Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn was on our bookshelf this week, and it was worth the two sleepless nights we spent reading until dawn.
This book follows Nick Dunne in the aftermath of his wife’s disappearance from their Missouri home. Amy has vanished without a trace on their wedding anniversary, leaving behind a living room torn apart by the struggle and Nick’s anniversary present hidden in a closet. The small town of North Carthage searches valiantly, but Amy is nowhere to be found.
Eventually, the police seem to be focusing solely on Nick. The evidence all points towards his involvement, and as the lies he has told begin to be discovered, Nick begins to doubt that anyone else truly believes in his innocence. When the police find Amy’s diary filled with entries detailing her fear of her husband, Nick knows he’s in serious trouble. Armed with a lawyer, he searches for the truth of what happened to Amy, and who really made his wife disappear. Throughout the search, Flynn leads readers through the nuances of Nick and Amy’s marriage, proving that they are not the perfect couple that Nick paints them to be.
Gone Girl will literally take your breath away and surprises the reader until the very last page. Flynn is a natural mystery writer and has a way of answering every question a reader will have right before dropping another bombshell discovery into the story. The depth of Flynn’s characters and her immaculate attention to detail make for the ultimate mystery read.
Our favourite quote from Gone Girl: “Love should require both partners to be their very best at all times. Unconditional love is an undisciplined love, and undisciplined love is disastrous.”
This is a powerful book that will truly make you think about your relationships and the way you are living your life, To us, that makes Gone Girl one of the best novels we have ever read.
