Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Nick Dunne’s wife goes missing from their rented Missouri McMansion one afternoon. Transplanted New Yorkers, the couple moved to Nick’s hometown after losing their magazine/publishing jobs and to also care for Nick’s ailing mother and father. The story is told from both Nick’s and Amy’s perspectives. Sneaky and deceptive, the reader needs to sort through both sides to get to the facts.
Full of surprises and twists, this novel neatly fits into the thriller category. I’m new to the genre but I definitely see its appeal. Sometimes you just want an easy, engrossing read that isn’t a struggle to start or stick with. It’s an escape from reality.
One thing that struck me about the novel is the interesting perspective it offers into long-term relationships. The characters and their (narcissistic, exaggerated) personalities aside, the book digs into the psychology of men and women, the small things that people do to demean each other, ruts that couples fall in to, and small everyday victories and defeats. It also makes us think deeply about the reality of our partners versus the fantasy, what we expect them to be versus what they are. One question that burns into every reader of this novel is – where did this marriage go so terrible wrong?
An intriguing page-turner that keeps us engaged and asks us to think.
7/10
*Sorry for the lack of a Hiro/Rowdy book picture. I checked Gone Girl out of the library and had to return it ASAP due to popular demand. Here is a glamour shot of Hiro instead.
