Title: Gone Girl
Author: Gillian Flynn
Format: Audiobook
My rating: 3.75 stars
Gone Girl was an interesting story. I can’t say that I enjoyed it, but I can’t say I disliked it either. I would rate it well, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone I know. It’s hard to put a finger on my emotions. I’d read reviews prior to picking it up, so I knew the first part would be slow, the characters would be unlikable, and the end would render mixed results.
For my more conservative friends and family: avoid this book. It has a great deal of inappropriate language and profanity that quickly became repetitive and ineffective.
The only gripe I have about the writing was the misuse of the word literally. Rand, on the other hand, was literally losing his head. Sorry if it’s a spoiler, but Rand is not suffering from a case of decapitation.
Gone Girl was like a train wreck for me–horrific, gut-wrenching, sick-inducing, unable to look away. But let me explain. Gillian Flynn did well. The plot was good. The characters were well developed. Never once did I want to fling the book across the room. The emotion clawed its way out of the book, hooked into me, and made me feel. The character was miserable, which in turn made me feel miserable. The character was filled with vile, ugly feelings toward another character and that same loathing worked its way into me. Those emotions aren’t pleasant, just like watching a train wreck isn’t pleasant. But it held my attention, I talked to others about it, and the end left me with a feeling: *blink* *stare* really? *blink* wow.
The end… I can see why people liked and disliked it. I loved and hated it. For those that want their stories to end with (or even contain for that matter) warm-fuzzies, don’t read this book.
*Semi Spoiler*
I found the end intriguing with that little bit of mental breakdown I have an affection for. I like insanity. I like it when characters are pushed to the edge and teeter on that fine line of “am I crazy”. But the part of me that’s a sucker for triumph and victories (even if they are bittersweet), that part was left staring, mouth agape, thinking “she did not just end it that way, did she?”
*End Spoiler*
Now as far as my rating goes, well, I read for enjoyment. This book captivated me, but I didn’t particularly enjoy it. It doesn’t deserve a low rating because I didn’t enjoy it, but I can’t give it 5 stars either. It did something right–I wanted to keep going. It was intricate and devious and infuriating. I ranted to my husband about how much I hated a particular character. It really got under my skin. The author pushed my buttons. I reacted to the tone, the voice, the situation, the characters. And that’s why I give it a 3.75 star rating. I dock it a quarter star because of personal annoyances (such as *literally* but there are other things).
Like I said, I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone I know, but I wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading it either (unless you dislike foul language and need warm-fuzzies for a satisfying reading experience). That being said, there is my review.