SLIDER

Stepping Into Psycho

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Release Date: May 2012
Publisher: Random House | Crown
Pages: 419 pages
Source & Format: Bought; Hardcover
Amazon | Goodreads

Summary (from Amazon)
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy 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. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? 

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

Thoughts on Gone Girl
WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST READ? That pretty much sums up all of my thoughts after reading this book.

I started it as my plane took off from Atlanta, headed for San Francisco, and didn't put it down for a single minute. We landed five and a half hours later, and I had about twenty pages left. And there was no way I wasn't finishing this book.

So, I read it while standing there in baggage claim. And when I finished and looked up, all I wanted was someone who'd also read it so that I could talk about all this crazy.

Here's the thing about this book - I can't say much about the plot without giving things away. Married couple, seemingly normal, wife goes missing. All is not as it seems.

I'm torn on this book. I think people should read it because I really respect the way Flynn keeps you guessing with twists and turns you'll likely never see coming. But these are also some of the most unlikeable characters I've ever read about. And that ending! ARGH!

This book is deserving of all the raves it's been getting, but I don't know if I'd actually recommend it for everyone. You get a sense of the characters in the first few chapters, so start there. If you can't stop, just keep going and be prepared to step into psycho. Consider yourself warned.

So Quotable
"Give me a man with a little fight in him, a man who calls me on my bullshit. (But who also kind of likes my bullshit). And yet: Don't land me in one of those relationships where we're always pecking at each other, disguising insults as jokes, rolling our eyes and 'playfully' scrapping in front of our friends, hoping to lure them to our side of an argument they could not care less about. Those awful if only relationships: This marriage would be great if only... and you sense the if only list is a lot longer than either of them realizes."

"I go on dates with men who are nice and good-looking and smart - perfect-on-paper men who make me feel like I'm in a foreign land, trying to explain myself, trying to make myself known. Because isn't that the point of every relationship: to be known by someone else, to be understood? He gets me. She gets me. Isn't that the simple magic phrase?"

15 comments

  1. OH MY GOODNESS YES THIS CRAZY BOOK. But seriously, it was soooo good and just reading your review makes me want to buy a physical copy and make my boyfriend read it because it's that nuts and the kind of thing he would dig.

    AND OMG. I also wanted someone there to talk about what just happened, luckily I had a few friends who read it, so I texted and g-chatted them.

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    1. Jealous you had a few friends who read it! I didn't but was DYING for someone to hash out all the crazy with. Can you even imagine coming up with those characters?!

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  2. Sounds like one of those train wrecks you can't look away from. Awesome review.

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    1. The characters are definitely a train wreck! Not in a bad writing kind of way but in a crazy people way. Thanks for the compliment!

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  3. YES AT ALL THIS CRAZY.
    When I was done I just sat on the couch like O_O.

    If you still have thoughts, feel free to holla at me so we can discuss!

    This book totally takes you down the psycho rabbit hole fo sho.

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  4. I've wondered about this book. But really, I just don't love thrillers and mysteries. They absolutely tear my nerves to pieces. So I haven't felt the urge to pick it up. But I kind-of want to know what everyone is raving about. But I'm absolutely afraid to read it. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

    See, if I read this one, I'd have to at the very least have someone to direct message or email along the way. Just to get it out, all the pent up NERVES I'd have. I had to do that with Days of Blood and Starlight and The Scorpio Races. So I don't know HOW I'd make it through this one!

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    1. Haha I know what you mean! I will say that it's a nerve-wracking book, but it's not one that made me scared. If that makes sense? I can't read some thrillers because I start imagining them happening to me and then I get too afraid to read further. This is a book that's crazy and will certainly tear your nerves up - but only in a way that's nervous for the characters (rather than nervous for yourself or it happening to you).

      And DUH. Email me if you read it and I'll give your nerves relief :)

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  5. I'm going to have to check this one out! Everyone has been raving about it, but I really have no idea what it's about ... just hearing that it might be crazy makes me want to read it. :)

    Great review, Hannah!

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    1. Thanks! I think this is one of those books that is worth reading just because it's getting so much attention. Flynn is a great writer, but this isn't a book I'll ever read again... I'm just glad I read it so I could see the crazy for myself!

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  6. I'm very, very curious about this one. It's been earning so much buzz from my blogger friends and my non-reader friends alike, so I definitely want to check it out! I think it's just interesting that it inspires WTF reactions from everyone.

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    1. You definitely should! It builds slowly, but then really gets twisty!

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  7. Gillian Flynn is the freakin master at unlikeable characters! I read her other two books almost immediately after reading Gone Girl because there is something about her writing this is almost like a drug. Sharp Objects & Dark Places are actually a bit better but just as much of a mind f$%& as Gone Girl... and the characters are just as unlikeable. I recommend trying out those two, especially Dark Places!

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    1. Okay, I've been on the fence about them because I couldn't tell if I should give them a shot. Glad to hear you recommend them! I'll definitely read them in the future and then we can discuss these unlikeable characters and crazy brain twists :)

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  8. I just finished this one so was looking for reviews to read now that I know what everyone has been talking about/alluding to -- "And that ending! ARGH!" <-- That's exactly how I feel right now! I'm starting to understand why the author re-wrote the ending for the movie adaptation...let's just leave it at that!

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