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I'm a major fan of Amy! I think what made me like her (though I can easily understand why others don't) was that her reasons for becoming such a vile human being were so subtle. Her parents wrote a book about her that perfected her flaws. How could that not build up in your over time and make you crazy?! I guess I just understood her in a strange way. No major trauma happened to her, but still her ultimate actions were kinda justifiable to me given her past. Trying to be perfect is mentally exhausting and eventually you just might snap!

I liked that they included the ex-boyfriend whose role in the relationship with Amy was how she was portrayed in her relationship with Nick. I also liked that she didn't see that and how oblivious and close-minded she was on her perspective on things.

I loved the characters.. They were both so wrong for each other it was so beautifully perfect. A beautiful disaster! I'm with every single person in the world who read this.. hated Nick at first and felt bad for Amy... but they were both so flawed it worked with their psychotic relationship.

I liked Nick all the way to the end. But then when he should have cut and run, he stayed with his wife. Then I hated them both. I was never apathetic about them. I really cared what happened. I had hopes that Nick woukd get away and Amy would be punished.

It was very hard for me to like this book mostly because the main characters to me were so unlikeable. But once I got over that I realized that was the whole point. I really hated Nick because I hate cheating, but Amy was also really crazy. I was expecting a much more violent ending to be honest, so them staying together was a huge surprise to me. There is nothing romantic or sweet about their relationship but since they are both so messed up I think it was fitting for them to end up together.

Gone Girl is one of my favorite recent reads, with the suspense and thrill of the unknowing. I love a book that will keep me guessing and engaged to the point that I can't stop until I reach the ending. With Gone Girl, I spent an entire afternoon and in to an evening reading, because as soon as I would stop I would just start thinking over the book in my head and have to pick it right back up. Gillian Flynn is great that way. I ending up reading two of her other novels right after, Sharp Objects and Dark Places. Those two had the same sort of feeling as Gone Girl. I recommend those if some of you have not already read!

I think that the characters had small pieces of themselves (mostly negative pieces) that would be relatable to a lot of people. I hope the larger character traits aren't relatable! None of the characters were pleasant, but I found that to be a little liberating and made the book more enjoyable. If I don't root for any of the characters to "win" then I won't be disappointed and could potentially enjoy any type of ending.

I can see how you found them unrelatable. I think at their cores, there were certain things people could relate to, like I could relate to isolated parts of them. Like a layer of them might be relatable, but them as people weren't necessarily. I'm not sure if that makes sense. I think they got what they deserved at the end: each other.

What I felt about the characters is a jumble of different sentiments. At first I felt a little bad for both of them- like this girl was so head over heels for the boy; while the boy feels helpless at their growing alienation. Then I felt resentful towards Nick, because he seemed so obviously villanous. But somehow I still could not suspect him of having any part in Amy's disappearance. He did not have the guts, I thought! Well, when I came to the second part of the book, everything went topsy-turvy! Only then I realized that the 'diary Amy' was too good to be true, too superficial. Since then, I could not even pretend to understand the workings of her mind. I wonder if someone can be so cunning, so calculative, so devious, so horrible in real life? It was scary how she manipulated everyone.

cyndiha11 wrote: ↑06 Oct 2014, 16:56 Those two were made for each other! I can't say I disliked how the story ended, and even though I too at times hated the characters with a fierce passion, it made me stick to the book like glue until I gobbled it all up.

This was the same for me. I kept hoping things would get better, but Amy was a master manipulator.

Even though I couldn't really relate to the characters, I thought their development was well established throughout the book. It fit the story, and in the end if felt like it was meant to be, or I should say, they were meant to be.

The ending turned me off, too. Huge disappointment. I hate bad endings.

I think the strong reaction we all have to the characters is the success of Gillian Flynn as a writer. We hate both the characters by the end, but I was amazed at Flynn's skill in manipulating us. I also felt guilty that I sided with someone like Amy for the first part of the story.

I disliked Nick and Amy at first, primarily Nick over Amy, but as the story unfolded, my hatred of them both grew. Both of their hatred and lies made me extremely upset, and I could not find myself relating to either of them. While I felt that the story did not suffer from the characters, as they were purposely written that way, I definitely disliked the characters if they stand alone. Outside of the characters, the many twists and drama throughout the story were very entertaining, but I found the end of the story annoying and aggravating.

I actually really enjoyed their characters. No, they weren't relatable in the least - that kind of emotional manipulation is reserved for the truly vile but I think that's what makes them so likable. They do deserve each other, even though it can be argued that Amy is a sociopath and should logically be in an asylum.