BOOK REVIEW: GONE GIRL BY GILLIAN FLYNN




* * 



It's hard to write about a book that had been discussed many times over, a bestseller praised world wide.

 There are some books that start off easy and lighthearted and then grow on you as you uncover unexpected depth, and this is where popular and literary fiction find common ground. Gone Girl is such a book. But is it enough to fall in love with it? 

Novel's structure proposes two different view points on the events of a mysterious disappearance.  Nick and Amy Dunn have left their busy life in New York to run a small town pub. They are as different as chalk and cheese. But their account of each other's actions makes us wonder... Who is telling the truth? Does anyone?

The unreliable narrator structure of a novel was for the first time introduced by Agatha Christie in "The Murder or Roger Ackroyd". She used this method several times after, and one of my favorites is "Endless Night." It is "Endless Night" that in my opinion was a great inspiration for GONE GIRL. 

Just like the latter, "Endless Night" has a young talented man who marries a girl of a substantial inheritance who finds herself in peril. The difference is that GONE GIRL introduces two unreliable narrators. About half way through the book tables are turned, secrets are revealed, but all the build up ends in anticlimax.

The author herself acknowledged that she drew inspiration for the ending from Rosmary's Baby. "Yes she gave a birth to a monster... And sort of likes it." In GONE GIRL the monster is marriage. And I am certain that the books popularity may be to blame for the increase in some divorce statistics.

I have to admit that I struggled a bit while reading the book. I found Amy's narrative enjoyable, but empty of substance. While Nick's narrative lacks exciting twists that is a back bone of any crime novel. There's just not enough going on for a 100,000 words yarn and there was a moment I had to yell: "Come on, is it all that you've got up your sleeve?" 

GONE GIRL dissects marriage like a dead body and the murder of a marriage is the only one worth mentioning here. But if you crave the real murder mystery... stick with "Endless Night".

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We'll End Up Together - Nous Finirons Ensemble (French Movie Review)

Image
10/10 Max has a sixtieth birthday coming up. The problem is he is broke, divorced and depressed. When a group of his best friends show up at his doorstep to help him celebrate, he reluctantly agrees to spend a few days with them, but won’t explain what’s going on in his personal life. When ones darkest moments come, will friendship conquer all? Seven years after the breakout success of the film Little White Lies (Les Petits Mouchoirs) comes the long anticipated sequel and it is worth the wait. The success of WE’LL END UP TOGETHER is not in its rather predictable plot, but the chemistry on screen, the characters that we recognise ourselves and our friends in, and the amazing warm atmosphere that makes one believe there’s no problem a good dinner with friends won’t sort out.  Written and directed by much loved French actor and director  Guillaume Canet this movie feels like a welcome return home to those who have seen the original and will also welcome new viewership - the film c
Read more

KOREAN MOVIE REVIEW: MEMOIR OF A MURDERER

Image
8/10 Byung-su is an elderly veterinarian who has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He has a caring daughter who does all she can to make his life easier, and a policemen friend whose name Byung-su forgets from time to time. He also goes to a poetry club (in order to keep his mind exercised) where a lonely widow makes advances at him. But there’s one thing that sets Byung-su apart from the other senior citizens of his little town – he is a serial killer.  When a new wave of killings begin Byung-su starts to suspect that a young man who is dating his daughter is the culprit. Trying to keep the remains of his memories together Byung-su writes extensive journals. But what if his memories are actually real? Losing his grip on reality he goes head to head with the new serial killer in order to protect the only life he cares about in the world – his daughter’s. Before Dexter came around Koreans had excelled in creating charismatic killers as protagonists of the films
Read more

MSFF: DEATH IN BUENOS AIRES (MUERTE EN BUENOS AIRES)

Image
3 1/2 /5 It's year 1980 and we are in Buenos Aires. The wealthy gay man is murdered  and inspector Chaves is on the case. In order to find the culprit he has to plunge into the world of gay nightclubs, drugs and sex. But what is it with the young and handsome officer Gomes, who was the first on the crime scene, and seems to place himself with ease as a mole into a gay community? Is he trying to catch the killer? Or hiding something? As suspicions arise, Chaves is haunted by the feelings he does not understand. Will the fatal attraction to a younger man help him to solve the case, or be his undoing? First time director Natalie Meta is "spot on" on the upbeat atmosphere of the 80s without too much expense. She cleverly uses the pop tunes, over-the-top clothes and many other ingredients to recreate the time. The murder mystery is secondary, and the movie is focused on the relationship between the two men, full of innuendoes and mistrust. The very simple cinema
Read more