Gone Girl by American author Gillian Flynn’s third and most popular novel has received huge attention in the media and is the go-to recommendation for popular literature at the moment. Published in June 2010, illness a film adaptation (rumoured to star Ben Affleck as the male protagonist) is already underway.
The novel begins with Nick Dunne’s account of his wife’s disappearance the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary. Nick’s chapters, no rx describing the ‘present day,’ are wrapped up in his role in the investigation – as witness and suspect – while Amy’s diary entries, beginning in the couple’s early days together, give context to their story and another side to Nick’s increasingly suspect tale.
Nick begins the novel by questioning what is really going on in his marriage. The questions ‘who are you,’ ‘what are you thinking’ and most intriguingly, ‘what have we done to each other’ suggest a dark underside to their marriage – it is this captivating idea that drives this eerily engaging crime story.
Laura King
