Gone Girl by
Gillian Flynn My rating:
2 of 5 stars The Blu-ray of the movie arrived and it is time to read the book before I see it.
This drags along at no pace at all, without the film or having liked "Dark Places", I would have DNF'd it at 20%-25%.
Currently at 33% and have force myself to read it.
Mostly I hope for some great surprising plot twist, but having time to think about it during reading, as my mind wanders, which is never a sign of a good book, I think of several twists I would like to see: like committing suicide without leaving a body.
I can see how a film could work better for me, just now I do not see the reason for the success the book had and still has (hass, the german word for strong dislike seems fitting here...),
My rating so far would be 2 stars for a nice idea.
As they reportedly changed the ending for the film (if I remember right, during writing Flynn had written two endings, so she could chose).
If only the ending has the big twists, the film might also fail for me.
Anyone who wants to read the book should pace it to finish it real fast.
Or use it instead of sleeping pills.
Currently at 69% no twists and no surprises, I had not guessed long before (mostly the events had been signaled).
So far the only reason for this book is, to give it to pre-teenagers as a warning, never to marry and never to have kids. The few simple sex-scenes they can skim over or learn from them, if they even interest them at that age.
As a lot of books are hyped as the "next Gone Girl" and this was also hyped, I fear to read the ones I have on my TBR, at least one of them already bought.
But then I already read Dark Places from [b:The Novels of Gillian Flynn: Sharp Objects, Dark Places|15784966|The Novels of Gillian Flynn Sharp Objects, Dark Places|Gillian Flynn|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344031576s/15784966.jpg|21503090], which I liked, but found too long.
The 20% I would have cut in that book, where in between, animals, flora, fauna, places, which did nothing for the story, but surrounded by story, some twists or surprises, which made the main story interesting enough, and the characters where more likeable.
With Gone Girl, you have a male Douchebag and a Fake Cool Girl as main characters with Alzheimer Dad (his) and normal parents (hers), once perfect overachievers but now failed losers. The only character I like a little is his sister Go.
Forcing myself to finish this, it stays disappointing. The final twists fizzles, no Big-Bang, no bloody Bonny-Clyde-shootout or even a simple suicide.
Instead it gets worse, into a future that is surprising and audacious for a book like this, but it is also not very interesting.
The whole book was way too long, and as you get every twist signaled before it happens, only little surprise, no real twists.
The question is not who did it, but rather will she or will he kill the significant other (or will they both kill each other at the same time)?
Without the ending, this could have been a 1 star disappointment, so, now it is only little better, with the second star for both the ending and a good idea to begin with. What I fail to understand is why this book was as much hyped and such a success. Already I fear to read Sharp Objects, but her Dark Places was way better.
And I can imagine the film being better, with a different twist in the end (hopefully a good one, but that remains to be seen, I hope to see the film soon).
Not recommended, and I am not sure I will buy another book by her, I will reserve final judgement till I read Sharp Objects.
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