“I’m a big fan of the lie of omission.”
In what must be a first for me, I find myself almost wishing that I hadn’t read Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl prior to seeing the film adaptation, my love for David Fincher be damned.
There’s something to be said, after all, for a viewing experience that promises one thing, then completely blindsides its audience by revealing itself to be something completely different. I have to give credit where it is undoubtedly due: the marketing team in charge of the novel’s Hollywood debut did about as good a job at keeping the narrative’s fairly substantial twists under wraps as the author did with her original manuscript.
Surprise, I think, is of utmost importance when it comes to enjoying Gone Girl. Despite how familiar its elements of the crime, thriller and mystery genres may be, Flynn manages to pull off something that I believed myself (and likely most other, well-read individuals) immune to: a genuinely surprising inversion of expectations. And it’s half of what makes her tale so much fun.
It is, however, also a bit of a double-edged sword.
With its first half (and I say this with perfect sincerity, because this book can be split almost precisely in two), Gone Girl fools you into believing that its story is a rather straightforward murder mystery: Who killed Amy Dunne? Or, perhaps more specifically: Did her husband Nick do it? And though it may not sound the most intriguing of premises, the premise’s simplicity works to its advantage. The alternating points of view – one Nick’s involvement (and increasingly apparent suspicion) in the investigation of his wife’s disappearance, the other a series of journal entries written by Amy that trace the evolution (its formation, its rise, its ugly descent) of her relationship with him – are replete with unpleasant and appalling little details that make the apparent predictability of the inevitable twist an acceptable (perhaps even unavoidable) weakness. If you cannot be original, after all, be sure that you can at least make your convention interesting.
“She was not the thing she became, the thing I feared most: an angry woman. I was not good with angry women. They brought something out in me that was unsavory.”
Flynn does this well, which is why the second half of the novel and its abrupt shift in direction is a difficult development to embrace. By answering the questions that predominate the book’s first several hundred pages and then promptly sending the characters down rabbit holes of unpredictable development and sudden reversals of personality (both personally and in relation to one another), Flynn gambles with your investment in her world and asks that you trust in her precipitous departures from what you have come to understand. It’s a risky gambit, as she essentially presents the reader with an entirely new story after hooking you with her original ideas. Your reaction will depend upon how kindly you take to being so blatantly manipulated.
Gone Girl seems a divisive sort of read as a result, and largely relies on whether or not you can play along with the author’s theatrics. Personally, I see them as a mixed sort of blessing. While the heightened spectacle (which flirts at times with becoming something dangerously akin to melodrama) of the novel’s final half keeps it undeniably entertaining and intriguing till the end, it also tarnishes the premise’s grounded, semi-believable start, which lends it a wonderful grittiness that the later showiness abandons.
It all comes together in a polarizing, love-it-or-hate-it ending that will be to the reader either a fittingly macabre conclusion to this grim, strange tale or an unsatisfying, mean-spirited final twist that kills much of the significance of all that came before. I place myself firmly in the former camp of thinking, but I do not begrudge anyone who may feel differently.
“I don’t feel like Nick’s wife. I don’t feel like a person at all: I am something to be loaded and unloaded, like a sofa or a cuckoo clock. I am something to be tossed into a junkyard, thrown into the river, if necessary. I don’t feel real anymore. I feel like I could disappear.”
Flynn, though, obviously knows what she is doing, and her competence helps smooth the various hurdles that she seems so fond of tangling her readers in. Her writing is thoughtful and smart, without reveling in unneeded flourishes or poeticism, and her characters are captivating to watch squirm and strain amongst her meddling hands, though at times they are perhaps too one-dimensional to function as truly relatable human beings.
It’s exciting, and it’s sure to shock you at one point or another. What more can you ask of a contemporary thriller?
To Conclude…
Still, I wonder how my opinion of the film and novel pairing may have differed had I seen the former first. Plaudits to the promotional material released beforehand for doing such an excellent job in misguiding audiences and toying so thoroughly with their expectations. Such cons, whether they be a clever ruse or an unfair cheat in your eyes, certainly make for exciting movie-going, and storytelling in general. Given the overwhelming predictability of many a remake and sequel these days, stories like Gone Girl are refreshing to happen upon.
Congratulations are in order, then, for Ms. Flynn. I may forever be sore over her blatant bait-and-switch techniques, but I must commend her on her unpredictability. Deception lends itself well to her writing.
Though I doubt that I will ever be able to trust her again.
Jennifer @ BookShelfery
I’ve had this on my Kindle forever, and still I have not read it. Previously, it was because I had heard mixed reviews, but I think yours clinched it for me. Moving it up the ol’ TBR.
Plus the movie does look pretty good.
Paul Beimers
David Fincher’s films tend to be a cinematic weakness of mine, so it was his involvement in the adaptation that convinced me to pick up the book. I certainly wasn’t disappointed that I did.
I haven’t a clue if I should recommend you to give the novel a go before seeing the movie. Doing so is like to have some sort of impact upon your appreciation of one or the other, but I cannot imagine what the specifics of such an impact could be. I know that, if nothing else, it would be entertaining to see how one’s non-savvy friends respond.
(It’s something that I’m looking forward to, anyway.)
Kat Kennedy
This review is flawless.
Paul Beimers
Thank you, Kat. You always leave the most encouraging comments, and they mean a great deal.
Samantha
I cannot wait to see this movie! The book was one of those that I couldn’t put down even when I wasn’t sure that I wanted to be reading. Great review!
Paul Beimers
I agree. It was difficult to pace myself once I picked it up, as the story is one of those that subtly (but powerfully) demands your attention once you get involved in the mystery.
The movie was excellent, by the way. It’s easily one of the best book-to-film adaptations that I’ve seen, and just about everything was translated to the screen perfectly.
Kate Copeseeley
I loved this review. I also really loved the book. Not really because it was unpredictable (I pretty much figured out exactly what was going to happen. Yes, I am that annoying person.) but because the characters were so delightfully and unapologetically narcissistic. They were both themselves to such a large degree that I often found myself cackling over the events as they progressed. The ending was perfect and hilarious and I couldn’t have loved it more.
Paul Beimers
My thoughts exactly. I love the ending precisely because the characters involved are so despicable that such a macabre outcome feels more than appropriate for them. It’s black humor at its finest, and I’m so pleased that they kept the book’s conclusion intact for the film adaptation.
Sarah C.
Wonderful review! I didn’t actually like the book (I prefer my characters somewhat likable), but I really admired the way Ms. Flynn handled the plot twist. I knew something was coming, but even expecting it, I was completely blind-sided.
Paul Beimers
I usually prefer something similar from my characters, but Flynn’s blackly humorous approach makes the cast’s shortcomings work in their favor, I think.
And I experienced the twist in much the same way as you did. I knew that there had to be some big reveal, but I did not expect the one that Flynn ultimately took, for whatever reason. The possibility simply did not occur to me.
Rosie
People have been telling me to read Gone Girl for so long now and I still haven’t got round to it. I really want to and I’m going to have to read it soon before I read something about the film that ruins it for me.
Paul Beimers
So long as you can experience one or the other without anything being given away prior. The film does such a good job at adapting the text that, if anything, the story may have more profound of an impact if it’s seen before reading the book.
Marie
Hello, hope you don’t mind, but I tagged you in this Halloween tag I found a while back. I tagged the post to the comments.
Shannelle
This book is everywhere now that the movie is out to the point that I’m really interested in getting a copy of it. There’s that whole love-it-or-hate-it thing, though. :/
Paul Beimers
No matter your reaction, it’s undoubtedly an entertaining read, and makes for exciting storytelling. It’s simply a question of whether you will the book down feeling (rather cruelly) happy for the characters or saddened for their eventual fates.
Rummanah
Fabulous review! I am a very picky mystery reader but I picked this book up because of all the hype was getting. I didn’t really see what the fuss was about until the twist which blindsided me and sucked me right in. I normally hate books with characters that I don’t like but I couldn’t stop reading this one. I can’t wait to see Fincher’s movie and Flynn’s adaptation of her own novel.
Tina
Glad to hear this is as good as everyone says! I’m really looking forward to reading it. I love a good mystery/thriller but I just haven’t had a lot of luck recently. Hope this one will turn it around!
Cherry Ann
hi paul!
great review! now i don’t know if i should read the book first or what haha!
Rachel
Excellent review that sums my thoughts up pretty nicely. Except I hated that ending!!
This is a rare book for me in that I absolutely adored it and pushed it on to everyone for the twists and turns that I did not see coming, and for Flynn’s genius in making me feel strongly for characters in the positive (sympathy towards some), and then flipping all of my thoughts and emotions on their head. If I remember correctly, I was grinning by the half-way mark. At the same time, I hated this book for the same reason, for its duplicity and most definitely for there being a lack of a satisfactory conclusion (IMO).
I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the movie adaptation!
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I saw the movie last night and am really excited to start the book, so I’m glad to hear that it’s still good. Having said that, I think Fincher did an amazing job with the adaption. The tone, the lighting, the editing, the music, everything he did made it such a great thriller. I’m actually concerned at this point that the book won’t live up to the movie even though everyone knows the saying… the book is always better than the movie.
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