Having been the first Gillian Flynn book I had ever read, I was hesitant to read Gone Girl because I heard mixed reviews. Some readers loved the story, with twists and turns until the very end. Others weren’t big fans, finding the ending relatively frustrating (spoiler alert). So, I decided to enter this heated debate to decide once and for all if Gillian Flynn hit it out of the park with Gone Girl.
My opinion? I loved it.
As a young, aspiring writer myself, I thoroughly enjoyed all the mysterious aspects of Flynn’s novel. Up until halfway through, I was sure I had the ending figured out: the cheating husband killed his wife and covered it up (rather poorly, I might add).
THEN, with an epic plot twist, it was actually the wife who was the mastermind behind the whole operation, keeping her husband in the dark the whole time. She wanted revenge against her husband, who she blamed for their failing marriage. However, her scheme didn’t go according to plan so what does one do when Plan A goes horribly wrong?
Resort to Plan B (which is equally as horrible).
In attempt to cover up her manipulative plot, the wife claims she was kidnapped by an old flame and held hostage at his house, until finally, she killed him in self-defense and escaped (OBVIOUSLY, she planned the whole thing). Then, she returns to her husband and tells the police her “story”.
But, this is where I was mildly disappointed.
The husband knew of his wife’s antics, realizing she was clinically insane, and plans to divorce her once their “happy reunion” is old news. BUT, the wife senses she is losing her husband, so she gets herself pregnant with his baby, so he is stuck in the marriage forever—that’s how it ends.
Frustrating. I know.
Overall, Flynn artfully intertwined story lines and successfully told a mystery that sold millions of copies and was ultimately made into a movie—and I loved it. However, I could have gone with a different ending, with the “gone girl” actually being gone (seriously, I couldn’t stand her), or the husband successfully getting away from his psycho wife, to live a normal, healthy life.
As a final side note: I read Sharp Objects and Dark Places, both of which are also by Gillian Flynn, and I loved them, as well. Both are dark, twisty, and full of surprises.
Image Courtesy of Movie Mezzanine
Books and Bites with Brooke 