Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn | Book & Movie Review

Gone Girl was one of my most anticipated movies of 2014. I buddy read Gone Girl earlier in the year with my Nanna. It was such great experience and the perfect way to read this novel as we would constantly find ourselves theorising and shocked by the various plot twists. It’s definitely one of those books you just have to talk about.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Read: May 2014
Rating: 5/5 stars

I am not going to give much of a synopsis as this is one of those books that you should go into knowing nothing. So, without giving too much away all I will say about this story is that it follows Nick and Amy Dunne on their 5-year anniversary when Amy goes missing. The book is told from two perspectives. One perspective is from Nick’s point of view set in the present from the time Amy goes missing, and the second perspective is told through Amy’s diary entries.

Being a thriller you usually expect a major plot twist, and boy oh boy did this book deliver! As for the ending, I loved it. I know a lot of people had a problem with how this book ended, but I found it fitting. All in all, I absolutely loved this one, it was so much fun to read and I could not put it down. It is certainly one of my favourite books of 2014.

The movie adaptation of Gone Girl was fantastic. I just loved it. It stayed true to the book and they managed to fit in so much more than I ever imagined they would be able to. The movie had such an unsettling feel to it which was perfect, and that bedroom murder scene… just, wow.

~spoilers ahead~

In the beginning of the film, I must admit, I was not sold on Rosamund Pike’s portrayal of Amy. She suited the look, but I found the way she spoke strange and unsettling and thought that it may have hinted towards or even given the plot twist away for those who had not read the book. However, about half an hour in I was completely sold – she nailed Amy. Just like Ben Affleck was the perfect Nick. He was exactly how I imagined him in the book. The film also depicted Amy and Nick’s dual perspectives seamlessly. I was worried this might be confusing but it wasn’t at all.

Of course, I saw this with my Nanna and we took my mum as she hadn’t read the book and it’s safe to day we all loved it. After the film my Nanna informed me that Gillian Flynn wrote the screenplay. She definitely delivered for her fans and hopefully introduced a whole new audience to her books - like my mum for example.

Even though I loved this movie, I much preferred the reading experience. It was so much more fun and rewarding, and I just could not put it down. I highly recommend reading the book before seeing the movie.