Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Gone Girl

Author:  Gillian Flynn
Genre:  Mystery

One Star
 
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife's head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media--as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents--the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter--but is he really a killer? 

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn't do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

 
********
 
Okay, I'll admit I started reading this book because of all the hype regarding it.  After the first few pages - where a creepy Nick is describing his wife's skull - I began to wonder why I was still reading it.  Yes, folks, it began to bore me.  Really, really, fast.
 
You see, Nick and Amy are a perfect couple.  A perfect, beautiful couple.  With money.  And parents who think she is absolutely wonderful, and nothing bad that happens could ever be her fault.  And when Amy mysteriously disappears on their fifth anniversary, it is her perfect husband Nick who is suspected of the crime - and although we all know that the husband is always the first suspect when a wife disappears - after Nick begins to read through Amy's diary you realize this isn't such a bad thing that she's gone.  Mainly because Amy is a psychopath. 
 
All you have to do is read her diary - which we do - to figure that out.  And her husband isn't as perfect as he's supposed to be.  Both of these people are hateful, nasty, and just unhappy human beings.  And they're about as toxic as you can get, which means together they're twice as toxic.
 
There are too many questions surrounding the pregnancy - and none of them make any sense.  But what is worse - and anyone who has read the book understands - is there is no resolution.  No good guy wins over bad. The book just ends.  (I don't feel this is a spoiler, because if you want to read the book, you will; if you have, you already know; if you're not interested, it really doesn't matter anyway).  Sorry, I can't recommend this book and doubt if I will read any more by this author.
 


2 comments:

  1. I was going to read this book, but I didn't because I saw other reviews talking about how there was no concrete ending and they were felt confused about some parts. I think leaving readers hanging works if you're doing a series but for stand-alone books, readers need a resolution.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree. Without going into too much detail, you're left thinking: Huh? You're left to draw your own conclusion - kind of like creating your own ending. I felt that it didn't make any sense, and the book is overhyped.

    ReplyDelete

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