Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn

13 reviews

david_slack110507's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

You know a book is good when even a reading slump and an admittedly slow and uneventful first part of the book can't take away from your overall enjoyment and still leaves you with the decision to rate it 5 stars. It took me a while to finish this once started for two main reasons, 1) As mentioned earlier I was in a major reading slump, so I struggled to be even interested in some amazing other books I was reading at the time such as the AGGGTM series and 2) The first part of the book was really slow and difficult to get into. 

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

janset's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Self harm, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Sexual content, Dementia, Grief, Injury/injury detail, and Misogyny

Minor: Medical content, Gun violence, Drug use, and Vomit

taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Violence, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Alcohol, Dementia, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Classism, Drug use, Fatphobia, Medical content, and Racial slurs

nabila99's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

as someone who adores david fincher's film adaptation of this book, and watched the film first, reading it was actually quite revelatory. because of the nature of film and TV, it's not always possible to show a character's introspection and inner world the way it is in a book - and gone girl the novel felt very introspective compared to gone girl the film.

i especially enjoyed how much more of amy we get in the book, even if

Spoiler

it is just Diary Amy, and i genuinely found her pov very poignant, despite my knowledge of how the story would go

. it was also very enlightening to see nick's 

Spoiler

misogyny, how he battles against it throughout the whole book but is still a shitty man in many ways, how parental attitudes and bigotries are passed down

.

while i did find that the book dragged a bit at times (especially in nick's chapters), and the ending was a bit abrupt and ambiguous, i flew through the story and was always engaged. what a ride!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Murder, Rape, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Dementia, Drug use, Terminal illness, Vomit, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Medical content, Abortion, and Kidnapping

mle11's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Blood, Cursing, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Misogyny, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Stalking, Cancer, Grief, Medical content, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Drug use, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Classism, Infertility, Vomit, and Miscarriage

louisegraveyard's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Dementia, Drug use, Sexism, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, Blood, Body shaming, Violence, Bullying, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

eureadthis's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Infertility, and Self harm

Minor: Injury/injury detail, Stalking, Sexual violence, Drug use, Blood, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

becca_w_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Fatphobia and Pedophilia

Minor: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Kidnapping

rubybooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 This was a pretty random read for me - I just came across the audiobook while I was looking on my library app. This book was extremely popular a few years ago, so I did know a little bit about the plot before I went in, so I did guess a few of the plot points but not all of them. It's not the typical genre I read, but I did enjoy reading it, especially because there are a lot of twists and turns. I got through it quickly once I got a few hours in, but I don't know if it would have taken me longer if I hadn't read the audiobook.

Gone Girl follows the disappearance of Amy Dunne on her 5th wedding anniversary. The story is narrated in the present time by her husband, Nick, and Amy also narrates some past events before the timelines overlap at the end. So much of the evidence suggests that Nick killed his wife - did he? From the very beginning, it's obvious that the situation is more complicated than the police assume.

The main characters, Nick and Amy, are both extremely unlikeable characters. That worked really well for this book, because they both do bad things and you're not quite sure whose side to take in the relationship or who to trust. They are definitely unreliable narrators! I hated them both but the story wouldn't have really worked if they didn't have serious character flaws. There are a lot of small details about them throughout and it was satisfying to see them starting to come together in the end.

Gone Girl did not end like I expected it to. I won't give any spoilers, but I was definitely expecting something more dramatic or shocking so I was disappointed. There really isn't much I can say without specifics, but there was so much build up and then it just... ended. I don't know, I was just hoping for something more so I was let down.

So overall, it was a fun and engaging read, but I was a disappointed by the ending. This often happens when I read crime/thriller/mystery books - I get really invested in the story as it unfolds and I am never satisfied by the end. It's not my usual genre to read though, so make of that what you will! Even though I didn't love it, I'll probably still check out some of Flynn's other books. Be aware of adult content, descriptions of sex, drugs, alcohol, murder and infidelity. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Drug use, Murder, and Infidelity

temeade's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I loved Gone Girl! I listened to the audiobook version. I spent the entire book thinking I knew what was going on then the opposite would happen! Or something I didn't even expect! I love mysteries that constantly make you think about what is happening! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Vomit, Violence, Self harm, Sexual content, Rape, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Grief, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Death, and Blood