Hey everyone!

I posted on my Facebook page a few days that I had been reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Well, I have completed reading it so I thought I should share my thoughts on the novel. In short, I really enjoyed it.

Gone Girl is a #1 New York Times Bestseller by Gillian Flynn. It is about a man whose wife disappears. You might think this is a typical premise, but you’ll be wrong! When the small-town police arrive to question the man, Nick Dunne, he begins lying about things. The novel alternates perspectives between him and his wife, Amy. Amy’s sections are written in the form of a diary with entries dating for several years before the date of her disappearance.

Now, I don’t want to spoil anything. The twists the plot takes are well worth it, and perfectly executed. But I will say this: everyone is in a shade of grey (not of the 50 Shades variety, either). Nick is openly deceptive, but as you read on, so is Amy. If you were to pick up the book from Barnes and Noble or buy it for your Kindle, you might see blurbs from critics that describe Gone Girl as “terrifying” (Time) or “sinister” (Chicago Sun-Times). Those critics are right.

My favorite aspect for this novel is the fact that, since the major characters are morally ambiguous, everyone acts as each other’s antagonist. I love this. Antagonists always make stories interesting. Gone Girl is no different. Every character has a motive, something that drives them, and someone to oppose them from achieving whatever it is.

Gone Girl is both literary fiction and genre fiction. One foot is firmly planted in a tight mystery thriller, the other in well-crafted fiction. The characters change as the story progresses, or rather what we understand about these characters changes. The twists are unnerving in that way.

Gillian Flynn does a terrific job with these characters. I invested a significant amount of time reading this book. I’m glad I did.

My verdict: Recommended