Gone Girl

Spoiler Alert: If you cannot learn to love her, you will grow to fear her.

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A true classic and gripping psychological thriller, Gone Girl is utterly unforgettable. Begging the perpetual question, "who can I trust?" this novel takes the idea of an unreliable narrator to the next level. A read in one sitting type of book, the mystery is both entertaining and though-provoking -- urging us to ask difficult and sometimes disturbing questions about the relationships in our life. Amy and Nick Dunne are a seemingly perfect couple. After meeting and falling for each other in New York, their love story seems like a fairytale. When they both lose their jobs however, and are forced to move back to Nick's childhood home, issues that once seemed small threaten to unravel the fabric of their marriage. As Amy feels uprooted and alienated, and Nick slips back into old habits, the two find themselves in completely different universes. When Amy discovers a secret, she will stop at nothing to regain her old life -- to make her husband pay. This novel is original, exciting, and calculated. Flawlessly weaving in many different perspectives, some real some false, the story never takes on too much or feels difficult to understand. In making such complex and intricate characters in addition to the flawless plotting, the author makes it difficult for the reader to sympathize with just one character. I found myself switching throughout the book, justifying the horrific actions of each character solely because I was seeing the story through their point of view. The book illicitted such strong emotions and reactions from me that I have only experienced a few times before. While it is ultimately revealed that Amy Dunne is perhaps far from sane, my favorite part of the story was probably her striking insights. She delivers one famous monologue about the definition of a "cool girl." This was one of my favorite parts of any book I have ever read. Despite perhaps not being the best character, she relates real concerns and double standards of women in a powerful and cutting way. I am a sucker for a complex female character, no matter how convoluted her motives may be. Ultimately, after I closed the pages of the book, I found myself asking this final, open-ended question: Was this story feminist or no? What was the ultimate message? This is something I have been wrestling with for days. Did it make the claim that all women are crazy? That all men are pigs? Both? However distorted or extreme the events of this story were, in addition to simply being entertaining they also spark deep conversation and thought. Although fortunately, few can fully relate with the heavily flawed characters in this book, at the end of the day we all have short-comings and complicated relationships. Tuning into ourselves, our society and our loved ones may be a good idea -- you never know when you or someone you love will reach a breaking point.

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Favorite Quotes: “Men always say that as the defining compliment, don’t they? She’s a cool girl." ~~ “There’s something disturbing about recalling a warm memory and feeling utterly cold.” ~~ “There's a difference between really loving someone and loving the idea of her.” ~~ “It’s a very difficult era in which to be a person, just a real, actual person, instead of a collection of personality traits selected from an endless Automat of characters.” ~~ “Love makes you want to be a better man—right, right. But maybe love, real love, also gives you permission to just be the man you are.” ~~ "I would have done anything to feel real again.”