This summer I was introduced to the talented writings of Gillian Flynn, a contemporary writer, who has composed three novels, Sharp Objects, Dark Places, and her latest, and in my opinion her best, Gone Girl. All three of her writings are packed full of mystery that keeps you from putting the book down until the very end, and trust me, they are all worth it, so don’t skip ahead. These thrilling stories take you into the minds of very complex individuals whose lives revolve around seeking the truth, which takes them each on a journey worth reading about.
Gone Girl begins with introducing us to a couple from the Midwest, Nick and Amy Dune, on the day of their fifth anniversary. But this isn’t any normal anniversary; this is the day that Nick’s wife goes missing. The story is written from the perspective of Nick Dune, beginning the day Amy goes missing and continues to tell the story each day afterward. At the same time the reader is able to learn a lot about who Amy is through her diary entries, which date back as far as seven years.
From the very beginning it is obvious that Nick and Amy are not having the greatest relationship. This is mostly to do with the fact that they both were forced to move from their home in New York City back to Nick’s small hometown in Missouri. To make matters worse, their once flourishing jobs in the writing world came to an end because of the poor economy and the decline in newspapers and magazines jobs available. Another factor damaging their relationship is the secrets that they both have withheld from each other.
As the days go by we learn more about Nick and the difficulties he goes through. From the very beginning the police and the town assume Nick to be the main suspect for Amy’s disappearance. His lack of emotion is noticed by both the police and the media. He also has great difficulty at thinking before he acts which makes matters worse. No one believes his innocence except for his sister Go (short for Margo.)
We can come to the conclusion that Nick couldn’t be the one behind his wife’s disappearance because we are reading the story in his point of view, and can see that he truly does not know where Amy is. Panicked and angry he responds to the police during their investigation “My wife is gone. My wife is gone!” finally showing his concern that he has so much trouble expressing throughout the book. But there is still so much that we don’t know about him, for instance the truth that that he no longer loves his wife. But he still cares for her and is determined to find what happened to her.
As the days go by we continue to learn about Amy through her diary. We come to know her like we would a new friend, listening to the stories of her life with Nick. She is a happy and bubbly person who is always on the positive side of things. Yet as we read further we make another discovery that casts her husband in an entirely different light than what we’ve previously encountered him as the narrator of the story. So who are we to believe, Nick or Amy?
I recommend reading Gone Girl because it is a story with many layers; it is interesting, compelling, and plays clever psychological tricks on your mind. As you read, you may start to think that you know these characters, and you might even venture a guess as to what happened to Amy. However as soon as you’re halfway through the book, there is a plot twist that you never seen coming, and the story abruptly and completely changes. One would expect elements of mystery in any of Flynn’s books, but with Gone Girl she takes it to a whole different level.
Gone Girl was number one on the New York Times’ Best Seller list for eight full weeks. It has garnered a generous amount of praise, and will soon be adapted into a major motion picture by 20th Century Fox, with Ben Affleck as Nick and Rosamund Pike as Amy. The film will be released October 3rd 2014. So go read this amazing thriller for yourself and experience the great writing Gillian Flynn has to offer.