Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Gone Girl - Das perfekte Opfer by Gillian Flynn

73 reviews

ayearinbookswithzoe's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.75

I really liked this book but I hated the main characters. I wanted Nick and Amy to have horrible things happen to them and while they did, it wasn’t enough for me. I enjoyed having both Nick and Amy’s perspectives, it definitely helped develop the story far more than if it had just been one. Honestly, everything was pretty unexpected. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Sexism

Moderate: Self harm, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Stalking, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Murder, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcohol

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

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

Minor: Medical content, Abortion, and Kidnapping

readwithsophsx'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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Gore, and Mental illness

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: Toxic relationship, Self harm, and Murder

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

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

emilylouise1608's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Mental illness

chyneyee's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Reading two sides of the story makes me wonder what is wrong with this couple? It's like reading a police report for both the offender and the victim. You are unsure who is right or wrong because it sounds like both are right and vice versa.

The plot probably seems far-fetched and unrealistic, but I found it brilliant, although I have to be patient with the pace and the draggy part. I'm glad I stuck to the end because I just finished reading an extraordinary story of a fictional sociopath, and I still feel unsettled after I finished it half an hour ago.

Book Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

_lilireads's review

dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.75

 ...The rare occurrence, when book and film are both very good and almost identically captivating.
Some passages are too long in my opionion, but I like how the story is told through both spouses. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

optimisms's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

This book is hard to review. There's a lot of competing factors in my mind when it comes to how I feel about this book. First, I watched the movie before reading the book; it was actually the reason I read the book, and I think it's such a fantastic adaptation that I would rather rewatch the movie than reread the book. Second, even if I hadn't watched the movie, I've watched enough Youtube video essays on feminism in film to know the big twist, so there was very little shock factor for me. And third, while I think this book was written extremely well, I don't really...love it. I can't put my finger on why – there was nothing that jumped out as being completely contrary to my tastes. It's an undeniable page turner, and even knowing what would happen, I read 95% of it in one day. I think the writing is phenomenal, and it feels like we're reading the inner thoughts of two distinct but intelligent writers. The characters are detestable but they are both so unique and complex to remain interesting no matter how much they disgust you. The pacing is a bit slow but everything feels deliberate, every new bit of information or small twist coming exactly when it was needed. Even though I knew the twist, I still felt the tension building and wanted to keep reading to see how it all fell apart, and I imagine that if I didn't know what was coming, I would've been completely torn about what to believe and expect. It was truly a great book! But I can't bring myself to rate it higher than 4 stars because there's just something about it that didn't completely do it for me. (I still plan to read more Gillian Flynn, though, because wow, can she write!)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Death, Blood, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Gaslighting, and Body horror

Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexism, Cancer, Sexual violence, Gore, Death of parent, Grief, Pregnancy, and Rape

Minor: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Incest, Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Dementia, and Stalking

beccam22's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Mental illness