Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I came across Gone Girl when I was scrolling Amazon for psychological thrillers, I wanted to order "The silent patient" but then i stumbled upon this book and its skyrocketing reviews, so i ordered the book to see what's so special about it. Book, on the top if it talks about the troubled marriage of Nick and Amy Dunne, who are both writers by profession, recently shifted to North Carthage from Brooklyn, New York to take care of Nick's leukemic Mother and to avoid consequences of being jobless due to the 2008 economic recession. Flynn tried to provide an extremely clichéd melodramatic narrative in the first part of the book where Nick is an abusing husband who's draining her sensitive, but rich wife mentally and financially to secure his own needs and Amy is so terrorized by him that she considering Nick a potential threat to her life. On the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary Amy disappears without leaving a trace .Initially the local police is sympathetic towards Nick and the media is dubious about Nick's involvement but the successive evidence incriminates Nick to a point where doubting his involvement becomes immaterial for everyone , as he is framed to be the desired culprit.

To be honest this novel is one hell of drag for the first 150 or 200 pages, but Flynn's clever craft is visible here, she leaves us with so many questions that we are propelled to move again in search for the fates of those who are involved in this disguised fiasco. Novel has two narratives, one is told from the perspective of Nick, which covers the investigation of Amy Dunne's mysterious disappearance and other is told in the form Diary entries written by Amy.

Second part of the novel rewards your patience immensely, the whole mishmash serves you correctly instead of puzzling your conscience. The new twist floods the whole plot and its characters with satiating thrill and sense of an expected curve around the story which makes this novel an instant page turner. Flynn's brilliant character work is astounding here, Nick and Amy's psychology is described minutely, which makes them look familiar but still every action is unpredictable and opens a new door into their mundane and diabolical psyche. Troubled childhood resonates within the personality of Nick and Amy, where Nick hated his misogynist father, Amy on the other hand was used by her parents to earn fortunes. Amy is manipulative because of which she cannot stand consequences which are new to her planned courses of action. Nick tries to act agreeable all the time, which always leaves him angsty and stressed, Nick shows his vulnerable self to his twin sister Margo, who understands him and shows legitimate concern for him. The asymmetrical chemistry of Nick and Amy is disturbing, the stubborn wants to win all the time but the escapist never conforms to the rules of defeat.

The most popular work of Gillian Flynn is slow paced but is worth all the hype and praise showered by the critics. Gillian Flynn’s flair for storytelling is visible in Gone Girl .The pure ingenuous writing and convincing character work hits home and makes you reconsider the definition of girl ,the "cool girl".