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jbeaty17's review
5.0
A nasty little noir that bumps up against horror for a lot of the book. I thought all of the overlaps between body, violence, and gender were extremely interesting. I think I enjoyed those aspects of the book when they were more subtle in the buildup to the big final twist that wraps up the book’s argument possibly a little too neatly. It gives probably one of the bleakest pictures of mother daughter relationships since Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life (2016). I think the sense of place is remarkably well developed and the sense of claustrophobic exurban hellscape is well developed and unique. I think there are a ton of interesting things happening in this book but that it doesn’t all of them as fully as they could be. For instance, I think Gone Girl seemed to be having more fun with the form compared to this which reads like a relatively straightforward take on a noir. I think some of the body horror stuff is extremely interesting but lacked some of the disturbing punch of Kang’s The Vegetarian (2007) that used some of the same descriptive touchstones to more visceral effect. I also found the book to be unrelentingly bleak with little space for even bitter humor, which worked but meant the book didn’t have a tone of tonal variation and basically begged to be read as one package. Finally, outside of the main three family members, some of the side characters feel underdeveloped as chess pieces to the plot machinations. Overall interesting and exciting mediation on violence and motherhood that I would highly recommend but may not be my favorite book ever.
carolinemeow's review
3.0
Rating: 3.5 stars
I am speechless.
So, I expected a lot out of this book. Like, a lot. This has been recommended about five thousand times on Tumblr to me (the life of a YA lit blogger - a lot of book recs). So when I started the book, I was disappointed. Just so you know, my copy had 400 pages (Goodreads says it has 560, and GR is typically very close to my page count, but not today). By the time I was 100 pages in, I was bored to death. I didn't care about the characters at all, and the only thing that was at all interesting was the plot, but not very much.
Then part two happened, and things got a lot more interesting.
I adore unreliable narrators. I've never truly been able to pin down why, but it's probably because I love dark characters, and I can tell you any unreliable narrators I've come across are hiding something that isn't all sunshine and rainbows, unintentionally or intentionally. Amy Dunne, my precious, precious antagonist. I love you a lot.
And wow, the Nick/Amy ship is screwed up. I'd never thought I'd admit this, but I ship it. It's probably one of my few OTPs by now. For about 80% of the book, I hated it, but the ending convinced me. I have a thing for messy, unhealthy ships, and the way it fell apart in such a typical, eyeroll-worthy, "Oh my God, just get divorced you're such a boring couple and such boring people" way and then fell back together made me realize it was, well, not a boring couple. Not a good one, but I wouldn't say boring.
On the ending: I loved it. It seems that people either hate or love the ending, but the ending was pretty much the only part of the book I full out adored.Part two's reveal was interesting, sure, but by that point I was so bored little could reclaim my excitement in the space of a few pages. I would have given up by page 100 if I hadn't heard so many good things about this book. The first hundred pages were so, so uninteresting. It was like some unoriginal television sitcom. Marriage falls apart. Nothing new there - it sucks, it hurts, but I expected it, I wasn't surprised, and I've seen it with my own eyes in real life. It's happened many times before, and usually in more interesting ways.
When the plot started to kick up,with the treasure hunt and all of Amy's double meanings and her stalkers and everything I cared a lot more. It was so. . .I love plot twists, but only if they're actually surprising, and my favorite kinds are the ones that happen one after another, as if they're choreographed, leaving me breathless and trying to guess what's happening next but never getting it quite right. (Which was basically Gone Girl.) Mind you, I am an awful guesser, probably because I don't pay attention to the plot as much as I should.
The characters Nick and Amy weren't even really likable from start to finish, but they were fascinating. I prefer dark characters, sure, but ones who I like, who will charm me and leave me enthralled with their wit and brilliance.Amy did that, with her own brilliance, but that was about it, and I honestly spent the last fifty pages absolutely terrified of her and what she was going to do. The way Amy danced back and forth and played games with everyone? I loved it. The only moment that actually disappointed me was with Greta and Jeff, for letting her guard down, because that's not the Amy I expect. I do not doubt there was some deep meaning in it and it contributed to the book somehow, but I'll figure that out later.
This book was very dark, very mysterious, and very psychological. So yeah, I found the style dull and the characters dull more often than not and I'm not even entirely sure if I regret reading it or not, but to say it didn't leave an impact on me would be inaccurate, and in the end, the books that leave an impact on me are some of the most important.
Edit: I should note there was a lot of sexism within the book. From what I've seen on Tumblr, it's supposed to have a lot of feminist themes, and I can see how they're in there. But seriously. So much sexism. It annoyed me from start to finish.
I am speechless.
So, I expected a lot out of this book. Like, a lot. This has been recommended about five thousand times on Tumblr to me (the life of a YA lit blogger - a lot of book recs). So when I started the book, I was disappointed. Just so you know, my copy had 400 pages (Goodreads says it has 560, and GR is typically very close to my page count, but not today). By the time I was 100 pages in, I was bored to death. I didn't care about the characters at all, and the only thing that was at all interesting was the plot, but not very much.
I adore unreliable narrators. I've never truly been able to pin down why, but it's probably because I love dark characters, and I can tell you any unreliable narrators I've come across are hiding something that isn't all sunshine and rainbows, unintentionally or intentionally. Amy Dunne, my precious, precious antagonist. I love you a lot.
And wow, the Nick/Amy ship is screwed up. I'd never thought I'd admit this, but I ship it. It's probably one of my few OTPs by now. For about 80% of the book, I hated it, but the ending convinced me. I have a thing for messy, unhealthy ships, and the way it fell apart in such a typical, eyeroll-worthy, "Oh my God, just get divorced you're such a boring couple and such boring people" way and then fell back together made me realize it was, well, not a boring couple. Not a good one, but I wouldn't say boring.
On the ending: I loved it. It seems that people either hate or love the ending, but the ending was pretty much the only part of the book I full out adored.
When the plot started to kick up,
The characters Nick and Amy weren't even really likable from start to finish, but they were fascinating. I prefer dark characters, sure, but ones who I like, who will charm me and leave me enthralled with their wit and brilliance.
This book was very dark, very mysterious, and very psychological. So yeah, I found the style dull and the characters dull more often than not and I'm not even entirely sure if I regret reading it or not, but to say it didn't leave an impact on me would be inaccurate, and in the end, the books that leave an impact on me are some of the most important.
Edit: I should note there was a lot of sexism within the book. From what I've seen on Tumblr, it's supposed to have a lot of feminist themes, and I can see how they're in there. But seriously. So much sexism. It annoyed me from start to finish.
sarahkomas's review
4.0
Compelling reading, particularly for a book with two such broken protagonists. Maybe it's that as I get older I can sympathise with less than perfect characters? Didn't end quite as I might have liked, but that's ok, and it wasn't cliché, certainly.
The story is twisted but weirdly relatable. I'd definitely recommend checking it out.
The story is twisted but weirdly relatable. I'd definitely recommend checking it out.
jaironside's review
5.0
Taut, pacey thrillers aren't my usual go to grab for a good read. I half expected to have to work at reading this. I didn't. It completely sucked me in and I found myself thinking about it when I should have been doing other things. I read it in two days. Another reviewer has noted that they did not finish in part because the to MCs were so thoroughly unlikeable. I can understand that. Ultimately there isn't much to really admire bout either of them but I found myself rooting for one then the other just as the author intended. It was this brilliant shift in sympathies that really made the book for me. I have to admit that with mystery thrillers, I either know who did it straight away (and I'm right) or I never see it coming at all. I knew what had happened by chapter two but I read on wanting to know why...and then the author made me doubt my own conclusions. As evidence started to pile up, I genuinely started to believe that I'd been wrong...
I really enjoyed this. It asked all the bone deep scary questions about relationships and how well you know your spouse. It shone a somewhat unforgiving light on how we all chameleonize personality trait to be more acceptable to others. And freakiest of all, in the toxic tangle that is the love-story at the heart of this book, comes the question - would you want it any other way? Who else would go to this much trouble over you? Wouldn't normal seem bland after this? We forget, I think, that often it is conflicts that lock people into relationships as well as commonalities. Scary stuff indeed.
I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a good story, delivered with no-holds-barred, hard honesty and wit.
I really enjoyed this. It asked all the bone deep scary questions about relationships and how well you know your spouse. It shone a somewhat unforgiving light on how we all chameleonize personality trait to be more acceptable to others. And freakiest of all, in the toxic tangle that is the love-story at the heart of this book, comes the question - would you want it any other way? Who else would go to this much trouble over you? Wouldn't normal seem bland after this? We forget, I think, that often it is conflicts that lock people into relationships as well as commonalities. Scary stuff indeed.
I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a good story, delivered with no-holds-barred, hard honesty and wit.
aubreysmith9412's review
5.0
This book had me on the edge of my seat every step of the way. I could barely put it down - even for Christmas Eve dinner! It was definitely confounding, heart-pounding, pulse-racing, and incredibly twisted.
Just how twisted is this book? Honestly, it cannot be described unless you read it. For the most part, I could relate to Camille. I've been where she's at - more than once. Cutting, boozing, and so on. It's a dark, dark place to be, and it's hard to get out of. That really hit home for me, which made the whole book so much more intense for me.
Despite this intensity, at the very heart lies an incredible murder mystery. Usually, I like to think I'm good at figuring out the whole 'whodunnit' thing. I really couldn't this time. Every step further to the truth, took me a few steps further back from my initial suspicions. Though I thought I was right on track for a little while, I was promptly slapped in the face with the truth - finally, the truth!
The heart-rending truth that lies in these pages is... intense, and yet so exquisite. This twisted ride was a pulse-racer, and a mind bender. I really loved every moment of it. I look forward to reading more from Gillian Flynn.
Just how twisted is this book? Honestly, it cannot be described unless you read it. For the most part, I could relate to Camille. I've been where she's at - more than once. Cutting, boozing, and so on. It's a dark, dark place to be, and it's hard to get out of. That really hit home for me, which made the whole book so much more intense for me.
Despite this intensity, at the very heart lies an incredible murder mystery. Usually, I like to think I'm good at figuring out the whole 'whodunnit' thing. I really couldn't this time. Every step further to the truth, took me a few steps further back from my initial suspicions. Though I thought I was right on track for a little while, I was promptly slapped in the face with the truth - finally, the truth!
The heart-rending truth that lies in these pages is... intense, and yet so exquisite. This twisted ride was a pulse-racer, and a mind bender. I really loved every moment of it. I look forward to reading more from Gillian Flynn.
reviewsmayvary's review
5.0
I've decided to become obsessed with Gillian Flynn. Probably not in a creepy way.
kitkait's review
5.0
This was really, really good. I've yet to read a Flynn novel I did not enjoy. What I found most enjoyable was the different perspectives, as well as the way the story unfolded. The MC was extremely flawed but transforms when she confronts her Dark Places. This audiobook was extremely well done as well. My only gripe is that the ending, while it made sense and the actual content suited the story, it still fell a bit flat for me. Once the mystery was solved, the wrapping-up bits weren't as satisfying. Also, there were some parts of Ben's character that I truly did not understand. Some ideas were asserted, never provided evidence toward, but still brought up incessantly that it left me wondering what the truth really was.