Recent Read: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

You guys, I never read anymore. It’s sad and pathetic, but true.

Last week, however, I was heading to Las Vegas for work—and my work commitments once I was out there were scheduled to be minimal—so I figured I would take advantage and READ something that wasn’t work related for once. Before I went, I happened to see a movie trailer for Gone Girl, starring Ben Affleck. It was a pretty intriguing movie trailer, and I immediately recognized the title as a book title. Something I had heard about but never got around to reading myself (surprise, surprise). And so I thought, “Hmm. That looks pretty good. Maybe I’ll go back and read that now.”

Well, I ended up being busier than I anticipated in Vegas, so I didn’t get any poolside-with-a-book time. But I did remember to download a book to my iPad before embarking on my travels home—and Gone Girl was the one. Thank goodness, too, because I ended up being delayed six hours, many of which were spent sitting in airplanes that weren’t moving and waiting in airports. You can only check Facebook so many times. :) So I started reading, and I READ THE ENTIRE DAY. (Side note: What a rare luxury that is for a mom, huh?) I read during my flights, I read during my wait in line for boarding, I read during my layover and while I ate my dinner.

The book definitely captured my attention. Despite my many hours of reading, though, I didn’t quite finish it in one day—I had maybe 80 pages remaining. I got home late Friday night and managed to finish it over the weekend. Go me!

Anyway, if you haven’t read it, Gone Girl is the story of a married woman who suddenly goes missing under very odd circumstances. What follows is a woven web of suspicion and speculation, lies and revelations. What happened to Amy? What does Nick know?

The story is told through a combination of Nick’s first-person account, with much of the couple’s history chronicled through Amy’s past diary entries. It’s an interesting approach, which allows readers to see it all through both characters’ eyes.

Through the whole thing, I definitely wasn’t sure how it would end, and when I finally did get to to that last page? I felt like, “Wait. THAT’S it?” It wasn’t what I was expected. With this book, even when you feel a twist coming—the twist is probably not what you were thinking it might be. In that regard, I give the author some props. Overall, though, the ending wasn’t quite… satisfying. I have heard, however, that the movie ends differently, so I’m curious to see how it’s adapted—especially since it’s my understanding that the author, Gillian Flynn, adapted her own book as the writer of the screenplay.

Here’s the extended movie trailer, if you’re interested:

So those who have read it… what did you think? Did you like or dislike the ending? Are you curious about the movie? I’ve seen a few discussions in which people are actually talking about the movie being BETTER than the book—that never happens!