who seemed to change to give the reaction needed by a particular scene. That all being said I just read it in one day and it was definitely an amazing book.
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Post by Terramon »

FAHenfrey wrote:I found myself hating Diary Amy even before the great reveal because I found her far to one dimension so I was glad when we got a version of Amy that had some guts. However by the end of the book that Amy had started annoying me too as she seemed too ruthless, too heartless and too amazing and perfect at what she did. Nick on the other hand I didn't like on a personal level for. His flaws and weaknesses but I felt he was a very well written character that had plenty of depth and was designed to elicit that sort of a reaction. What I found most annoying about the characters however was the lack of depth to the secondary characters who seemed to change to give the reaction needed by a particular scene. That all being said I just read it in one day and it was definitely an amazing book.
I felt the same way about "Diary Amy." She felt very unrealistic, and ultimately was. I kept thinking, "What woman would let someone walk all over her like this?" It seemed less like she loved Nick and more like she loved the idea of Nick, which is the only thing that caused her to fear losing him so much that she would cower the way that she did. I didn't, however, like the real Amy any better than "Diary Amy." She was terrifying and seemed equally unrealistic. She was this all or nothing character. Either she was a total push-over or a hostile, terrifying sociopath. I think most people are definitely more balanced than either version of Amy, but perhaps I think this way because I am not a sociopath. And though I wasn't as big a fan of this book as many other readers, I think, in the end, these were two incredibly narcissistic characters who deserved each other.
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Post by 11-22-63sk »

I have not read or seen this book yet but I really want to!
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Post by mellysw »

I found both Amy and Nick to be disturbingly relatable. I despised every single character in the book, these two especially. But that doesn't mean I can't understand why they are the way they are. That doesn't mean I can't see myself acting the same way under the same conditions. I would like to think I would be better....but maybe I wouldn't.

Granted, Amy was a psycho bitch. But even at a lesser degree, if I married and loved a man and he turned on me that way, I would want him punished. You bet I would. Deep in my darkest heart of hearts, I would think of doing this to him and smile. Would I do it? I doubt it. But I would want too! So I can even relate to Amy.

That is why I had to give the author four stars. It isn't often I can relate to characters I despise.
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Post by GKCfan »

Personally, up until the murder, I thought that the leads deserved each other. I enjoyed the characters of the sister, the female detective, and the lawyer, though.
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Post by Phoebe Moon »

I found both main characters to be totally abhorrent. They deserved each other. I completely disliked Diary Amy as I had a fair idea she was lying. I disliked Nick as, at the beginning he was totally idiotic in his seemingly blase attitude to his wife's disappearance. I disliked him later because I then knew him to be a liar and a cheat. I really disliked him at the end for being such a limp lettuce and letting his wife walk all over him, but at the same time enjoy being walked over...

If the book had been plotted differently I feel I could have at least related to the obviously unlikeable "real" Amy, I couldn't even force myself to love to hate her. She was an utterly false and unrealistic character.

I will watch the movie simply because I'm interested to see what they will do with the awful ending the book had.
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Post by klnadams »

At first hated Nick, loved Amy. Then loved Nick, hated Amy. By the end I thought they were both crazy. Who would stay in that relationship? I was hoping a twist at the end. Not the way it ended. I kind of hoped she died during child birth so that Nick would become the sole parent and hopefully raise a semi normal child. Oh well....
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Post by Shadowed_Gates »

I bought into this book hype 100%

Nick nor Amy were likeable. They are just terrible people BUT oddly, I couldn't help but feel so badly for Nick. I mean there is revenge and then there is what Amy did.

The ending was unexpected and oddly terrifying because you know there are couples like that. That keep all that hatred bottled up and yet try to "work"
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Post by Phoebe Moon »

Yes Shadowed_Gates I think the characters and the relationship they form is a very accurate portrayal (although much overexaggerated!) of modern relationships. A lot of people you see in relationships and it's just one big game of one-up-manship. I couldn't stand that myself. But that's the funny thing, isn't it... the characters can't stand it either. Maybe that's why I hate them so much because I'm relating subconsciously. Oh that's scary! lol :D
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Post by BookFever »

I agree with you, by the end of the book I had zero attachment to either of them and all I really felt was bad for Go. However, trying to be objective here, I think the fact that these characters created by Flynn were so dark and messed up that it must be hard for many people to feel a connection with them, assuming most people are not equally as dark and messed up.

Once we found out what was really going on, I had a sudden soft spot for Nick but his decision to stay with Amy in the end made me lose all respect for both of them. Then again, maybe Flynn's intent was to create an ending that is not like every other ending? I mean, who was actually expecting them to end up together after finding out that Amy was manipulating and controlling Nick's life and that he was essentially letting it happen? Frustrating? Yes. But can I argue against it being unique? I don't think I can.
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Post by bookowlie »

By the time I got through 3/4 of the book, I couldn't relate to either of the main characters. Certainly, by the end they were both so unlikable that I didn't care what happened to them. I was surprised by that they ended up together, although the characters were both dysfunctional and who can tell what happens in a dysfunctional relationship. I can understand why the author ended the book this way, given the unpredictable nature of dysfunctional couples. It's unexplainable, but probably realistic that they stay together at the end, similar to victims of domestic violence who stay with their spouse. Still, their actions and personalities affected my opinion of the book. The ending definitely brought my overall opinion of the book down a notch. I couldn't imagine Nick staying with her under any circumstances. He would have to sleep with one eye open :)

-- 27 Oct 2014, 13:09 --

-- 27 Oct 2014, 13:14 --
Terramon wrote:
FAHenfrey wrote:I found myself hating Diary Amy even before the great reveal because I found her far to one dimension so I was glad when we got a version of Amy that had some guts. However by the end of the book that Amy had started annoying me too as she seemed too ruthless, too heartless and too amazing and perfect at what she did. Nick on the other hand I didn't like on a personal level for. His flaws and weaknesses but I felt he was a very well written character that had plenty of depth and was designed to elicit that sort of a reaction. What I found most annoying about the characters however was the lack of depth to the secondary characters who seemed to change to give the reaction needed by a particular scene. That all being said I just read it in one day and it was definitely an amazing book.
I felt the same way about "Diary Amy." She felt very unrealistic, and ultimately was. I kept thinking, "What woman would let someone walk all over her like this?" It seemed less like she loved Nick and more like she loved the idea of Nick, which is the only thing that caused her to fear losing him so much that she would cower the way that she did. I didn't, however, like the real Amy any better than "Diary Amy." She was terrifying and seemed equally unrealistic. She was this all or nothing character. Either she was a total push-over or a hostile, terrifying sociopath. I think most people are definitely more balanced than either version of Amy, but perhaps I think this way because I am not a sociopath. And though I wasn't as big a fan of this book as many other readers, I think, in the end, these were two incredibly narcissistic characters who deserved each other.
That's interesting that you feel the two characters deserved each others because they were so narcissistic. Since they were both narcissistic, it became a toxic, off the charts relationship for them to be together. That's why the ending is realistic, even though I hated it. At least, if only one person is narcissistic in a relationship, the other one balances them out so that the relationship doesn't go off the rails.
"The best way out is always through" - Robert Frost
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Post by bethanycain88 »

I could not relate to either character, however I did enjoy the book. Gillian Flynn is a master of her craft.
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Post by jhollan2 »

I was unsympathetic to both characters and like other people here, not overly concerned about them getting back together at all. I didn't think there was a single character in the whole book that I was rooting for and I thought they deserved each other in the end. I agree that it all falls apart a bit at the end and didn't think that Amy returning to Nick made much sense in the narrative. Her character alternates between calculating snake and teenager throwing a tantrum, which I found an odd mixture.
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Post by leila23 »

I couldn't relate to Nick and Amy. Although I couldn't relate to Amy, I did like how she was wickedly brilliant. She covered every little detail to get back at Nick and had the patience to pull it off (but I don't approve of what she did with her brilliance). I really didn't care what happened to them, but the interesting plot kept me turning the pages. I was a little surprised that they ended up together in the end but it didn't matter to me whether they ended up together or not. However, I did feel like Nick wasn't a psychopath like Amy and the reason he stayed with her was because he wanted to protect the child from a woman like her.
While I couldn't relate to the main characters, I did relate to Nick's sister a little. She yelled at him for cheating on his wife and all the other things he did wrong. However, no matter what he did she still kept by her brother's side. I probably would have been mad at my brother if he had done something like Nick did, but I still would be by his side.
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