mzeejl786's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Baffled
Graphic: Infidelity, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Cursing
at806's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Cancer, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/injury detail, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Murder, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
danielleeejames's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Miscarriage, Murder, and Death
michaelion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Picture this. You're me. You're in biology class. it's 2014. Your teacher overhears you say you wanna be a writer or you wanna make movies when you get older. She tells you "Oh my gosh, I just saw this movie you'd really like." She softly, accidentally spoils the plot twist, but it's okay you know enough about tv amd movies to know nobody ever really dies except Uncle Ben. So you shrug it off and say, "Okay, I'll still watch it." And then she says, "It was based on a book." brcause she knows you like books. And then she goes, "Oh, wait! It's really mature... Maybe you shouldn't watch it." How old was I in 2014 you ask? FOURTEEN !!!
Honestly I was reading way worse stuff back then and I've calmed down now. But anyway.
That was, and I don't mean this lightly, pretty fucking amazing. The first third is pretty slow but it pays off so well. And then the second part being titled "Boy Meets Girl"? Even though they've known each other seven years?? Shut the fuck up it's literally true. Wow. And also, amazing.
Every crazy sociopathic calculated woman deserves her own pathetic spineless weasel of a man. Her own puppet.
And even after all that, she wasn't racist? My bar has been met. I love it.
Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Injury/injury detail, Emotional abuse, Torture, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Self harm, and Infidelity
Moderate: Alcohol, Rape, Pregnancy, Confinement, Kidnapping, Blood, Murder, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Stalking, Body shaming, and Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Animal cruelty, and Vomit
smallragingoth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Cancer, Misogyny, and Infidelity
Minor: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide, and Toxic friendship
saraavowlerr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death, Injury/injury detail, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Blood, Cursing, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexism, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Dementia, and Sexual content
blueregard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Spoiler
Pretty cool book full of female rage. I still think Rebecca is the best book of the female rage genre, but this was fun tooModerate: Rape
Minor: Death
anastasiak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Self harm, Misogyny, Rape, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Stalking, Chronic illness, Death, Violence, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship
david_slack110507's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Gillian Flynn's writing is brilliant and feels much more complex than some of the other writing I've read before, the way she writes both Nick and Amy but particularly Amy is amazing (Pun intended). She makes sure that they are presented as awfully complex and toxic people yet gives them many layers that the reader can both love and hate them at the same time. I will admit that the supporting cast of characters isn't really developed beyond bits and pieces of detail, but they don't really have to be, this is a story between Nick and Amy and their complexities as characters.
The book really hits its stride when it begins its second part, reading about Amy was much more fascinating to me because she's written with such brilliance that she genuinely believes that the things she is doing are a reasonable reaction to what Nick has done. She's a well-written example of a morally complex and grey female protagonist/character. I didn't expect this book to go into such gritty detail about Amy's plan, but it made her all the more interesting in how she rationalises her behaviour whilst Nick's perspective is also intriguing as he goes from loving his wife to hating her and planning to kill her within a second's notice.
I'm really glad that I read the book rather than watch the movie first (which I will be doing soon hopefully) as I feel like I wouldn't have had the motivation to read this if I already knew what happens and if I knew how long it would take me to finish it. Looking forward to potentially reading more of Flynn's novels in the future and seeing how their adaptations fare in comparison to the source material.
Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Cursing, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual assault, Stalking, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Rape
Moderate: Gaslighting, Self harm, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexism, Misogyny, Grief, Kidnapping, Death, Gore, and Miscarriage
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Deadnaming, Vomit, Drug use, and Dementia
taylorgarcia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Vomit, Murder, Death, and Rape
Moderate: Violence and Fatphobia
Minor: Racism