I read it and would be happy to discuss it with you OP.
Constant Reader
r3, did you hate the ending as much as I did?
SPOILERS BELOW
I finished it about two weeks ago. I thought the first section of the book, where you don't know what happened to Amy, was beautifully executed and tense. She's slowly building sympathy for Nick as a character, but also of course raising doubts about him and strongly hinting that he killed his wife. It was a tough balancing act and she pulled it off well.
After the big reveal that Amy is still alive and is framing Nick, I thought it lost quite a bit of its tension and became much more like a cheesy Hollywood thriller. I didn't quite buy the character of Evil Mastermind Amy, and her motivation seemed sort of sketchy.
That being said, once Amy and Nick finally came back into each other's orbit I did thing she regained a strong measure of narrative tension. And I liked the very end with the pregnancy reveal - it was at least of a piece with the kind of person she had made Amy into.
Considering the book's success and the likelihood of a screen adaptation, I have to assume that Gillian Flynn is already thinking about sequel ideas.
I don't read a lot of crime fiction/thrillers, but overall I'd give it a B+.
Agree, it was a great summer read BUT the ending didn't quite work - the second half becomes very Fatal Attraction. If you're in the mood for a page turner without much thinking, you couldn't do better.
Ah, I had to skip over the spoiler to respond this: I'm trying to read it now but I find it hard to get in to. All the characters seem so unlikeable and I'm kind of tired of the cliche NYers going to the midwest and being bored out of their minds.
Agree with much R5 said.
I admit I loved Amy's snarky interpretions of the subtext of male/female sexual dynamics. Even though as a sociopath she reduced everything down to manipulation and selfish intent.
I sort of thought of Nick as a "nicer" sociopath.
After reading this novel. I read both of Flynn's previus works.
Sharp Objects
About a troubled young female reporter who goes back to her midwestern town to investigate two child murders. While there we see into her family background which contributed to her personal difficulties in relationships and her propensity for cutting as a teen. Very dark.
Dark Places
About a girl who survived her family's massacre as a seven year old and testified against her older brother. Story starts with her coming to the end of her money and "fame" years later. She gets involved with a secret group that meets to discuss and analyze murders and hatches a plan to profit from her tragic history. I won't say more because that might spoil it for readers.
Of the two books, Dark Places is the better, I think. The writer's voice is strong and her narrative growth is evident between this book and Gone Girl. Sharp Objects is a tough read due to the twisted dynamics of the reporter and her mother, and the apparent damage she lives with.
I haven't read this, but I read Flynn's first two books and she is so-so. Both of those had stupid endings as well.
R6
Flynn's writing is very dramatic and intense. I agree that the ending of the novels may seem as if she had run out of steam. I did like Dark Places better than Gone Girl. Of the three books, Sharp Objects seemed to get lost for a long period mid book. I saw the ending coming from a mile away as well.
SPOILER BELOW
Amy's parents weren't developed properly -- a major flaw, IMO. No idea how they created this monster. They seem a bit lovey dovey and silly, but ... there's really NO RATIONALE at all for how they created this monster.
And are preppies really named "Desi"?
I just finish it. I listened to it too and from work for the last few weeks and it was engrossing enough to make me look forward to the drive. The ending was completely depressing to me. It took the idea of "settling" to a whole nother level.
lah
ITA, r11.
r5
I agree with everything r11 said!
For a fun summer page turner, you can't do better. Even as the story became more outlandish, I still couldn't put the book down and read it in 2 days....very unusual for me, a normally slow reader.
And though it's not great literature, I didn't find it trashy.
bump in the night
I just finished it. I really enjoyed it and was definitely caught by surprise by a lot of the twists. I thought the book lagged a bit at the points when Amy was at the cabin and that the character as written would never interact with the other lodgers for fear of getting caught and would never have considered killing herself for real. The ending was totally depressing, but I still liked it for its perverse beauty. I also really enjoyed some of the observations about relationships, particularly the way she talks about women striving to be the "cool girl" and how the "cool girl" is a totally fictional creation we've all come to believe really exists.
I have been read 'Go Girl'!
lah!!! I haven't seen you here in forever. Welcome back, or welcome on your resurface (if you've been lurking).
An%20Ardent%20lah%20fan...
I thought they were setting the father up for her murder.
I enjoyed the ride but not the destination. Very lame ending, and not very convincing.
So...the ending. Do we think she kills herself (and therefore the baby); Nick; or the baby right after the baby is born?
I flew through this book but I sort of hated it. The first half was Scott Peterson and the second half was batshit crazy lady.
Reese Witherspoon is producing the movie which probably means that she will star as Amy, as well. I suppose it could work when I think of Reese as Tracy Flick in "Election"...but Amy is a role I can actually see GOOP in. For Nick I would select John Krasinski. Yes, really.
anyone?
R9, Gone Girl is really good - until the end (that's just mine and almost everyone else's opinion though). I didn't like the ending, but I really liked the set up and how it unfolded.
I liked Dark Places, but I didn't like Sharp Objects at all. There was nothing special about it.
spoiler
I might have liked the ending if Nick would have had a big upper hand. If he was getting some pay back, but just going back to the way things were and essentially being pussy whipped by Amy is a cop out. It's different, but it's lame and disappointing
Just finished it and boy, was it a page-turner. I enjoyed all of it, even the perverse and depressing ending (although I was disappointed that Nick didn't at least get her back in some small way). First half of the book I hated Nick. Second half I despised Crazy Amy and got that same feeling of not being able to wait for the bitch to get her comeuppance, similar to the feeling I got while watching "Fatal Attraction", "Play Misty For Me", etc., for the first time.
