Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (Spoiler-Free)

I thoroughly enjoyed so much about this book, so much more than I was even expecting. Not only was it a very compelling story, but it was masterfully crafted. The writing in here is incredible, and I'm not saying that lightly. The prose was so tightly woven, and the story seamless. Amidst the intriguing mystery were equally interesting characters and ideas. Since reading a few reviews, I've come to learn that the Cool Girl passage was really revolutionary for the genre (and maybe even adult fiction as a whole). Gillian Flynn writes women very well in thrillers, something that is often very hard to find. Not only was the prose very strong, but the story, themes, and characters were as well. Did I like the characters? Of course not, but that's not what makes a good thriller. A good thriller is made up of characters with consistent motivations and decisions that line up with those (And, of course, an unreliable narrator or two always makes things more fun). The chronology of the story was also handled very well; despite switching back and forth between characters and time, I never found anything to be confusing. The beginning was a bit slow, but after around 100 pages I legitimately did not want to put the book down. My only reason for knocking the book down 0.5 stars is the slow start and what I thought of the ending. When I read the ending, I couldn't help but feel a little underwhelmed. I felt like I had seen it before and that it was the progression I expected to happen. I was considering giving the book 4 stars based on the fact that I felt a little underwhelmed. But, I realized that that would be unfair. That would be unfair because of two things. 1. The ending made perfect sense. It wasn't sloppily thrown in just to shock you. 2. I have read/seen this ending before... in books that were written after this one. How could I discredit an ending consistent with the rest of the story that I'd only found predictable because of the other works it's inspired? In good conscience, I couldn't. Therefore, I give Gone Girl the 4.5 stars it deserves, and I'm incredibly eager to watch the film and see how the ending possibly differs (I truly can't resist watching a Fincher film can I?).

Song I was reminded of while reading: You Don't Own Me