Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

  Please welcome Andrew to our bookblog! We're looking forward to having more reviews from him.

Reviewed by Andrew 

Recently, I read the book Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. This book is about a husband and wife who begin to see different, darker sides of each other through the first several years of their marriage. You are slowly introduced to these characters, learning how they were each raised in different ways and eventually how they meet each other and fall for one another. As you learn about the couple’s past through the wife’s diary, you are thrown into the present where, from the husband’s point of view, the wife has gone missing on their fifth anniversary.  It looks very suspicious and all signs point to the husband as the culprit.

The book’s chapters flip back and forth between the wife’s diary entries, and the husband’s personal narration, with each narrator not giving an entirely full or accurate portrayal of the story.  Instead, each twists the narrative to make the reader support their side of the story.

I greatly enjoyed the back-and-forth of this book, with the author’s writing depicting each of the main characters’ two drastically different points of view. It was difficult to “like” either of the main characters, as they each exhibit horrible qualities in their own different ways. This book has a way of keeping you in suspense, with the wife’s diary dropping subtle hints about how she is afraid of her husband, followed by chapters of the husband’s side of the story as the police begin to question him in his wife’s disappearance.

The one thing I could say about this book that I did not like was the paranoia of wondering how well you really know the people closest to you in your life (which could be said is the entire point of this novel!). The book has a way of its grittiness and doubt seeping its way into your life, the author is so good about conveying the characters’ emotions, it almost makes you feel them yourself. As a recently married man myself, this book was especially terrifying to me. Be sure to have a whimsical happy book to read lined up after this one!

Overall, this suspenseful crime thriller will keep you re-evaluating these main characters well into the story. It is interesting to follow through the couples’ past, learning about how they get to the present of the story, and then following through the investigation of the wife that has gone missing, and wondering whose story to believe. For those of you who enjoy movie adaptations of good books, there is an incredible 2014 movie version of this novel directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, The Social Network, and Se7en), starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike in the lead roles, and an amazing soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails front man, Trent Reznor.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Reviewed by Christy H.     

Libby doesn’t want to get a job. She’s not exactly someone who has her life together, and she’s not really interested in trying to start now. She does agree, however, to sell some family mementos to a true crime fan club who are obsessed with her story. She’ll even hunt down persons of interest to ask them questions – if the price is right.

            When Libby was seven her mother and two older sisters were all brutally murdered in the middle of the night in their isolated Kansas farmhouse. Young Libby pinned it on her fifteen year old brother Ben who was convicted and sent to prison for life. Since then, Libby has bounced from relative to relative, usually wreaking havoc in her wake. Now in her thirties she lives alone in a small apartment, living off years of donations to the lone survivor of the Kinnakee Kansas Farm Massacre. But that money is running out. This is where the true crime fan club (Kill Club) comes in. They believe Ben is innocent, and Libby is to blame for “lying” to police when she was a child. (Some members of the club are horrifically rude to her when they finally meet face to face. “She’s still a little liar.” I’ve never wanted to slap a fictional character so much in my life.)

            Nevertheless, money is money. Libby agrees to do some digging and hunt down people to interview. She’s never really thought twice about Ben’s guilt. Of course he did it. But she tries not to think about that night at all. She hasn’t seen Ben in all the years since. As Libby investigates and hunts down people connected to teenaged Ben, the narrative jumps back and forth in time.  The past focuses on the day of the murders with POV chapters from Ben and their mother Patty. Present day is all Libby. I enjoyed this narrative structure, and I thought all the little parallels between past-Ben and present-Libby’s thoughts were a nice touch.

            Gillian Flynn is really good at writing unlikeable characters who you still want to read about. Libby is no exception. Although there is sympathy there because of her terrible loss, she does really horrible things to test that sympathy to its breaking point. I guess now is as good a time as any to give potential readers a warning for graphic animal cruelty. (Although to be fair to Libby, the worse incident in the book has nothing to do with her.) Needless to say, this was a very dark read. I think I felt the most for poor Patty who has one awful thing dumped on her after another when she’s barely keeping it together in the first place. I love Flynn’s writing though, and she kept me turning pages long past my bedtime. I also liked the references to real life crimes and the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and 1990s. Flynn satirizes hardcore true crime fandom as well without much exaggeration as they can truly be over the top.

            This review was a struggle to write as I don’t want to give away any spoilers, and I’m still processing what I think about the novel as a whole. But I will say it’s an interesting conclusion although not completely satisfactory. I suppose anything else would be out of character for Gillian Flynn. As much as I liked Gone Girl, I think I like this one even more. The story is a little more robust with more characters to focus on and no shortage of suspense.

Nevermore: Gone Girl, Winnie the Pooh, Washington's Spies, Joan Rivers, Place Names & The Secret to Hummingbird Cake

Reported by Ambrea

Nevermore settled in with a familiar book and revisited one of their favorite authors with Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  On the day of Amy and Nick Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary, Amy mysteriously disappears—and Nick is at the very top of a list of suspects.  Suddenly, Nick finds himself under intense scrutiny by the police, the local media, and his own family and, when a series of lies and inappropriate behavior surface, he’s left shouldering the blame.  An intense and twisted examination of one man’s deteriorating marriage, Gone Girl was described as a “fascinating book.”  Although our reader had already watched Gone Girl, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, he was pleasantly surprised by the way the story grabbed and held him.  Despite knowing how the story would end, he enjoyed reading Gone Girl and highly recommended it to other readers who hadn’t yet had the opportunity to read it.

Next, Nevermore looked at The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh:  A Walk Through the Forest that Inspired the Hundred Acre Wood by Kathryn Aalto, which delves deep into the forest—Ashdown Forest—that inspired and helped shape A.A. Milne’s beloved stories.   Serving as a both a guide to the Hundred Acre Wood (and the creatures which inspired it) and a biography of the author, The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh was thoroughly researched and, according to our reader, incredibly fascinating.  He liked the detail Aalto provided, especially regarding the photographs of locations within the Ashdown Forest which inspired the world of Winnie-the-Pooh.  He “[spent] a delightful, nostalgic afternoon with this book,” saying he enjoyed it immensely.  He loved the opportunity to reminisce about his experiences with Milne’s stories, both as a reader and an adult reading to his children.

Nevermore also looked at another fascinating book on George Washington and early American espionage.  Like George Washington’s Secret Six by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger, Washington’s Spies:  The Story of America’s First Spy Ring by Alexander Rose was an intriguing examination of the Culper Ring—George Washington’s secret spy ring which helped bring victory to the United States during the Revolutionary War—and its impact on espionage.  “Rose’s thrilling narrative tells the unknown story of the Revolution—the murderous intelligence war, gunrunning and kidnapping, defectors and executioners—that has never appeared in the history books.”  A fascinating book on Nathan Hale, the Culper Ring, and the indomitable leader, Washington’s Spies was a big hit for our reader.  He called it a “good little book” that struck all the right notes.  Although short and simple, it doesn’t lack for impact and it served as an enjoyable way to pass time.

Switching gears from the American Revolution to modern American stardom, Nevermore checked out I Hate Everyone…Starting with Me by Joan Rivers.  In book, Rivers takes on—and hates on—everything from ugly children, dating rituals, First Ladies, politics, Steven Hawking, feminists and doctors and hypocrites, even herself.  She shows no mercy, poking fun at everyone and everything, much to the amusement of her audience.  Uproariously funny and viciously irreverent, I Hate Everyone…Starting with Me received rave reviews from our reader for its candor, biting wit, and humor.  Our reader said she had so much fun reading this book.  It’s so true to Joan River’s personality, to her voice, that it feels very similar to one of her stand-up comedy roles.  However, she noted she often read River’s book by individual chapters.  It could sometimes get a little tiring when taken in large chunks, so it was best enjoyed in small doses.

Next, our readers looked at A Place Called Peculiar:  Stories About Unusual American Place-Names by Frank K. Gallant.  In his book, Gallant examines some of the most unusual city names and dives deep into the urban legends, myths, and sometimes humorous origin stories of these strange towns.  His list includes:  Smut Eye, Alabama; Tie Siding, Wyoming; Breakfast Hill, New Hampshire; Dinner Station, Nevada; Bug Tussle, Alabama; and Useless Bay, Washington.  Full of interesting names and peculiar places, A Place Called Peculiar proved to be an intriguing and delightful book for our readers, passing through several hands before coming to Nevermore.  According to one reader, it was a wonderful book to pass through and read the little anecdotes provided by the author.  She said she flipped through the pages and couldn’t help but enjoy the short synopses of each town, as well as the colorful history provided by the author.

Last, Nevermore looked at The Secret to Hummingbird Cake by Celeste Fletcher McHale.  A uniquely Southern novel, The Secret to Hummingbird Cake tells the story of Carrigan—Carrie to her friends—and Ella Rae and Laine.  Together, this inseparable trio has grown up in the same Southern town and relied on each other through the very worst moments, including Carrigan’s deteriorating marriage.  But when their friendship is threatened by more than petty squabbles and rough roads, Laine, Carrigan, and Ella Rae are going to have to come to terms with losing something more precious than they realized.  Our reader said she really enjoyed McHale’s first novel.  Sweet, like the hummingbird cake for which it’s named, but hinted with threads of tragedy, The Secret to Hummingbird Cake was a wonderful novel about friendships, cake, love and quirky friendships and loss.  It was an excellent novel with wonderful story development, and it hit just the right notes to make it both incredibly fun (and funny) and terribly tragic.

Nevermore: Pres. Garfield, Atticus Finch, photography, introverts, and presidental elections

Reported by Ambrea

In a recent Nevermore meeting, our readers broached a variety of subjects—James A. Garfield, introverts, photography, and presidential campaigns—and even investigated some new fiction with Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

First, our readers jumped back into Gone Girl.  After Amy Dunne disappears from her home in North Carthage, Missouri, her husband, Nick, is put under close scrutiny as the media and the police start to dig into his life to find out whether he really is a killer.  Filled with suspense and mystery—and, more importantly, sociopaths (a favorite subject for our Nevermore readers)—Gone Girl was definitely a treat for our latest reader.  According to her it was “wonderful, a great book.”

Next, our readers looked at Into the Kill Zone:  A Cop’s Eye View of Deadly Force by David Klinger.  As a former police officer and a university professor, Klinger has interviewed dozens of officers who have used deadly force in criminal encounters.  He presents an in-depth look at the way officers are trained, the conditions they face and the violence they experience on the job, and the effects of deadly force in the lives of American police officers.  For our Nevermore reader, who has friends working on the police force, Into the Kill Zone was an excellent depiction of on-the-job hazards that police officers face every single day.

Our reader also discussed Destiny of the Republic:  A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Miller.  James Garfield was born into poverty, but he became a scholar, a Civil War hero, a renowned congressman, and a presidential candidate; however, after four months in office, an assassination attempt and botched medical treatment resulted in his death.  Our Nevermore reader said Destiny of a Republic was “a fabulous book”—and what made the novel even more fascinating were the interviews with the author on CSPAN.  Miller explores all the different facets of Garfield’s presidency and demise:  his administration, his assassin, and his doctors.

Continuing the exploration of the American presidency, one of our readers discussed Believer:  My Forty Years in Politics by David Axelrod.  Axelrod, a journalist and political strategist, has spent years in politics and cultivated a twenty-year friendship with President Barack Obama, even contributing to his elections in 2008 and 2012.  His memoir provides an in-depth look at politics and presidential campaigns.  Although our Nevermore reader had only read two-thirds of the memoir so far, she thought it was an intriguing book.  “It’s fascinating to realize what goes into a presidential campaign, [specifically] Obama’s first presidential campaign,” she said.

Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain followed.  Cain, a corporate lawyer, explores the qualities of introverts and extroverts throughout the world, exploring the repression of introversion in the United States—how extroverts are rewarded more readily in society and the workplace—and nature versus nurture in the development of introverts.  Cain makes a very careful, very accurate depiction of information and possesses a textbook-like depth, presenting facts with clarity and accumulating knowledge which our Nevermore reader found absolutely fascinating.

Additionally, our readers looked at a brand new book to the library:  Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee.  Continuing from Lee’s original classic, Go Set a Watchman follows the return of Jean Louise Finch (Scout) to Maycomb County from New York and chronicles her emotional turmoil as she’s confronted by changes in her hometown that changes how she sees everything and everyone—including her father, Atticus.  For our Nevermore readers, Lee’s new novel seemed typical of any book done in the south during this time; however, it was definitely a shock to see Atticus in a brand new light, because, like Scout, our readers were given a new perspective on Atticus Finch, “[he] was letting you reduce him to the status of a human being.”

Bad Feminist, Bad Paper, Rock 'n' Roll and More in Nevermore

  Summary by Meygan

Nevermore began with the discussion of Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay. This is a collection of essays in which Gay hones in on feminism using pop culture references such as Sweet Valley High and Orange is the New Black, politics, and her own critical opinions. Bad Feminist is a New York Times bestselling book. As a female black gay author, Gay also writes about race, friendship, and body image. The Nevermore reader likes this book but says it is hard to categorize. Still, it was a highly recommended book.

The next book discussed was The History of Rock ‘n’ Roll in Ten Songs by Greil Marcus. Nevermore readers discussed the songs that were mentioned in the book, stating whether or not they had heard the songs. One reader said she had only heard of three of the songs; another said she had heard only one. Greil Marcus is an author, music journalist, and cultural critic. This is not his first book about rock and roll music. 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn was a popular book in Nevermore. The reviewer said she couldn’t put the book down and she just had to make sure that she finished the book before she left her house that afternoon. Gone Girl is about a husband whose wife disappears. After he becomes the prime suspect, he and his sister work together to find his missing wife. This book has been described by a Nevermore reader as being a page-turning thriller!

“Holy mackerel!” was the Nevermore book reviewer’s response to Jake Halpern’s Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld. In this book, former bank executive Aaron Siegal and former robber Brandon Wilson work in cahoots with one another to purchase uncollected debts for pennies on the millions. Our reader said this reminds him of the movie “Wolf of Wall Street,” which is a movie adaptation from Jordan Belfort’s book The Wolf of Wall Street. The Nevermore reader said Bad Paper focuses on the underbelly of the debt collectors and is mind boggling how they make unbelievable amounts of money from this scheme. 

The Mantle of Command by Nigel Hamilton was highly praised and was described as being a great book. This book deals with Roosevelt during WWII and the reviewer said you are “with” Roosevelt the whole time. He said the author did a good job of presenting all of the information, especially about Pearl Harbor. He also said this is better than any other book he has seen about Roosevelt and WWII. However, the book only covers until halfway through the WWII. The Nevermore reader suspects there will be a volume 2 issued. 

A few weeks ago, a Nevermore reader finished Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty. Another Nevermore reader started reading the book because he found it intriguing. He did say to skip over the introduction though because it will about put a reader to sleep! The same Nevermore reader also read Doctored by Sandeep Jauhar, which was previously discussed in Nevermore. He enjoyed the book even though the content is dark. 

The last book discussed was Love Saves the Day by Gwen Cooper, the author of Homer’s Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned about Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat. The Nevermore reader stated that she likes the book so far, despite the cheesy title. However, this is the case where a reader should not judge a book by its title. This book is not a love story between a man and a woman. This is a story from the point-of-view of Prudence, a cat, who is being taken to her owner’s daughter’s house to live. She doesn’t understand what happened to Sarah, her owner, but she clings on to the hope that Sarah will be back to get her soon.