Scan barcode
vilma_ellen's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
xwritingstoriesx's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
judeandolin's review against another edition
2.0
I don't have much to say that hasn't probably been said by the other million reviewers, so I'll keep it short and sweet. Basically, this book was crazy (in every sense of the word). On one hand, the author is masterful at getting deep into these characters' psyches and exploring their minds and motivations. For the first half of the book, I was hooked. [Side note: One of the reasons I read so fast is because I often skim boring parts, and since I have the attention span of a gnat this usually means "almost everything other than dialogue".] With Gone Girl, there was no skimming. I was reading every line word for word, examining these weird, fascinating, very human thoughts, seeing ideas that I recognized put into words.
Unfortunately, then it got to the big reveal: Once this was revealed, I was pretty much done. Uninterested. Because as it turns out, every single other woman in this book basically followed the same pattern: Jealous. Money-grubbing. Vengeful.
Crazy.
(And no, I'm not using words like "crazy" and "nutcase" insensitively --.)
I am siiiiicccckkkkk of this "crazy woman" trope. Sick of it. Maybe that's the point? I have no idea. I'm trying to find something redeeming about the way women were written here. The author touched on stuff like the "cool girl" trope, but then she turns around and shows how Amy uses that trope to get men, and then acts petty and vengeful when they fall for it because that's not who she is and she just wants someone to 'get' her. Is the author trying to show the destructiveness of stereotypes like this? Is she trying to paint a "worst possible scenario" picture? I don't think so. Because Amy is consistently painted as the epitome of crazy. She plans Nick's downfall for upwards of a year. She poisons herself, then hides her poison-laced vomit in the freezer to frame him again if he ever leaves her. She cocks her head to the side in a bird-like, non-human way clearly meant to show her inability to feel what others are feelings. She's a sociopath, through and through.
Of course, Nick has craziness in him too. In one scene, Nick has a jolt of pleasure realizing that he actually married a "crazy woman". Every guy, he says, thinks his wife is crazy. He feels satisfaction at realizing that his actually is. By the end, [[more spoilers??]] he's having vivid fantasies of strangling Amy, or bashing in her head, or realizing that no matter what he couldn't ever go back to a "normal" girl [read: not a sociopath], because that would be so boooooring. But he's given a redeeming quality: he doesn't want to end up like his woman-hating dad. Boo hoo. Poor, noble man.
Sigh. What a trip. So basically the whole thing revolved around this couple who hated each other and often wanted the other dead or in jail or what have you, because it was fun for them to be constantly on edge around each other.
Idk mang. I'm not very well-versed in thrillers, but my feelings for this one kind of fell apart once I realized the stance it was taking. I honestly expected better coming from a female author.
Unfortunately, then it got to the big reveal:
Spoiler
Amy is a nutcase. Yep, it was her, all along, just being a crazy, possessive, jealous, vengeful wife. Surprise surprise.Crazy.
(And no, I'm not using words like "crazy" and "nutcase" insensitively --
Spoiler
she literally framed her husband for her murder in a state with the death penalty because he cheated on herI am siiiiicccckkkkk of this "crazy woman" trope. Sick of it. Maybe that's the point? I have no idea. I'm trying to find something redeeming about the way women were written here. The author touched on stuff like the "cool girl" trope, but then she turns around and shows how Amy uses that trope to get men, and then acts petty and vengeful when they fall for it because that's not who she is and she just wants someone to 'get' her. Is the author trying to show the destructiveness of stereotypes like this? Is she trying to paint a "worst possible scenario" picture? I don't think so. Because Amy is consistently painted as the epitome of crazy. She plans Nick's downfall for upwards of a year. She poisons herself, then hides her poison-laced vomit in the freezer to frame him again if he ever leaves her. She cocks her head to the side in a bird-like, non-human way clearly meant to show her inability to feel what others are feelings. She's a sociopath, through and through.
Of course, Nick has craziness in him too. In one scene, Nick has a jolt of pleasure realizing that he actually married a "crazy woman". Every guy, he says, thinks his wife is crazy. He feels satisfaction at realizing that his actually is. By the end, [[more spoilers??]] he's having vivid fantasies of strangling Amy, or bashing in her head, or realizing that no matter what he couldn't ever go back to a "normal" girl [read: not a sociopath], because that would be so boooooring. But he's given a redeeming quality: he doesn't want to end up like his woman-hating dad. Boo hoo. Poor, noble man.
Sigh. What a trip. So basically the whole thing revolved around this couple who hated each other and often wanted the other dead or in jail or what have you, because it was fun for them to be constantly on edge around each other.
Idk mang. I'm not very well-versed in thrillers, but my feelings for this one kind of fell apart once I realized the stance it was taking. I honestly expected better coming from a female author.
kenzie176824's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
threewomen's review against another edition
4.0
Amy is so mother
I feel like if I didn’t watch the movie and know the plot already I’d be extremely bored, but since that wasn’t the case I had fun reading this. It’s on the longer side and I wanted it to finish but that’s how I am with most books 😭
I feel like if I didn’t watch the movie and know the plot already I’d be extremely bored, but since that wasn’t the case I had fun reading this. It’s on the longer side and I wanted it to finish but that’s how I am with most books 😭
rae_em's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
elinightingale's review against another edition
5.0
gillian flynn what the fuck is going on in ur head
njdarkish's review against another edition
2.0
It's kind of hard to give this book a rating.
There are parts of this book that I love: the writing style was very compelling and pulled me in then pulled me through. I was immediately interested from the way that Flynn wrote the characters. I was genuinely surprised at some of the twists, particularly enjoying the twist at about the book's halfway point. I felt that the story was a very compelling dark, with breaks for humor or positivity placed expertly where needed.
There is also things about this book that I don't like. Like the ending. [spoilers] I felt that the idea of Amy coming back so she could essentially be a dominating, controlling monster was a huge step backward for the character. I didn't particularly love her character arc-- you can't help but enjoy some aspects of her cleverness, but you definitely don't like her or Nick as the book progresses-- and choosing to go back so she can force him to be the false version of himself that he was when they met just felt stupid to me. The fact that Nick goes along with it so he can play her game even better than she does-- also phenomenally stupid. And that they have a baby and play perfect family, the end? Ugh. [/spoilers] I know you're not exactly supposed to like either of these characters, but I didn't like the way they were awful in many pretty stereotypical ways-- [spoilers] like Nick being an emotionless cheating (and it's a professor/college student relationship? really?) douchebag, or Amy being the sadistic, manipulative beotch who gets her way, no matter who it hurts[/spoilers]. I know that in writing you have to be true to your characters when telling the story, but it just felt like the worldview being shown in the books was very much a caricature of negative gender stereotypes-- and that is how everybody is, they just fake being different. To me, a reader of either gender can walk away from the book feeling a little insulted. Many of the big revelations in the books were pretty easy to figure out once you got a feel for the characters' flaws and ruined some of the big pivots in the story.
So, ultimately, I feel like this story does a good job of Flynn's skill with prose and making a story dark, it wasn't the best feat of storytelling. I think I'll probably pick up another of her books in the future, but I'm not going to jump to recommending this one to anybody and I'm not going to go see the movie.
There are parts of this book that I love: the writing style was very compelling and pulled me in then pulled me through. I was immediately interested from the way that Flynn wrote the characters. I was genuinely surprised at some of the twists, particularly enjoying the twist at about the book's halfway point. I felt that the story was a very compelling dark, with breaks for humor or positivity placed expertly where needed.
There is also things about this book that I don't like. Like the ending. [spoilers] I felt that the idea of Amy coming back so she could essentially be a dominating, controlling monster was a huge step backward for the character. I didn't particularly love her character arc-- you can't help but enjoy some aspects of her cleverness, but you definitely don't like her or Nick as the book progresses-- and choosing to go back so she can force him to be the false version of himself that he was when they met just felt stupid to me. The fact that Nick goes along with it so he can play her game even better than she does-- also phenomenally stupid. And that they have a baby and play perfect family, the end? Ugh. [/spoilers] I know you're not exactly supposed to like either of these characters, but I didn't like the way they were awful in many pretty stereotypical ways-- [spoilers] like Nick being an emotionless cheating (and it's a professor/college student relationship? really?) douchebag, or Amy being the sadistic, manipulative beotch who gets her way, no matter who it hurts[/spoilers]. I know that in writing you have to be true to your characters when telling the story, but it just felt like the worldview being shown in the books was very much a caricature of negative gender stereotypes-- and that is how everybody is, they just fake being different. To me, a reader of either gender can walk away from the book feeling a little insulted. Many of the big revelations in the books were pretty easy to figure out once you got a feel for the characters' flaws and ruined some of the big pivots in the story.
So, ultimately, I feel like this story does a good job of Flynn's skill with prose and making a story dark, it wasn't the best feat of storytelling. I think I'll probably pick up another of her books in the future, but I'm not going to jump to recommending this one to anybody and I'm not going to go see the movie.
cyberquartz's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
vexyspice's review against another edition
4.0
Flynn's novels are always some next level crap with how crazy people are. Great quick read.