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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
camille preaker deserves the entire world and i would die for her
A completely captivating who-dunnit when you're not ever sure WHAT was done. Flynn dual narrators twist around each other and keep the reader on her toes - trying to puzzle out the clues, figure out who the characters true selves are, and how everything will be resolved. This book is hard to put down.
Well this was quite the page turner! I love mysteries that make me wish I could read faster. Very psychologically twisted. I'm still not really sure what to make of the ending, other than it fits perfectly into the idea of psychological torment.
While this book is very well written and does have a complex plot that keeps you guessing, I really can't give it a very high rating just because of the vibe it gave me. I know this is a personal preference/bias, and if you love dark books that have to do with human psychology, then Gone Girl is for you. While I myself can enjoy that genre from time to time, finishing this book just left me with a bad taste in my mouth. No one comes out of this book okay, there's no morally satisfying ending (though that's not really what this book was about), and to top it all off, it kind of drags the idea of a happy marriage through the mud. As a hopeless romantic, a book like this wasn't very pleasing to read.... thus my low rating of what otherwise is a well written "crime" novel.
OK so this is like one big 400 pages insult to rape victims and domestic abuse victims.
I mean, seriously? I'm so mad right now.
I still give a 2nd star because it was well written, the storyline was gripping and interesting if I forget about what I just said :/... But that's one big thing I can't just forget. I'm so confused, no one seem to feel like it's a problem? IT'S A FREAKING PROBLEM
The main twist was super obvious, I can't believe not everyone sees it? I'm SO CONFUSED.
whatever.
I'm just sad the message of this book was so horrible and that so many people didn't see the problem.
I mean, seriously? I'm so mad right now.
I still give a 2nd star because it was well written, the storyline was gripping and interesting if I forget about what I just said :/... But that's one big thing I can't just forget. I'm so confused, no one seem to feel like it's a problem? IT'S A FREAKING PROBLEM
The main twist was super obvious, I can't believe not everyone sees it? I'm SO CONFUSED.
whatever.
I'm just sad the message of this book was so horrible and that so many people didn't see the problem.
On the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary, Nick leaves for work. When he gets home, his wife, Amy, is gone. And Nick is the prime suspect. Amy’s friends reveal that she was scared of and kept secrets from him; Nick swears it isn’t true. A police examination of his computer pulls up strange searches which Nick says weren’t made by him. And then there’s a matter of the persistent phone calls on his mobile phone. So what did happen to Nick’s beautiful wife?
Well this was a bit of a thrilling ride. I did enjoy it, and there were so many twists and turns and the whole thing was so clever that sometimes it was genuinely hard to keep track!
The characters: Nick. What a douchebag. Most of the time, at least. I mean, I really liked him to start with and then that thing happened (with the phone calls if you’ve read it and are still confused) and I lost a lot of sympathy for him. Still, there’s two sides to every argument, so… Amy. Amy was… terrifying. She was scarily clever, and definitely a sociopath, which I thought was really interesting as, obviously, she hid it very well and I didn’t guess until much, much later in the book. Andie. Andie was just an unfortunate girl who happened to get stuck in the mix. I’m a bit indifferent about her. On one side, she was a cow, but she redeemed herself later on and seemed pretty sweet, if naïve, really. Go. Go was so down-to-earth, she was the cementing character of the whole thing and I really enjoyed reading about her.
As for the other secondary characters like the police officers, I liked reading about their own individual lives. I thought Flynn did a great job, and this book was definitely character-led. The different voices were all very distinct, and I think this is Flynn’s forte. I look forward to seeing how characters are presented in her other books.
The plot: I thought it was very, very clever (I had no idea what was going to happen and I was shocked at some events – especially when Amy killed Desi! I mean, WHAT?! I did not see that coming… ). I liked (almost) all of the twists, and the diary passages which turn out to be made up by Amy – her “real” input at the end was a brilliant turn in the book. I thought Nick’s relationship with Andie was pointless at first, but then I saw how it made it into the plot. It didn’t help Nick’s character in my eyes, but fit in well with the whole book.
The reason that this book dropped a star was because I felt that there were some bits which could really easily just be left out and were really not needed at all. For that reason, I gave it 4/5 and I would definitely recommend it! It can be a long read, but it’s really worth it at the end.
Well this was a bit of a thrilling ride. I did enjoy it, and there were so many twists and turns and the whole thing was so clever that sometimes it was genuinely hard to keep track!
The characters: Nick. What a douchebag. Most of the time, at least. I mean, I really liked him to start with and then that thing happened (with the phone calls if you’ve read it and are still confused) and I lost a lot of sympathy for him. Still, there’s two sides to every argument, so… Amy. Amy was… terrifying. She was scarily clever, and definitely a sociopath, which I thought was really interesting as, obviously, she hid it very well and I didn’t guess until much, much later in the book. Andie. Andie was just an unfortunate girl who happened to get stuck in the mix. I’m a bit indifferent about her. On one side, she was a cow, but she redeemed herself later on and seemed pretty sweet, if naïve, really. Go. Go was so down-to-earth, she was the cementing character of the whole thing and I really enjoyed reading about her.
As for the other secondary characters like the police officers, I liked reading about their own individual lives. I thought Flynn did a great job, and this book was definitely character-led. The different voices were all very distinct, and I think this is Flynn’s forte. I look forward to seeing how characters are presented in her other books.
The plot: I thought it was very, very clever (I had no idea what was going to happen and I was shocked at some events
The reason that this book dropped a star was because I felt that there were some bits which could really easily just be left out and were really not needed at all. For that reason, I gave it 4/5 and I would definitely recommend it! It can be a long read, but it’s really worth it at the end.
Before we begin: I must insert the link to the movies cool girl monologue. Essentially, one of my favourite monologues of all time and a masterpiece, and also unfortunately too long to quote the whole thing out here. While it's not the same one as the book IT'LL DO. (the no fucking way? ends me everytime)
Have you ever let a book sit on your TBR for like 5 years because that is what I did with this book hoo boy sure feels good to read it finally! I'd already seen the movie and know what happens but wow, I think this is such a clever, well written book. The narrative and character construction is so careful, and Flynn utilises the narrative structure in order to reinforce her themes. Have I mentioned I love books that do clever things with their structure? I feel like I have cos' I do.
I'm just gonna put out my warner now this review has spoilers don't say I didn't warn you.
Anyway I have a lot of thoughts so lets break this down:
characters
➵ Amy Dunne: god ... I love Amy. Do I like her as a person? no. Would I want to be friends with her? definitely no. But do I love, love, LOVE her as a character? hell fucking yes. The thing that is great to me about Amy is it's so, so easy to empathise with her even though what she's doing is so ridiculously extreme. Amy's motivations and her frustrations at least to me are so understandable and relatable. She has sacrificed, lost her identity, pretended to be someone she isn't, only for her husband to cheat on her with a young new Cool Girl. Amy's character is so cleverly constructed, I really liked that emphasis on the fact that there is something inherently admirable about the lengths she went to. She says as much to Nick, but she's basically saying it to the reader. What I love about Amy is the narrative invites you to empathise and almost appreciate what she has done. The actions she takes are intentionally pushed to the extreme, almost to the point it's satirical, but you never once doubt that Amy as a character doesn't have the brilliance, the determination, the sheer gall to pull it off. And the does. I love her, let that freak flag fly girl.
➵ Nick Dunne: god ... I can't believe I ended up sympathising with this fucker. I also do not think Nick is a good person. The way he treats Amy and especially his monologues about killing her/abusing her at the end were A Lot and I LOATHED him in the first section. But I definitely ended up sympathising with his plight and how he was never able to gain control over his narrative. The anxieties about turning into his dad + the ending of the book where he's pretty close to becoming him definitely made me feel for him in a way I didn't earlier. But I think he's such a boring character compared to Amy, she is all the dynamism and charisma, just like she said.
themes
➵ Controlling the narrative and spinning a story: I LOVED how this idea of the media and what's in a story played out throughout this book. The first part, and then the complete twist of the second half, really drives home that idea that a story is created by who's writing it. The distortion of identities and truth created by the media, and how this plays into the idea people in general are distorting their identities to appeal to their partners was really interesting and I love that this book literally used it's narrative structure to fool the reader into falling into the same trap it's discussing.
➵ love and marriage I really liked the subversion of suburbian ideals and the concept of love. The emphasis on the fact that marriage and relationships are a performance was really interesting. I particularly enjoyed the references to love/marriage as things that are dangerous and harmful. That Amy is a thornbush who's thorns perfectly fit into Nick's childhood wounds was a particularly visceral metaphor to use here but it definitely worked. The final note of the book, that these two incredibly fucked up people belong together because only they know eachother that intimately was weirdly correct. The whole way I felt these two people were doing irredeemable horrible things to eachother and yet no one understood how the other thought or what their motivations were like they did eachother. It was an interesting set up and that relationship was definitely Not Healthy but I enjoyed reading about it.
➵ cool girl I personally think .. Cool Girl absolutely does exist. The idea that people, especially women, alter their personalities and try Extremely Hard to mould themselves into the ideal woman they perceive their significant other to want definitely resonated with me. I think the reason so many people empathise with Amy despite what she is it that what she is talking about with cool girl, and that feeling relationships can completely rob you off your identity ("Nick took and took from me until their was nothing left of me but a shell. That's murder. Let the punishment fit the crime"). Like I said earlier, this book deliberately pushes that punishment to the absolute extremes, but that is the genius of it. That the frustration and motivation is so solid even this extreme is kind of understandable. (At least in terms of like, understanding why she did it. I'm not saying go frame your s/o for your murder)
dislikes
I did have some things I didn't like here for sure. The first half was a lot slower then I would have liked. It took a while for the plot to really get going, especially since I'd seen the movie and knew what was happening. I also hated the parts of Amy at Desi's. These seemed to drag on way too long and I was waiting for it to end.
I HATE the ending of this book. I think it should have been a little longer, it ended a little too abruptly. I don't know what it should have been instead, but I didn't feel catharsis after this, I felt like a lot of the relationship needed to be addressed still and we didn't see enough of how these characters are interacting with eachother after all this.
Finally, I did not love how much swearing there was. I know, I swear A LOT. But there was A LOOOT of swearing and it was intense, and didn't really add anything? and just kinda made me wince?? (There is one word I rarely, rarely, if EVER use because I hate it and it was used a lot and made me feel uncomfortable every time whoop)
some final things
For me, I didn't really go into this as a crime novel which is why I didn't focus on that much. Since I had already seen the movie I was more interested in the thematic and structural elements as well as character development. A lot of this was so satisfying to me which is why I rate this like this.
If this was my first time reading it I think the slow pace at the start would have bothered me more but
I didn't go into this wanting a twisty page turner thriller so it ended up okay.
I find this such an interesting book because of how quickly it builds and shatters character sympathy. That takes some great skill. A lot of this book is also extremely quote-able, which I love.
Overall, I think I feel about equal on book versus movie. I like them both for different reasons.
Who are you?
What have we done to each other?
Have you ever let a book sit on your TBR for like 5 years because that is what I did with this book hoo boy sure feels good to read it finally! I'd already seen the movie and know what happens but wow, I think this is such a clever, well written book. The narrative and character construction is so careful, and Flynn utilises the narrative structure in order to reinforce her themes. Have I mentioned I love books that do clever things with their structure? I feel like I have cos' I do.
I'm just gonna put out my warner now this review has spoilers don't say I didn't warn you.
Anyway I have a lot of thoughts so lets break this down:
characters
➵ Amy Dunne: god ... I love Amy. Do I like her as a person? no. Would I want to be friends with her? definitely no. But do I love, love, LOVE her as a character? hell fucking yes. The thing that is great to me about Amy is it's so, so easy to empathise with her even though what she's doing is so ridiculously extreme. Amy's motivations and her frustrations at least to me are so understandable and relatable. She has sacrificed, lost her identity, pretended to be someone she isn't, only for her husband to cheat on her with a young new Cool Girl. Amy's character is so cleverly constructed, I really liked that emphasis on the fact that there is something inherently admirable about the lengths she went to. She says as much to Nick, but she's basically saying it to the reader. What I love about Amy is the narrative invites you to empathise and almost appreciate what she has done. The actions she takes are intentionally pushed to the extreme, almost to the point it's satirical, but you never once doubt that Amy as a character doesn't have the brilliance, the determination, the sheer gall to pull it off. And the does. I love her, let that freak flag fly girl.
➵ Nick Dunne: god ... I can't believe I ended up sympathising with this fucker. I also do not think Nick is a good person. The way he treats Amy and especially his monologues about killing her/abusing her at the end were A Lot and I LOATHED him in the first section. But I definitely ended up sympathising with his plight and how he was never able to gain control over his narrative. The anxieties about turning into his dad + the ending of the book where he's pretty close to becoming him definitely made me feel for him in a way I didn't earlier. But I think he's such a boring character compared to Amy, she is all the dynamism and charisma, just like she said.
It's a very difficult era in which to be a person, just a real, actual person, instead of a collection of personality traits selected from an endless Automat of characters.
And if all of us are play-acting, there can be no such thing as a soul mate, because we don't have genuine souls.
It had gotten to the point where it seemed like nothing matters, because I'm not a real person and neither is anyone else.
I would have done anything to feel real again.”
themes
➵ Controlling the narrative and spinning a story: I LOVED how this idea of the media and what's in a story played out throughout this book. The first part, and then the complete twist of the second half, really drives home that idea that a story is created by who's writing it. The distortion of identities and truth created by the media, and how this plays into the idea people in general are distorting their identities to appeal to their partners was really interesting and I love that this book literally used it's narrative structure to fool the reader into falling into the same trap it's discussing.
➵ love and marriage I really liked the subversion of suburbian ideals and the concept of love. The emphasis on the fact that marriage and relationships are a performance was really interesting. I particularly enjoyed the references to love/marriage as things that are dangerous and harmful. That Amy is a thornbush who's thorns perfectly fit into Nick's childhood wounds was a particularly visceral metaphor to use here but it definitely worked. The final note of the book, that these two incredibly fucked up people belong together because only they know eachother that intimately was weirdly correct. The whole way I felt these two people were doing irredeemable horrible things to eachother and yet no one understood how the other thought or what their motivations were like they did eachother. It was an interesting set up and that relationship was definitely Not Healthy but I enjoyed reading about it.
➵ cool girl I personally think .. Cool Girl absolutely does exist. The idea that people, especially women, alter their personalities and try Extremely Hard to mould themselves into the ideal woman they perceive their significant other to want definitely resonated with me. I think the reason so many people empathise with Amy despite what she is it that what she is talking about with cool girl, and that feeling relationships can completely rob you off your identity ("Nick took and took from me until their was nothing left of me but a shell. That's murder. Let the punishment fit the crime"). Like I said earlier, this book deliberately pushes that punishment to the absolute extremes, but that is the genius of it. That the frustration and motivation is so solid even this extreme is kind of understandable. (At least in terms of like, understanding why she did it. I'm not saying go frame your s/o for your murder)
“I waited patiently - years - for the pendulum to swing the other way, for men to start reading Jane Austen, learn how to knit, pretend to love cosmos, organize scrapbook parties, and make out with each other while we leer. And then we'd say, Yeah, he's a Cool Guy.”
dislikes
I did have some things I didn't like here for sure. The first half was a lot slower then I would have liked. It took a while for the plot to really get going, especially since I'd seen the movie and knew what was happening. I also hated the parts of Amy at Desi's. These seemed to drag on way too long and I was waiting for it to end.
I HATE the ending of this book. I think it should have been a little longer, it ended a little too abruptly. I don't know what it should have been instead, but I didn't feel catharsis after this, I felt like a lot of the relationship needed to be addressed still and we didn't see enough of how these characters are interacting with eachother after all this.
Finally, I did not love how much swearing there was. I know, I swear A LOT. But there was A LOOOT of swearing and it was intense, and didn't really add anything? and just kinda made me wince?? (There is one word I rarely, rarely, if EVER use because I hate it and it was used a lot and made me feel uncomfortable every time whoop)
some final things
For me, I didn't really go into this as a crime novel which is why I didn't focus on that much. Since I had already seen the movie I was more interested in the thematic and structural elements as well as character development. A lot of this was so satisfying to me which is why I rate this like this.
If this was my first time reading it I think the slow pace at the start would have bothered me more but
I didn't go into this wanting a twisty page turner thriller so it ended up okay.
I find this such an interesting book because of how quickly it builds and shatters character sympathy. That takes some great skill. A lot of this book is also extremely quote-able, which I love.
Overall, I think I feel about equal on book versus movie. I like them both for different reasons.
“My mother had always told her kids: if you're about to do something, and you want to know if it's a bad idea, imagine seeing it printed in the paper for all the world to see.”
3.75 stars.
What a vicious novel. Crude, morbid. It scratches you raw of your sensibility, makes you scream for someone to notice all the bad things happening, to connect them somehow and stop the end you already know is coming. Spoiler alert: they still die anyway.
It is definitely not your classic whodunnit, but it is filled to the brim with twists and dark corners. Flynn has a scary mind, but she's definitely a keeper in future to be reads.
What a vicious novel. Crude, morbid. It scratches you raw of your sensibility, makes you scream for someone to notice all the bad things happening, to connect them somehow and stop the end you already know is coming. Spoiler alert: they still die anyway.
It is definitely not your classic whodunnit, but it is filled to the brim with twists and dark corners. Flynn has a scary mind, but she's definitely a keeper in future to be reads.