Author: Gillian
Flynn
Amy disappears on her and Nick’s fifth anniversary. The living room shows signs
of a struggle, but things don’t seem quite right. Nick’s interactions with the
police and the media seem a bit off and place him as suspect number one. What
happened to Amy? Was Nick involved in her disappearance?
- Tension builds throughout the novel. The reader keeps reading in anticipation of what will happen next. Very fast paced.
- Sense of menace and general uneasiness.
- While the story does take place over an extended time, most of the novel takes place within a few days of Amy’s disappearance.
- The chapters are rather short and alternate between Amy and Nick’s points of view. The back and forth gives the reader insight into both characters, so he/she knows more than the characters.
- The plot twists and turns in surprising ways.
- Contemporary setting.
- Flashbacks via Amy’s diary.
- Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
- Catch Me by Lisa Gardner
- Die for You by Lisa Unger
- Every Dead Thing by John Connolly
- A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
- The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison
I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on the book. I have to say that I was not a huge fan. I really struggled through the first half but about midway through it picked up and got better for me. It does fit the suspense characteristics very well though so I can see why you picked it for this genre.
ReplyDeleteI was just popping on to say that I too would love to hear your own thoughts on the book! It's in my 'to read' pile because I want to read it before I see the movie. I like books that are fast-paced and short chapters are also nice because I am interested so easily with a little one at home!
ReplyDeleteI was just popping on to say that I too would love to hear your own thoughts on the book! It's in my 'to read' pile because I want to read it before I see the movie. I like books that are fast-paced and short chapters are also nice because I am interested so easily with a little one at home!
ReplyDeleteI found this book incredibly difficult to get into and I started it several times before finishing it. Once I hit the half-way point; it was all consuming. It was very suspenseful and I didn't know what was going on for sure until the end. This was a great selection and you gave excellent characteristic examples.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny because I actually tried to read the book back when it came out. I got about 100 pages in and kind of gave up. With the movie coming out, I wanted to read the book before I saw it. The book really starts to speed up toward the middle of the first section and keeps it up until almost the very end. Once it gets going, it really is hard to put down. I didn't see a lot of the twists and turns coming, so that was nice. I thought the movie was well done and fairly close to the book.
ReplyDeleteIt really does accelerate, doesn't it? I couldn't put it down after a certain point. And I am a perfect suspense reader in a sense, because I NEVER see twists coming. People will say, "Oh, it was so obvious that such-and-such was going to happen," and when I read the same twist, I was shocked.
DeleteI know a couple of people who didn't like "Gone Girl" because the characters were both rather unlikable. That didn't bother me, because I was fascinated by how dysfunctional they were, but if you have someone who wants the characters in their books to feel like friends, this is NOT the book for them.
I think you did a great job on your annotation!
I have read her other two books and have LOVED all of them!!! She is a brilliant writer in that you are in the narrator's thoughts and you still have no idea if they are guilty or not. If anyone has additional read-alikes, I am very interested to hear them!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to read your thoughts on this book (Andrea and Laurie) because I had a completely different reaction. I was pretty much immediately drawn in...between the different vantage points in each chapter, I definitely had that sense of "menace and general uneasiness" that you mentioned, Andrea. I think that's what kept me reading. I honestly couldn't put it down because something didn't seem right throughout the first 1/3 of the book, and I found myself really needing to figure it out. And then after that...I had to know how it all was going to end. I haven't read 'Dark Places' but I did read 'Sharp Objects' and absolutely hated it. I didn't think it was nearly as compelling as 'Gone Girl.' (I did just see that they're making 'Dark Places' into a movie this year...wonder if it'll be any good?)
ReplyDeleteThanks for you description, Andrea. I've been thinking about reading "Gone Girl" and you've piqued my interest. I have not read any of Gillian Flynn's other books, so this will be my first. Knowing that the first half might be slow, but that it will pick up will help me stick with it!
ReplyDelete