A Book Review - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

A Book Review - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl is the break out novel by Gillian Flynn that has received a significant amount of press and adulation since it was published last summer.  Gone Girl is what I term “mind candy”, a novel of suspense that also causes one to suspend all concept of reality.

Gone Girl is written in three parts and attempts to portray the dark side of human nature in the psychological dysfunction of marital relationship after the wife disappears on the couple’s fifth wedding anniversary. 

Amy Elliott and Nick Dunn met, courted and married in New York City. Amy came from a background of privilege and some notoriety as her parents had authored a series of books about “Amazing Amy”, which chronicled an idealized Amy through her childhood and school years.  Nick grew up the only son of a middle class family in Middle America.

After Amy disappears, suspicion falls on Nick, because as the husband, he is the most likely suspect.

This was a quick read and I found the first half of the book to be a suspenseful page-turner.  I like Ms. Flynn’s writing style. It flows well and I plan to read one of her earlier novels. However, none of the characters in this book are appealing. None are likeable. I felt no empathy for any of the persons portrayed.

By the time I was into the second half of the book, I predicted where the narrative was going and it lost me. While it was clever and clear that Ms. Flynn had conducted some research on sociopathic personalities, the story became too contrived, too convoluted, well beyond the most outrageous headlines of tabloid news. (except maybe “Batboy”).  I’ve worked in insurance claims for more than 30 years and have seen a lot of things that one just could not make up. But, Gone Girl left me shaking my head.