Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

36 reviews

junowo's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is one of the most clever books I’ve ever read. If you think you already know it from the movie, you don’t. I was pleasantly surprised by both the complexity of the characters and the way this book constructs a world informed by patriarchy and misogyny. There are no certainties in this book, and that’s what makes it incredible.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Incest

tgndcy's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

was i ever bored? no. did i like it? i don't know.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Vomit

deviya's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

i—

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

leialeilani's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Would have been 4 stars if it hadn’t taken 150-200 pages to get interesting. I almost stopped reading because it was so slow to reveal anything beyond the initial setup.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Murder

Moderate: Infidelity, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

nabila99's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

as someone who adores david fincher's film adaptation of this book, and watched the film first, reading it was actually quite revelatory. because of the nature of film and TV, it's not always possible to show a character's introspection and inner world the way it is in a book - and gone girl the novel felt very introspective compared to gone girl the film.

i especially enjoyed how much more of amy we get in the book, even if

it is just Diary Amy, and i genuinely found her pov very poignant, despite my knowledge of how the story would go

. it was also very enlightening to see nick's 

misogyny, how he battles against it throughout the whole book but is still a shitty man in many ways, how parental attitudes and bigotries are passed down

.

while i did find that the book dragged a bit at times (especially in nick's chapters), and the ending was a bit abrupt and ambiguous, i flew through the story and was always engaged. what a ride!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Terminal illness, Vomit, Dementia, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Medical content, Kidnapping, and Abortion

mle11'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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Drug use, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Vomit, and Classism

taytayc23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was the first Gillian Flynn I ever read and absolutely loved it. The plot line had me hooked and I didn't want to put it down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Violence

laurajordensharris's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

cammiem8's review

dark mysterious reflective 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

4.75

The “cool girl” excerpt and the about face turn of the reveal at the half way point of this novel are some of the most brilliant bits of writing I’ve ever experienced in the thriller genre. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Vomit, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Body shaming and Incest

None of these characters are good people, and as such they do terrible things to one another.

sarah984's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I didn't know how this book would hold up going into it having already seen the movie, but I had fun. Each (awful) character has a unique voice, and going into it already knowing what's going to happen made me appreciate the careful way the first section was crafted. Unfortunately, after the "reveal" the book drags most of the way through the middle section (way too much mundane day-to-day stuff), and parts of the final third were a little too convenient for me, but I thought the ending was great. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Dementia, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Incest, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Classism

Incest is alluded to several times but does not actually take place in the story.