lyla_wicks's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Gore
hannahmg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
1/2 writing/structure/character creation
1/2 enjoyment
I would not recommend this book.
Overall I did not enjoy this book, the first 250 page were not needed and were poorly written, the last 50 pages were as bad as the first part of the book. I only enjoyed a small snippet of the book. The length of this triller is way to long and unnecessary. I felt like I was reading a first draft of a idea.
The writing was partly smart with good ideas but poorly done, the journal extracts giving us a unreliable pov which was smart, reminded me of Dracula, but this was done in a manner which made it worthless, more dialogue than actually description, this was so unrealistic it was unnecessary to make it seem like a dairy. Nicks pov was closer to a dairy than Amy's own dairy entries. The repetition was unbearable, -yes Nick we get it you have a mistress and she is young, very young, and pretty.
The character creation was immense and well though through, Amy and Nick are both so realistic but fucked up at the same time. This is one of the major reasons it is a two and not a one star review.
I thought there was a lot of unnecessary added details, the level of Misogyny and sexism was not needed and weakly touched on at the end. Specifically the character of Nick's father who has Dementia and becomes extremely misogynistic, with the use of the slur "bitch" in both his speech and Nicks thoughts. Why add this, I just think the book would of been fine without it and it didn't feel like a representation of any sorts but more a tick for the check list and even excusing the behaviour.
I was very disappointed in the trigger warning list i found (Storygraph). Yes it is a thriller, we should expect triggering things but at the end of the day the book should have a page of trigger warnings.
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Death, Self harm, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Cursing, Cancer, Vomit, Violence, Murder, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Gore, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Dementia, Terminal illness, Infertility, Grief, Rape, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Torture, Misogyny, Miscarriage, and Lesbophobia
sierrabedwell'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
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Violence, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Vomit
renyoi's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexism, Death of parent, Self harm, Sexual content, Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Blood, Terminal illness, Torture, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Violence, Kidnapping, Cancer, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Sexual assault, Dementia, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Vomit
Moderate: Incest
deviya'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
4.25
Graphic: Alcohol, Stalking, Sexual content, Self harm, Rape, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Vomit, Terminal illness, Suicide, Sexism, Physical abuse, Murder, Gore, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail
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
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
"Gone Girl" follows Nick Dunne, a man whose wife, Amy, goes missing the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary. We know that Nick is hiding something, but did he murder his wife? In between the chapters we get Amy's perspective through letters that shed a lot of light that perhaps this marriage is not as great as we were led to believe.
Spoiler
I was really enjoying this story until it is revealed that Amy is still alive. She staged her death and framed her husband so that she could escape her life because she feels like everyone is leaching off of her. I had heard from other people that they really loved Amy because she is such a "boss bitch", but I did not get that vibe from her at all. Amy really infuriated me as a character because she is such a toxic person. Nick is not a terrible person, and he does not deserve to be framed and sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. Yes, he cheated on Amy and had an ongoing affair, and that is inexcusable, but there is NO justification for Amy to behave as she did. She came across as an entitled woman who threw a hissy fit when things did not go her way. She is a highly unlikeable character, and I disliked her so much that I ended up empathizing with Nick for most of the novel.Amy aside, I really enjoyed this story. The writing and prose are so beautiful and poetic. Nick is a writer, and his inner dialogue is enchanting to read. Gillian Flynn knows how to write the perfect prose that is not too flowery but still so eloquent and captivating. This mystery was also riveting. We know very early on that everyone has something to hide, but it takes a while to peel back all of the layers and uncover what the truth is. I have really grown fond of domestic thrillers and this one set the bar high.
This was the perfect thriller for me, and ultimately, I only subtracted half a star because of how much I disliked Amy.
Graphic: Violence, Pregnancy, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Murder, Blood, Misogyny, and Torture
readwithsophsx'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
2.5
Graphic: Death, Blood, Gore, and Mental illness
k_galloway's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Self harm, Violence, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Minor: Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Body shaming
optimisms'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
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Death, Blood, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Gaslighting, and Body horror
Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexism, Cancer, Sexual violence, Gore, Death of parent, Grief, Pregnancy, and Rape
Minor: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Incest, Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Dementia, and Stalking