Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Title: Gone Girl

Author: Gillian Flynn

Publishers: Weidenfeld and Nicolson

Date of Publication: May 24th, 2012

Genre: Mystery and Thriller

Format: Hardcover

Length: 395 pages

My Source: Kindle Ebook (mobi)

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife's head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media--as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents--the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter--but is he really a killer? As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn't do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

When do you categorize a book as ‘thriller’? Going by the Wikipedia definition thriller is genre of literature that uses suspense, tension and excitement as its main elements, and if it is so, I must admit Gone Girl is the best ‘thriller’ I have read till date.

It is the story of Nick and Amy Dunne, a couple married for five years and their marriage is floundering for several reasons.  The book is written alternately from Nick’s and Amy’s point of view. In the first part Nick’s perspective shows you the present scenario of their marriage while Amy’s narrative, written in a fashion of journals, gives you glimpses of the past- Amy’s childhood, their meeting with each other, their courtship days- in short a pretty decent idea about  Amy’s life.  To be completely fair to myself after reading the first few chapters I was rather bored, the narration was interesting, alright but it somehow lacked the essence that a thriller usually does. But that was only in the beginning, part one. The moment you flip the page to begin part two- boom! You’re in for lots and lots of surprises! 

Even in the first part it doesn't fail to shock you how the narrations of Amy and Nick conflict each other.  It is as if the two persons are telling you different stories with same characters having very little in common. But of course the real fun begins in the second part when you begin to realize gradually that neither of the two people is completely trustworthy. They both have their versions of the story that they claim to be the honest one. While in the beginning it seems like they are victim of the troubled marriage, the couple show their true characters later. Even though I didn't grow any fondness to Nick Dunne, I thought he is just your regular bad guy falling victim of a troubled marriage, well, well was I wrong! This guy had an extramarital affair going around for almost a year. But then what Nick had done was nothing but child’s play compared to what his wife did. After reading the first part you get the impression what a sweet and loving person Amy is and then you’ll be amazed to see how ‘Amazing Amy’ actually differs from ‘Diary Amy’!


The things I liked the most about the book are,

• The plot- It’s a genius creation, no doubt there. The way the story is woven you can not predict what is going to happen next. Not once. It is thoroughly unpredictable which I believe is the essential flavor of a thriller. 

• Character development- I think ‘awe’ would be the right word to describe what I felt as Amy’s character was unfolded slowly throughout the story. She is vicious, yes, but she is goddamned brilliant and organized and you can not but admire her for the precision with which she carries her whole ‘kidnapping plan’ out. Imagine the level of dedication that she put just to punish his unfaithful husband! The amount of planning and working according to the plan for almost a year before the final act and she did it perfectly, every bit of it, except maybe the robbery in the motel. Hah! It’s incredible. And not only Nick, the stories of Hillary Handy and Desi Collings left me gasping! Amy is a character you can neither love nor hate and for that kudos to the brilliant author. She has created the character amazingly! 
Even all other characters, including Nick, Margo, Andie, Boney, Amy’s parents and all the sidekicks were just perfect. 

• The narration-The narration was flawless as well. Being written from both Amy and Nick’s POV, it is quite intriguing, I kept guessing throughout what the other person has to say next. It’s gripping, fast paced and well-written. Once you get into the story it’s hard to put the book down.

You might be thinking if I liked the book so much why not give it five stars? The reason is I did not like the ending. What was all the revenge planning worth if Nick and Amy were to end up together ultimately? I do not understand. The characters couldn't be more realistic but even then I failed to grow any respect for either of the central characters.

Reading Gone Girl was like riding an emotional roller-coaster.  This book is about disloyalty, the fake pretentious people, the devious media and the root of all troubles (probably)- the recession.  There were numerous occasions when I was awestruck and my eyes wide-open! None of the characters is completely black or completely white; they are all varying shades of grey which makes it more and more realistic! The psychoanalysis of the characters is commendable. Overall, it is a book that I loved and am certain almost every person will feel the same after reading!


P.S. - Eagerly waiting to watch the Gone Girl movie! :D

Gillian Flynn is an American author and television critic for Entertainment Weekly. She has so far written three novels, Sharp Objects, for which she won the 2007 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for the best thriller; Dark Places; and her best-selling third novel Gone Girl.

Her book has received wide praise, including from authors such as Stephen King. The dark plot revolves around a serial killer in a Missouri town, and the reporter who has returned from Chicago to cover the event. Themes include dysfunctional families,violence and self-harm.

In 2007 the novel was shortlisted for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar for Best First Novel by an American Writer, Crime Writers' Association Duncan Lawrie, CWA New Blood and Ian Fleming Steel Daggers, winning in the last two categories.

Flynn, who lives in Chicago, grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. She graduated at the University of Kansas, and qualified for a Master's degree from Northwestern University.

Website | Goodreads 

Review: The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

Title: The Last Song

Author: Nicholas Sparks

Publishers: Grand Central Publishing

Date of Publication: September 8th, 2009

Genre: Romance, Contemporary

Format: Hardcover

Length: 390 pages

My Source: Ebook (epub)

Seventeen year-old Veronica “Ronnie” Miller’s life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alienated from her parents, especially her father… until her mother decides it would be in everyone’s best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie’s father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church. The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story about love in its myriad forms – first love, the love between parents and children – that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that deeply felt relationships can break our hearts… and heal them.

I began reading the book with an uncertainty whether I'll end up liking the book or not as I didn't like The Notebook as much as everyone else and I think its overrated. Frankly, I was pretty much convinced that I will not like the book because the synopsis gave me an impression that it was the same girl-meets-boy and fall-in-love kind of story and well, it is a book of that kind but still I liked the book, a lot.

Ronnie Miller is a very rebellious teenager, she does every possible thing to disobey her mother. After her parents' separation when her dad leaves New York, she just lets everything go: her grades, her piano playing skills (because it was her father who taught her playing piano and the man himself was a pianist) and many other things. Her mom ships Ronnie and her little brother, Jonah, to North Carolina for the summer to spend time with their dad. When they first arrive, Ronnie wants nothing to do with him, in her heart she hates Steve, her father and practically spends all the time out of home to avoid him. Then she meets Will, whom at first she doesn’t want to associate with, either. Then Ronnie starts seeing more of Will and he really helps her open up. And the inevitable happens, they fall in love. Let me not give you any wrong idea about it, it was that typical love story, but the story is not entirely about it. There are a few more edges of the story that makes it different and beautiful!

Ronnie was a pretty well-developed character. At first she’s this mean girl who is very inconsiderate of everyone. By the end she turns into a mature young lady who wants to please everyone. Once she discovers that it was her mother who was really responsible for the divorce, years of misunderstanding towards her dad washes away slowly. The way she treats her dad when he gets admitted to the hospital and refuses to return New York leaving her dad alone, shows a complete transformation of a teenage girl to a determined young woman.
I liked Will. He was this really easygoing guy who didn’t act anything like his snobby rich parents. The little incidents, the little things Ronnie and Will did together were beautiful. There wasn't anything extraordinary about it, but perhaps its the simplicity of the relationship that made it truly wonderful.
As for Steve's character, I haven't met someone as generous and understanding in my life, yet. He was less a parent, more a friend to Ronnie. Because he trusted her when he apparently had no reason to, Ronnie began trusting herself. Apart from Will, the person who played the biggest role to change Ronnie into somewhat a better person, was her dad. Jonah was really adorable for a ten year old.

Like I mentioned before, the plot wasn’t very creative. If you have read anything by Nicholas Sparks before, you would probably have noticed, too. But the book won't fail to touch your heart, I can assure you that. The writing is captivating too. So if you are a romance reader, go for it.

Website | Goodreads | Twitter

As a child, Nicholas Sparks lived in Minnesota, Los Angeles, and Grand Island, Nebraska, finally settling in Fair Oaks, California at the age of eight. His father was a professor, his mother a homemaker, then optometrist's assistant. He lived in Fair Oaks through high school, graduated valedictorian in 1984, and received a full track scholarship to the University of Notre Dame.

After breaking the Notre Dame school record as part of a relay team in 1985 as a freshman (a record which still stands), he was injured and spent the summer recovering. During that summer, he wrote his first novel, though it was never published. He majored in Business Finance and graduated with high honors in 1988.

He and his wife Catherine, who met on spring break in 1988, were married in July, 1989. While living in Sacramento, he wrote his second novel that same year, though again, it wasn't published. He worked a variety of jobs over the next three years, including real estate appraisal, waiting tables, selling dental products by phone, and started his own small manufacturing business which struggled from the beginning. In 1990, he collaborated on a book with Billy Mills, the Olympic Gold Medalist and it was published by Feather Publishing before later being picked up by Random House. (It was recently re-issued by Hay House Books.) Though it received scant publicity, sales topped 50,000 copies in the first year of release.

He began selling pharmaceuticals and moved from Sacramento, California to North Carolina in 1992. In 1994, at the age of 28, he wrote The Notebook over a period of six months. In October, 1995, rights to The Notebook were sold to Warner Books. It was published in October, 1996, and he followed that with Message in a Bottle (1998), A Walk to Remember (1999), The Rescue (2000), A Bend in the Road (2001), and Nights in Rodanthe (2002), The Guardian (2003), The Wedding (2003), Three Weeks with my Brother (2004), True Believer (2005) and At First Sight (2005) all with Warner Books. All were domestic and international best sellers and were translated into more than 35 languages. The movie version of Message in a Bottle was released in 1999, A Walk to Remember was released in 2002, and The Notebook was released in 2004. The average domestic box office gross per film was $56 million -- with another $100 million in DVD sales -- making the novels by Nicholas Sparks one of the most successful franchises in Hollywood.

The film rights to Nights in Rodanthe, True Believer and At First Sight have been sold, and Nicholas Sparks has written the screenplay for The Guardian, though he has not offered it for sale at this point.

He now has five children: Miles, Ryan, Landon, Lexie, and Savannah. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and children.

His ancestry is German, Czech, English, and Irish, he's 5'10" and weighs 180 lbs. He is an avid athlete who runs daily, lifts weights regularly, and competes in Tae Kwon Do. He attends church regularly and reads approximately 125 books a year. He contributes to a variety of local and national charities, and is a major contributor to the Creative Writing Program (MFA) at the University of Notre Dame, where he provides scholarships, internships, and a fellowship annually.

The Fault in Our Stars: To be Seen on Screen Soon!

I believe most of you have already heard the news of John Green's much appreciated creation The Fault in Our Stars being adapted as a movie with the same title and I firmly believe you're just as excited as I am! Aren't you? That's why I thought I'd share my excitement with you, my readers through sharing the information I managed to gather about this much talked and book-to-movie adaptation.

Hazel and Gus are two teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them on a journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous given that Hazel's other constant companion is an oxygen tank, Gus jokes about his prosthetic leg, and they met and fell in love at a cancer support group.

Shailene Woodley as Hazel Grace  Lancaster

Ansel Elgort as Augustus Waters

Nat Wolff as Isaac

Laura Dern as Mrs. Lancaster

Sam Trammell as Mr. Lancaster

Mike Birbiglia as Patrick

Willem Dafoe as Peter Van Houten

Emily Peachey as Monica

And the best part is JOHN GREEN himself will be cast in the movie (for a role which is still unknown)!!!!!!

Director: Josh Boone

Produced by: Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen

Written by: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber

Cinematographer: Ben Richardson

Studio: Temple Hill Entertainment

Release Date: June 6th, 2014

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Publishers: Dutton Books

Date of Publication: January 10th, 2012

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Format: Hardcover

Length: 313 pages

My Source: Ebook

Synopsis

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Here's My Review of the book

Lastly, a personal note: I don't know whether you'll agree with me or not but I don't like books being made as movies. It basically kills the story, the essence of the book, in most of the cases. Whenever I've gone watching a movie after reading the book its based on, I've been hugely disappointed. I think if you're doing a film based on a book, you should at least keep the story intact but mostly they improvise it so much that ends up changing the story itself. So I earnestly hope the same doesn't happen with TFIOS. This book is very close to my heart and one of my all time favourites and it'd be very unfair to the book if they do such treatments with the movie. I hope the movie turns out to be just as great as the book is!