Just a final reminder – this is a SPOILER PAGE. What that means is all is fair to discuss openly on this page about this book. We will talk about plots, and yes – we will definitely discuss the ending. This page is for those who have read the book only.
Ok… so all said… wow right? I mean seriously that was intense and I am still reeling a bit. First off by page 111 I thought I was brilliant and that it was Nick’s father who took Amy… I mean, after all Nick’s father did escape on the day of her disappearance and he did keep saying “bitch” a lot and as we know – there was no love lost between those two.
And of course, I thought Nick was an extreme butt-head for his affair with Andie but then again as the story unfolds the great and wonderful Gillian Flynn even makes his affair seem like it is ok because his wife and life were something EXTREME.
I am so curious about what others (YOU!) thought about this book.
Did you see it coming?
Who were you rooting for?
Is Amy a victim here of her parents or extreme wackadoo or both?
Is Nick a victim or a product of his own making?
As for Andie, I don’t care if she is sweet and naive – she did enter into an affair with a married man and that makes her BAD in my eyes. Grow up, get a life, and get over your “daddy” complex.
Did the ending shock you? I guess by that time for me, my loathe of Amy was pretty extreme and that is huge for me who usually falls into camp “Why can’t we all just get along?” I actually turned the page at the very end of the book hoping there was more than just that cryptic ending… and of course there wasn’t which both upset me and I had to admit made sense… where do you really go from here?
BUT since this is my page, here is how I would have liked to see it end – Nick, pretends to destroy his book…. but it has already been sent safely to another computer, probably Go’s or the cop who was still trying to work the case. Crazy Amy has the baby (ugh, hated that the baby was a bargaining tool but really… what else would we expect of Amy?) and then once the baby is safe and Amy is in the hospital Nick takes the child and runs…. really RUN NICK RUN!!!!! Like the wind!!!! GO GO GO GO!!!!
Ok… that’s my ending….LOL 😀
Lets hear from you… I know I am forgetting to mention much so bring it on… lets chat about this book!
Book Journey 
In the first part of the book I hated Nick. What a smarmy weasel! Then in part 2 I was no longer feeling sorry for Amy. What a conniving witch! By the end, I hated them both (although Nick a little less. I pitied him actually. And the ending really ticked me off!
Yeah, what she said. 🙂 I completely agree with Angie! I also agree with Sheila – the author did an amazing job with this thriller, so complex, so many details. This is a very interesting, excellent read. However, I can’t say it’s the best book I’ve read this year. For me, the fact that I hated both of the main characters disqualifies this story from being ‘the best’ …..
Angie – TRUE THAT! LOL 😀 I I dont know if I ever hated Nick…. I disliked him A LOT – and at first I thought he was the jerk but once Amy’s true colors were shown, I understood Nicks choices a little better. While I do not agree with what he did – not by a long shot, I can imagine he was love starved and the attention of Annie was just what he needed – some self esteem… and loves unconditionally. And yes Angie the ending – OH WOW!!!! Really? I want to hurt Amy…. BAD.
Hi Sheila, I came to this site because I was looking for comments about the movie. I hope it doesn’t offend you that I comment without having read the book. That being said, it seemed to me that Nick was floundering in his life, having given up on the approval that success brings and looking for love in all of the wrong places; mainly because by then he knew his wife was devoid of real love. Amy, like so many people in this world, is more interested in burnishing the image of her ego she’d created and when Nick dinged and damaged that image irreparably, she was compelled towards vengeance. People that are invested so much into their ego image can not serve the other master of real love and therefore are purposely ignorant of the concept of forgiveness, which is the core downfall of all relationships in the world, whether they be in a marriage, community, nation or continent. In the end, with the help of the attorney and the despondency of the police, Nick realized that the only thing that mattered and would keep the peace for the sake of the child was the image of the marriage that they as a family project out to the neighbors and world. Appeasing the ego monster within was the only way to have a psychotic calm in the world he’d become trapped in by the duped world’s view of him. His choice was either work with Amy or walk in the world with the Mark of Cain with everyone despising him. I believe the book/movie was a powerful metaphor about modern marriage’s implied covenant that values the image the couple projects to the world to achieve their highest material goals, instead of the real function of a marriage, which is to help each other achieve their highest spiritual self.
Great thoughts! I did write a review called Gone Girl Book VS. Movie with a spoiler page as well… that gives more insight on the movie.
That is so true. What a great perspective of the film.
Daryl, you’re response – after reading many – seems to agree mostly with mine. Nick did have a choice but in retaining Margo as his “Moral compass” he was circling the wagons against a media/social media that had it’s mind made up. I wrote a “3 tiered” review on goodreads.com (book/movie/social media) that while tearing up the movies faulty augmentation for last 40 minutes, praised Nick & Margo’s relationship as Nick gained a clarity that Amy had yet to attain (& probably never had the need to given her incestuous relationship with the media). What I really came down on in the last paragraph of my review was the social media’s response that first called my attention to “Gone Girl”. You talk about self fulfilling prophesy, the responses that I read on YouTube made Nancy Grace seem like a “Mennonite”. I could just see Gillian Lynne laughing if not gagging at this crap. As for any idea’s about a sequel (which I would strongly advise against), Amy is prime alcoholic material (I say this as a member of AA): Amy takes a drink, the drink takes Amy. She starts to unveil her rage against the wrong people who were in her corner (like her parents). She starts to beat the twins (she has a twin boy & girl, where she tries to turn one against the other. She fails thanks to Nick & Margo) She ends up like Camille in “Sharp Objects” . Nuf ‘ced (as Ben Afflack would pronounce it).
I felt that the ending was rather anticlimactic. I feel sorry for any child being born into this unholy union. But I also felt that this story had more twists and turns that the Corkscrew Rollercoaster at Valleyfair ! I had no favorite characters accept for Go. She was a very loving and caring sister.
Lori, I liked Go too… I felt there could have been more (a second book…) where they continue the investigation to find out the truth about Amy. They do have one cop who believes them….
I just re-read my comment and it sounds like I didn’t like the book when, as a matter of fact, I LOVED it ! It kept me guessing all the time. Who knows too. Maybe there will be a sequel about Amy. It could be called “REALLY Gone Girl ! ” HAHAHA !
LOL YES! Love that title! There should be a sequel…. hmmmmm… so much left unsaid…
I just saw Gone Girl, the movie. I have also read the book. I was HOPING that the ending of the movie would differ from the book. No such luck, had I.
Detective Boney, as depicted by Ms. Flynn, is portrayed as a reasonably sharp individual. She asks very pointed questions of Amy after the latter’s return to the scene of the crime that never happened. But her questions are deftly ignored by our villianess and then never discussed again. At this point, I was imagining real life retired derective, Joe Kenda, of Discovery’s Homicide Hunter, to come in and expose Amazing Amy. It is bad when I was pining for a real life (retired) detective rather than the one portrayed in Gone Girl.
Well, my husband got sick right after the TV interview…..I thought her x boy friend would murder her, and then hubby would be off the grid after the x got caught….WRONG…..happy I found this site…but, do not like the way it ended, she is a SICKO!! No one needs her around….could be her parents next, as they were obnoxious.
I didn’t mean to be anonymous. 🙂
I’ve never commented on one of these before. Sorry. 🙂
LOL – welcome to the discussion 😀 I really enjoyed the book because it was different than anything I have ever read before and that always seems to impress me. The author also did a great job on keeping me guessing. Often I find I figure out the end before it happens because the book gives too much away – that was not the case this time and I loves trying to guess what was going to happen next and I even loved being wrong 😀
AAACCCKKK!!! I just finished it. and I only have a minute to comment, but HOLY CRAP!!! at first I didn’t like Nick, but I did, then I too thought it was his father, then I thought he was phsyco himself, in not remembering stuff–like the credit card bills, etc.
I wonder how the movie will be? Holy Cow. I can’t wait to share this book. I don’t have spaghetti sauce on mine, but I do have water spots from carrying it into the shower…almost. LOL
Debbie – YEAH!!! And lol to the AAAACCCKKK!!!! I cant wait for the movie – it has to be fantastic… well, I hopw it is anyway 😀
Oh….and I hope that Nick takes the baby and runs too!!
YES! 😀
The baby is Desi’s; she got pregnant while being held. No one faults Amy.
Nick is a sweetie pie for standing by her.
The baby has the legal right to the same lifestyle as his father (Desi)..
Once Desi’s parent’s die, the baby inherits the family’s wealth.
That’s why Nick stayed with Amy. Ridiculous amounts of money can smooth out a troubled relationship.
The baby is the result of Amy using Nicks sperm from the sperm bank. Neither Amy or the baby has any right to Desi’s wealth. Amy used everyone. While Nick was a bastard, Amy was a whack a doo. who plotted to frame Nick for a murder that didn’t happen. She used Desi because she was robbed of the money she was using for her great escape. She set him up. she set up Nick and he is staying with her because of the baby. I think he is afraid Amy will harm the baby if he leaves.
And what is your take on Desi? Was he a creeper too or is that just more lies that Amy told us? Did he really have a tulip room for her?
Desi was…. ummmm….. different for sure. I think he was a big rich mama’s boy (uh yeah…. that was AWKWARD), but I think he was just the right personality creeper type that played right into Amy’s plans…. more than once too… I think she played him all her life and he was too love struck to see it. Why am I not remembering the tulip room? 😯
When Desi took Amy to his house, the room he gave her was painted pink – her favorite color from high school. He also had a special greenhouse room filled with tulips somehow engineered to produce flowers year round, because tulips were Amy’s favorite flower when she was in high school.
I totally forgot about that… wow… Desi was a bit wackadoo himself now…::shock:
I thought of Desi like Gatsby, y’know, the guy who forms his world on the wannabe ideal of getting his dream girl, and that sure didn’t have a happy ending.
How Did she end up in the Ozarks for a week? Did she just make that up while she was tied to Desi’s bed? It seems that part of the story was forgotten about when she came back home.
I loved the book, and was sad when it was over. I wanted more, but I don’t know what. I think I kind of wanted Desi’s mom to kill Amy after the baby was born. Not nice, but I felt no one would be free until she was dead. I kind of felt like Desi and his mom had an incestual relationship or something. It was like he loved Amy because she looked like his mom and was crazy like her. In Desi’s defense we knew everything Amy had done to him, but he didn’t. As far as he knew they had a friendship.
I listened to this as an audiobook and it was very well done. I am trying to decide what Gillian Flynn book to read or listen to next.
OOH I like that Alison! That is a good ending! And you are right… she had to die.. can you imagine the future… she will hold the baby over Nick forever…. he has to get the baby and go.
Omg, Alison! That would have been a great ending!!! I was really really disappointed with the way the book ended. I really enjoyed the book, after part 1. I liked Nick’s character throughout the whole book and I couldn’t stand the Amy character. By the time the book ended, I detested her. It would’ve been nice if the Boney could’ve figured out a way to bring Amy down as well. But I’m still hoping there will be a sequel!
I’ve just been reading on line about the things that were omitted from the film. Desi’s mother is not in the film…which seems wrong. Amy’s parents, who play a large part in the book, are only background characters apparently and Nick’s father only appears once at the police station. I really wish they wouldn’t do this when making a film of a book…it takes away some of the main bulk of the story. Spoils it for me.
I wanted the police to find a video camera hidden in Desi’s house (which, due to Desi’s obsession, is plausible) that had recorded Amy, and I wanted the man in the casino to step forward. I find Gone Girl to be an interesting combination of a “who-done-it” written in a rather engaging literary style. There were moments of introspection that I find completely captivating, for example the TV rant: “If we want to play the stud or the smart-ass or the fool, we know the words to say. We are all working from the same dog-eared script.” (89-) For me, that’s a “highlight” passage.
Ricki that would have been brilliant – and yes, so like Desi. If I were an author I would enjoy seeing what my readers would come up with for endings that satisfy our thirst for REVENGE!!! 😛
Great passage you recalled too.
I’m hoping they find video footage from the casino…doesn’t she like kiss his cheek or something while in there? And yes, the man that saw her!
Great movie, but was soooo disappointed that basically she got away with murder, deception about the pregnancy, and ALL of her scheming ways!!!
And Nick was STUCK with this psychopath!!! Up until the ending, I thought the plot was quite brilliant, but the ending reminded me of the ending of Alfred Hichcock’s THE BIRDS. That movie ended strangely and abruptly as well.
It didn’t make sense that Amy would just come back, continue to manipulate Nick, and just smile in the TV interview.
Such a brilliant writer, I truly think she could have scheming Amy “found out”.
After all, she deliberately murdered her ex boyfriend, but got away with it.
When the credits started to roll, I was stunned!
Another thought – why didn’t they do a toxicology test on Desi if they were trying to find something on Amy? Wouldn’t that have shown all the sleeping pills in his system?
Good point Alison – it sounded like they just closed the case and it was just the one cop who thought Nick was innocent …. I think there is almost enough there to do a sequel – not a trilogy, but a second book of the cop and Nick and Go….
Amy explained this in her cover story to the police. Every night Desi fed her, raped her, and drank wine with sleeping pills so he could sleep beside her and not be disturbed by her crying. The night she escaped, Desi had dropped the knife onto the bed and didn’t see it. After he fell asleep, Amy used the knife to cut herself free, then killed Desi and left. The amount of forethought and level of detail on Amy’s part is/was unreal — tying twine around her wrists and ankles every day for the month she was with Desi to leave marks indicating she had been tied up, raping herself with a wine bottle everyday to leave evidence of rape before she had sex with Desi and killed him — Literally “Amazing Amy”. And I don’t mean that in a good way. 🙂
NO kidding! Amy is probably going down as one of the scariest characters I have ever known…. GAH…. what a level of insanity!
She covered that base, too. She said he took a sleeping pill with his martini every night so he wouldn’t have to hear her cry…
Carla – that is right! Wow she covered it all….
Yeah I wondered that too
Unfortunately, she thought of that, too. When the cops were questioning her, she told them that every night he would rape her, drink a martini, and take sleeping pills to fall asleep next to her so Amy’s sobbing wouldn’t keep him awake.
I loved the book and all it’s craziness. I listed to it and loved the narrators. I read this for my book club and we all concluded it was a fitting ending for the crazy pair. Although I would have LOVED to see Amy get ruined. But in real life I think the crazy manipulators get their way so I have resigned myself to accept the ending (as much as I hated it). I heard the author’s other books are crazier so I’m going to read some happy books first and then try another dark, twisted tale.
Katie, normally an ending like this would make me mad… I hate endings that aren’t really endings… but in this case, the cat and mouse chase throughout the book.. somehow this was fitting. 🙂
I have another of her books around here somewhere, my friend gave it to me but I have so far yet to find it in my book masses….. perhaps, like you, it is good to take a break first 😀
In the beginning, I thought Nick was one of those one-dimensional kind of men who becomes whoever his partner wants him to be, and goes through the motions, doing his thing; and Amy, from her diaries, seemed like a victim. However, there was something about Amy from the first moments that didn’t feel genuine, so I was happy to find out she was gaming us with that diary. And by the end of the book, I was totally hating on her….and felt sorry for Nick.
I definitely wanted him to somehow escape from Amy (with the baby, of course), but I don’t see that happening. That ending left me feeling very sad and hopeless. Which is kind of appropriate for such an intense story.
I need to go back and reread and highlight some sections, as the language was absolutely brilliant.
I have heard that Sharp Objects is a good one, too.
I keep looking for Sharp Objects Laurel, my friend Heidi gave me that book a while back and I can not find where I put it…. GAH 😀
Loved finding this spoiler thread and reading all of your thoughts about the book. No one that I know had read and enjoyed the book. The one person who has read it found it tedious. I found it to be “edge of my seat” suspense.
I’m going to echo everyone else’s feelings. Thought it was obvious in the first part that Nick was guilty as hell. Then I thought Nick’s ranting father (bitch bitch bitch) had done it. When I finally came to the Amy part, my head was SPINNING! I thought Desi was somewhat of a stalker and had some definite mommy issues which let him fall right into Amy’s trap. Boy, she had him wrapped around her finger. I wish when Nick had visited Desi that they had been able to clarify Desi’s “suicide attempt”–that would have been a game changer. I wish the two people that stole Amy’s money (can’t remember their names) came forward somehow–I was waiting for that. Mark of a good book? Thinking about it a week later! It’s the kind of book that leaves a knot in your stomach.
Gina I am so glad you found this page too… and wow, I cant believe no one you know liked it… I loved it… like you said, it kept you on the edge of your seat! 😀
I kind of wish there was more – like a second book… and Amy’s level of wackadoo hits an all time high when she is willing to have sex with Desi to make her evil plan work… oh wait! Maybe she didn’t peak then… she peaked when she saved some of Nick’s sperm to impregnate herself… holy cats…. what a nut job!
I just turned the last page and all I can say is “wow”, I think the word that I actually muttered out loud that woke the sleeping baby was “WHAT?!?!?” I echo everyone else’s comments here. During the final part I couldn’t believe Nick could sleep in the same house, let alone the same room as Amy. I kept asking myself, is there any way that I could stay in the same house with someone who knowingly confessed a murder to me and was twisted enough to plot my demise and possible execution as a means of revenge. I understood he was playing her game but still, there is no way that I could stay somewhere where I watching my back every second of every day. She obviously proved that she would go to any length to get exactly what she wanted.
I found myself wanting her to get caught, is it really plausible that she was perfect at covering her tracks? It seemed she had every base covered and then some (the long blond hairs in the trunk of Desi’s car? Come on who thinks that far ahead?). I didn’t see the pregnancy coming at all, based on her actions throughout the book I knew she would have a good backup plan to get Nick to stay but I keep thinking about that poor child, growing up in such a strained and twisted environment. I found myself asking what would Amy do to her own child if she perceived them hurting her in any way? Could you imagine the teen years?!? It shutters to make me think of it.
Typically I am not a fan of books that don’t have at least one likable character but I think that this book was so twisted that I couldn’t put it down. I felt almost pity for Go, to be Nick’s other half, but I can’t say that I liked her all that much, there was just something that rubbed me the wrong way. I finished the book wishing for further character development of the detectives, I really wanted Rhonda to find the missing link and almost prove herself as a detective who follows her gut, but maybe that was just me.
I am so glad I picked this one up Sheila! Thanks for the review that finally made me open the cover and start reading.
Sarah, glad to have your voice added to the discussion here! I agree… she was so unbelievably detailed it was believable. I think of some of the biggest sickest minds we have known in history… how careful they were – there minds are so sick – they do over think and get away with their crimes for way longer than one would imagine… look at all the unsolved crimes out there… look at the murders that to this day we say “we believe this person (ie. Bundy, Dahmer…) may have killed this person as well – but they never really know.
I am glad you picked it up too! I agree about no likable characters, I need someone to root for… I had no one, but the twists and turns kept me turning pages thinking something good has to come out of this… but no… I guess not. The child, may wind up as sick as the mother, if the child even has a chance of living since it is born as a pawn.
OMG I am so happy you have a spoiler section for this book! So like most I disliked Nick all the way through part one. I even tossed around the idea that he might have a split personality when he didn’t remember the credit charges. Then I got one paragraph into part 2 and felt like I had been sucker punched. Out of all the scenarios I had toyed with, Amy being behind the whole thing didn’t even cross my mind.
I spent part two systematically reeling at how conniving and deceptively cunning Amy was. I gotta say she played the part well enough that I still get chills when I think of how her character pulled it off.
By the end I almost felt sorry for Nick. I mean was he completely innocent? No way but I’m not sure I’d put him in the same league as Amy. She is a league of her own!
That happened to me too Zia, I thought Nick was the bad guy… in the end, he was the victim… even his affair (which I NEVER condone) I almost understand his need to feel loved, wanted… normal.
I love that you have a spoiler page! So smart. I have been casting this movie (in my head) since finding out they will make one. Remember Hitch with Will Smith? Amber Valetta was the rich girl set up with Kevin James. She would be perfect. I can’t find an age appropriate male tho to play Nick…
Oh yeah…. some one said Jude Law for Nick… is that too old? I dont know. I cant wait though…. what a great read 😀
I think Jude Law comes with too much cinema baggage, but that’s just me. And I didn’t realize Reese might be Amy – only that I heard she wanted to produce it, but again, haven’t checked.
I loved that the Missouri rednecks took all her money and she never quite saw that coming. ha! Also, I was annoyed that her doctor didn’t come forward that she was preggers in the initial investigation. We are talking a SMALL TOWN. and if it was that media circus, you would think they might call the detectives.
And I loved the Desi was whackadoo. I think he thought he knew just enough how to ‘hold’ Amy just in case. I mean he did set up a fortress for her. Another one of those “oops” on Amy’s part that I giggled when she thought she might not be able to control him like she initially thought.But yea, she was a force.
She and Nick deserve each other. Oh, but that poor child…
Whackadoo….lol… such a great word. 😀
Like everyone here, I was riveted by this book, but the end left me dissatisfied, because it essentially left Amy as the winner. I didn’t dislike all the characters — I actually was sort of rooting for Nick from the beginning, and it would have been fun to be more convinced he was guilty before dropping the Amy bombshell, but it was pretty clear there was another explanation all along. And because the author played so much with the unreliable narrator aspect, I was waiting for another stunning turnaround at the end — perhaps revealing the involvement and manipulation of Nick’s father or Go. Or even that Nick had manufactured everything — Amy’s second tale with Desi, etc. — to cast dispursion over her diary accounts of him in order to prove her crazy. (That would’ve been awesome! With all the mind tweaking going on in this book, the greatest mind tweak should’ve been directed toward the reader!)
Alternately, I would’ve liked Nick’s dad to have been instrumental in taking Amy down or for her to have a misscarriage (it was already pointed out that this could be hereditary, with her mother’s problems), so that all her elaborate plans against Nick were foiled. Or even a discovery that the ink in the fake diary entries wasn’t old enough to support seven years worth of entries. Anything so that she didn’t wind up on top!
I also thought Go was a rich character, and I was waiting for some big revelations about her — maybe that she and Nick did have some unholy involvement, or that she was overly attached to him and had her own psycho plan for keeping him to herself. As much as the author emphasized the uncanny connection and understanding between Amy and Nick, there is an underlying connection and understanding between the twins that seemed even greater, and I think that could’ve been used somehow in the resolution… In any case, I feel that Amy’s much-discussed “perfection” should’ve been undermined at the end, rather than enforced, as it was. Because as it stands, she does come out looking like the perfect schemer and the smarter thinker and the ultimate winner… Anyway, I agree that a sequel would be great — this time with Go and Bony as the narrators…
A sequel would make me happy too, I do appreciate that the author didnt write it all up to end easy or even necessarily the way I wanted it too… it left me cold and made me dislike Amy even more and I appreciate a book that shocks me… even if it didnt end the way I had hoped. 😀
I enjoyed the book and all it’s twists. One thing bothered me – who is the father of Amy’s baby? Is it Desi? (also, wouldn’t he have noticed and questioned the rope burns on her ankles and wrists?) Or is Nick really the father? I feel like the only thing that Amy didn’t explain was how did she get the sperm from the sperm bank? It is very hard to get the sperm out. It’s a regulated legal situation. One partner cannot just “withdraw” without consent of the other. It was kind of weird that that step was just ignored, when every other step was so detailed and carefully planned.
I guess I believed it was Nick… but hmm…. you may be on to something. 😀 I know nothing about Sperm banks so I had no idea one person could not have access to it. Interesting. All that you mention here is yet another reason I think there should be another book 😀
Finally!!! Someone is thinking like I did. I liked the book but I had a couple of issues…the sperm bank was one of those. The other issues were the two at the cabin. I felt that they were loose ends that did to fit the flow of the story. We all know that Greta knew who Ozark Amy was. More could have been added perhaps?? Just seemed dull there.
Also the story never really had closure regarding an alibi for Desi the day Amy went missing. Wouldn’t his mom fight that?? I felt like that detail got missed.
But obviously still a good read.
Good points!
Just finished! Read it in 3 days, sick on the couch. I could barely put it down. I love all the different thoughts from everyone here on the spoiler page! No one I know personally has read it (yet) either. I thought Nick was pretty genuine all the way through—just a jerk dude in a unsatisfying life situation. Not that I liked him or thought he was a good husband, I just did believe him that he could be so duped by Amy’s treasure hunt, that he could be so thoughtless and careless about details about her and their life, that he could be so self-centered. Just a dumb, jerky dude. But I guess I was sort of rooting for him since simply being a dumb, jerky dude doesn’t mean you deserve to be framed and convicted of murder and jailed.
I felt like something was weird about Amy from the very start, in Part 1 with her diary. It read like a freshman in college or something, no? Like someone way younger and more immature than a woman in her mid-30s. Sure, sure, she was sheltered her whole life by her parents. But come on. She lived and worked in NYC, she seemed grown-up enough to have more mature thoughts in her diary other than (paraphrasing here!) “omg you guys! I met the CUTEST boy. THE boy. omg.” That’s how it read to me. I was devilishly happy when Part 2 started and the real (“real”) Amy was revealed. Yeah!
I don’t think Desi deserved to be killed, but he WAS holding Amy captive… if she is telling the truth that he didn’t allow her outside the compound, monitored her diet, etc. etc. Totally creepy about the painted bedroom and tulip room. Would he have eventually tried to take Amy anyway, knowing she lived so close now? Was he just biding his time? The numerous letters to Amy over the years is suspicious in itself.
The poor, poor baby. I was not surprised in the least when Amy revealed a real pregnancy at the end. That’s what she does: she has no regard for human life—actual people with feelings, family—so it was no surprise she would use just another life in her game of superiority and control. The baby means nothing to her other than a way to mess with Nick. She does not comprehend this child growing and becoming his own, independent, adult human being. In a sequel, I would hope Nick would take the baby too and Amy would get some sort of punishment.
Small gripe: I hated the names Go and Boney. Liked the characters, though. I kept picturing Debra, Dexter’s sister, from the show “Dexter” (Jennifer Carpenter) as Go.
Great comments here! I think Desi (creeped me out a bit ya know?) was a dispensable character because without Amy he was nothing… it also showed a fine example of how she uses people.
Issue with judging Desi is that we mainly see him through the eyes of Amy – the eyes of a selfish psychopath obsessed with control – so we really don’t know how pathetic he was or how much he was trying to keep her captive. She’s a dismissive paranoid who thought everyone was doing her wrong, remember? (Not saying I like the guy, but just thought it was interesting how he was actually pretty forceful and superior when viewed through Nick’s eyes). Very interesting book.
Truly a great point… see how manipulating Amy is? LOL
That’s hilarious, I also hate the name Go, and she reminded me of Dexter’s sister.
I just finished the book. Loved the book – HATED and am very disappointed by the ending. My IPad showed 25 pages left so I started reading the Acknowledgements page, thinking it was part of Amy’s book. I am so disappointed that that was the ending!!!!!
Normally that ending would have disappointed me but the whole thing was so up and down and all over… it worked 😀
I loved the book. The ending for me was shocking. This is how I interpreted it. Remember, Amy was prepared to kill herself at one point in the book. At the end, when Nick said to her, “Because every morning you have to wake up and be you”, that brought her finally to her knees. I can’t think of anything more devastating than someone saying that. When Amy says she has the last word, I took that to mean she would either kill herself AND the baby, or finally kill Nick. That took my breath away!!!!
When Amy said at the end that she was sorry that he said that (about having to wake up as her every day), I clearly felt that she immediately began to plan how to kill Nick and get away with it. Nick is never going to have another restful moment in his life, will always be waiting for her next psychotic move in her obsessive cat and mouse game. She’s crazy, and he has no protection from her. Perfect ending! Remember that this book is a psychological thriller, not just a mystery. The reader should feel unsettled at the end.
Yes!!!!! I agree she liked him herself and the baby!!!!
I am listening to it in my car this very second… The moment nick finds his father at the police station… I knew he took her. I googled “girl gone gillian flynn father took wife” and this came up! I am always that person, but I am super excited to hear how this progresses.
LOL – ooh you read this before you were done – I hope you didnt read all the spoiler… it really is worth the wait 😀
That was the best book I think I have EVER read…I literally could not put it down…love the demented characters lol…I finished almost a week ago and really miss it and the characters…obviously, since I just googled it and that’s how I came to this site…Interesting, I love hearing what everyone thought…I have passed to a friend, she’s really bugging me because she’s not done yet!!! Has anyone read her other books? Are they as good?? Thanks 🙂
It was so amazing. I have a couple of her other books I hope to read soon, but no haven’t tried any yet but I have a friend who says they are fantastic.
I loved the book, until Amy was forced to call on Desi for help. From that point on, the story was just too “over the top” for me. He was way too ridiculous, creepy and psycho. (Yes, the Tulip Room was so silly that I actually wanted to laugh.) I didn’t want Amy to become an actual murderer. It would have been better of she had figured out a way to escape from Desi, and then accuse him of kidnapping her.
Here’s the ending I was hoping for . . . the two characters from the motel who took her money, would later recognize her from all the press coverage, and come forward and blow her story to pieces.
I hated that she was going to have a baby. It made my flesh crawl. Also, I don’t believe for a moment that the cops would have dropped the case. Too many strange coincidences and weird happenings.
I can’t say I loved the book. I do agree the reaching out to Desi put it over the top and it just got silly in a creepy way. I love well crafted mysteries. This book was more contrived than crafted.
Remember that Desi is mainly viewed through Amy’s eyes – and she is an unreliable narrator. (In the Nick chapters when Nick met him at his house I think Desi made Nick seem the crazier of the two, and when Nick read Desi’s letter (that Amy had thrown away) it was just banal chitchat.) It’s Amy’s point of view that Desi is a crazy control freak who’s obsessed with her, but it’s she who is a crazy control freak who is obsessed with herself.
I just finished listening to the audio book Gone Girl and am disappointed in the ending. One friend began reading the book at the same time I started listening. We texted back and forth as she had a hard time getting into it while I loved it from the start. Her final text was, “Just finished…WOW!” Well, this comment fueled my expectation for an amazing ending given all the twists and turns in the narrative. I am an English major and not only understand but respect the fact that a book’s ending shouldn’t be tied up in a neat little bow; however, the author spent so much time developing Amy’s relationships with Jeff and Greta (I think these were their names. I was listening) that I expected they might return. I also hoped that the inquisitive man at the casino would see the tv coverage of Desi’s murder and come forward to wreck Amy’s story. Maybe these characters were all meant to be red herrings, but perhaps Flynn could have provided an unexpected yet unforeseen ending by having Amy die crossing the street in some random hit and run accident or have Nick watch her choke to death on a piece of food since choking her was his daydream. I also thought a murder/suicide ending would have worked. I just couldn’t decide which character would initiate the plan. Amy was humming the theme from Mash in the kitchen on the morning of her anniversary. The lyrics say that suicide is painless; it brings on many changes, and suicide was Amy’s original plan.
I enjoyed the book but wish the ending gave a few more clues to help the reader have some sort of closure. Regardless, happily ever after is NOT an option for Nick and Amy.
Great comment… I like to hope (hope!) that another book would come and help with all the things you brought up here… while I was satisfied with the ending… I can see it going many different ways… 🙂
I loved the book but feel that there should be a sequel (and probably will be) based on the fact that someone like Amy would never, EVER, allow those 2 from the cabin to screw her over and take her money and get by with it. She would see to it they get what’s coming to them. Also she talks about how she has all her bases covered by saying she was held for a time at the lake, but how about the cabin’s proprieter. Dorothy was it? She spokes with Amy many times. I would like to see her be Amy’s undoing in a sequel.
I think Nick is a great character. I mean doesn’t he actually say this is his time to not be like his father and be the best dad he can to a child. Teach his soon to be son what kind of man to actually be. By doing that, he is making a huge sacrifice by staying with Amy since he knows he can’t trip her up right now, but who knows what a hopeful sequel could turn up.
No one mentioned the creepy feeling that I had seeing Nick’s future in his father’s behavior. I clearly see Nick deterioating into the ranting crazy his father became, after living with Amy for decades and raising his son.
The ending makes this story wide open for a sequel. I would be shocked if there isn’t one, not to mention disappointed. Amy is due the next day. Nick and Go can still save the baby from her. The plot continues with…..Amy writes her book Amazing. Jeff and Greta (the thieves) black mail her for money to keep her secret and not ruin her chances of a best seller. Amy once again, has to come up with some brilliant plan to get rid of these pests. There are other possible people who could identify her from her time on the lamb, and Amy becomes paranoid that these poeple will “out” her. (the cabin rental clerk for example) …Detective Boney won’t give up. She convinces authorities to execute a search warrant at Desi’s house. Desi was so obsessed with Amy, he had a hidden camera system in the house. Amy slipped up, and Boney finds video of every second she spent in that house. In the end, Amy’s guilt is proven, but she still insists she’s the victim here. She could be filmed sitting in her jail cell, kind of like Norman Bates, repeating “I wouldn’t hurt a fly”. “I am the Amazing Amy”.
I really thought that Amy would meet her end when the trunk of Desi’s car was searched. They found long blonde hairs, intimating that her body had in fact been locked there. But the problem for Amy is that the hair she kept and placed in the trunk had been cut with scissors….a simple microscopic inspection would have shown that they had been planted, not lost by natural means with root intact. Is this a possible oversight? What am I missing?
I was away for the weekend with friends who were insistent I finish the book so we could talk about the ending! I agree with so many of the comments here. But the one line at the end that keeps nagging at me is Nick saying to Amy that he feels sorry for her. I think that was a very deliberate comment that he knew would get under her skin because Amy doesn’t seem like the kind of person who wants anyone’s pity. It struck me that Nick was setting up a situation where he could be trying to beat Amy at her own game and destroy her. I have thought about alternative endings – Amy is too self centered to commit suicide, and at this point she couldn’t kill Nick because she would definitely be found out, and she is too smart to allow that. Nick could kill her, but then in a sick way Amy would win. Nick could never leave, we can only imagine what Amy would do (or better yet, Gillian Flynn would imagine it for us). But Nick thinks he knows Amy so well at this point that he can play at her own game – or as the the saying goes, keep your friends close and your enemies closer! I loved the twists in this book – (who didn’t go back and read the diary entries after you realized they were fake?) and I hope the author has a sequel in her!
I enjoyed the book until the entirely until the end. There was no closure whatsover , assuming the author has a sequel I am willing to consider only with finite conclusion.
It seems as though part 2 was the intention all along seeming shallow and disappointing.
I enjoyed the book but I have the following questions or confusion:
1. Amy told the detectives that Desi abducted her on her anniversary. Her story was that she fought him, he cut her arm with a pocket knife in the kitchen. She passed out in the kitchen and came to in the family room, hog tied,while he was mopping the blood off the kitchen floor. Was there blood on the family room carpet too? Did she really say she woke up hog tied yet ran back into the kitchen to fight him? The detectives should have picked up on the blood and running while tied up. Perhaps I misread it.
2. She told detectives that she was tied to the bed daily at Desi’s home, which was a lie. She said he dropped the knife on the floor and she used it to cut the ropes and to get free. Question: how did she get the knife off the floor and how did she cut her ropes, if she was tied up? Did she explain this detail to the detectives? Again, perhaps I missed this obvious detail.
3. Wouldn’t an autopsy on Desi show he had THREE sleeping pills in him? While she says he took them, I would think the amount would raise suspicion.
4. How did she get Nicks sperm from the fertility clinic? Was this explained to the reader?
I enjoyed the book and it seems that the author had Amy think if every detail. But I am wondering if anyone else picked up on the details I mentioned above.
I enjoyed the book but I have the following questions or confusion:
1. Amy told the detectives that Desi abducted her on her anniversary. Her story was that she fought him, he cut her arm with a pocket knife in the kitchen. She passed out in the kitchen and came to in the family room, hog tied,while he was mopping the blood off the kitchen floor. Was there blood on the family room carpet too? Did she really say she woke up hog tied yet ran back into the kitchen to fight him? The detectives should have picked up on the blood and running while tied up. Perhaps I misread it.
2. She told detectives that she was tied to the bed daily at Desi’s home, which was a lie. She said he dropped the knife on the floor and she used it to cut the ropes and to get free. Question: how did she get the knife off the floor and how did she cut her ropes, if she was tied up? Did she explain this detail to the detectives? Again, perhaps I missed this obvious detail.
3. Wouldn’t an autopsy on Desi show he had THREE sleeping pills in him? While she says he took them, I would think the amount would raise suspicion.
4. How did she get Nicks sperm from the fertility clinic? Was this explained to the reader?
I enjoyed the book and it seems that the author had Amy think if every detail. But I am wondering if anyone else picked up on the details I mentioned above.
(I just realized that she said the knife was left on the BED, not the floor. That would make more sense. That’s the answer to one if my questions above). I still need help with the rest. Thanks.
Agree w your questions. As to #4 though – Nick left the slip of paper about how the fertility clinic would destroy his sperm on the table as a passive aggressive not to Amy to follow up on the fertility treatments but she didn’t say anything so he thought it was all over. In reality she had followed up but hadn’t told him (telling them not to destroy the sperm). The entire thing (she always says she doesn’t want kids, but then she suddenly and abruptly wants fertility treatments but then suddenly and abruptly refuses to do anything once Nick donated his sperm) suggests that she had planned years ago to have his sperm available to inseminate herself if need be. Pretty conniving.
“passive aggressive note” i meant to say – in his chapters he talked about he wanted kids and hoped Amy would follow up on the treatments (pills etc) but she wouldn’t talk about it.
Just finished reading this book for book club this friday, which I am unfortunately going to miss. I felt frustrated by the ending, (as I am sure we all were), I wanted to see Amy punished. She is such an evil character, that it is hard to imagine that she will get away with it “all”. But alas she does. That is frustrating, but on the other hand, gives the readers much more food for thought. Someone earlier mentioned her disregard for life, and using another human to continue her control, fits with her character completely.
There was a point in the novel where I actually suspected Amy’s father! Desi says to Nick something about “was her father there”. Before the second half, I was trying to imagine that Desi had knowledge that Amy’s supposed perfect father, was really evil. Of course we find out later, that she has lied to Desi, about being raped by her father. I thought the portrayal of the Nick and Amy’s parents was very well done. All inflicting their own brand of damage on their kids. And I think ultimately that is why Nick stays with Amy, to undo in his mind the damage his father caused, and help raise a “healthy” child. Good luck NICK!!!
Bummer you missed book club – I bet this was a pretty great discussion book.
Alright. I gotta post this somewhere. Am I the only one who thinks this? The cops should have known something was awry WAY sooner. And here is why. When Nick and the cop went to his professor office and found the 2nd clue, they found the box and the wrong sized panties at the same time. Now, if amy had indeed used the spare key to access the office and leave the clue, she would have seen the panties, and flipped and not left a loving clue. The girlfriend couldn’t have left the panties after the clue had been placed because she didn’t have access. A little game theory there would show that amy couldn’t have, wouldn’t have, left a clue like that if she was in a sane marriage. Anyone else thinking the same thing?
Already my memory is fading on this book 😀 I thought Amy planted the panties…. I could be forgetting…
Right, and the cops should have asked themselves, if Amy put the panties there as part of her clue or playtime with Nick, then why would she put panties there that were not her size? Or maybe they did realize something was off, because they kept asking about Amy’s size 2. Never really explained, but that could be why the cop was never convinced it was Nick.
i agree w you James. Also doesn’t make sense that Amy would leave the present in the shed with all of Nick’s stuff, including the yucky porn. Also I think that Desi’s mom should have been able to prove an alibi for Desi for part of the time that Amy was missing.
If Amy is that “I will Get back to you Hard” kind, Why didn’t she do anything to jeff and greta? I understand she doesn’t want to be caught, but still…. “Amazing” Amy would have made sure she took her revenge good…
That why I think there could be (should be) more…. *fingers crossed*
I agree – that’s when it went off the rails for me; no way would she have let herself be robbed like that, being such an evil genius! I would have expected her to keep the money hidden or in a few different money-belts – especially after Greta saw she had one and started setting off alarm bells. That part felt unresolved – maybe in the sequel…
Sequel! Sequel! Come on everyone – chant with me 😉
Doesn’t it seem that maybe this book was written as two books, with the abrupt ending being the only way to stop without closure, and a “sequel” (that is actually the second half of a book we have yet to see) would come out that picks back up with lots of new twists and turns.
That is my hope. 🙂
I hated the ending of this book. The only resolution that I got from it, is that both characters are miserable and deserve each other (although I do think that Nick got the worst of it)!
I agree Nick, Nick wasny awesome, but then knowing Amy I could kind of see why….
I question why the writer had Nick say that at the end. He was so willing to please her and then he says that? Knowing there would be consequences he didn’t want to suffer. Seems like the writer needed to end this story quick.
wait so did Nick’s dad take Amy or was it desi??? explain.
OOH you have to read the book. The answer is neither. This is a spoiler page for those who have read the book 🙂
I actually liked the ending, at least I saw it appropriate. The themes in the book of love and power, what drives people to act in crazy ways that dont make sense, the forces that move them to make the decisions they do- a child represents this perfectly. Im not sure if a sequel would work, and the author has Amy have the “last word” which seems so final. I do think the actual ending, meaning Amy’s last words in the book should have been one last final quiz:
It is the eve of the birth of your first child. In anticipation of the big day you feel:
a) Anxious: what if something goes wrong during delivery?, is it going to hurt?, what if I can’t be a good mom?
b) Happy and calm: you are prepared and confident, ready to greet your precious child and finally feel completed in the role you were born to play
c) Triumphant: you have finally won, playing the biggest pawn in the game, and gaining ultimate power.
Answer: c), totally c)
.
I just finished the book (our December book club selection). I thought it was great. Each new chapter was unexpected, intricate, thoroughly enjoyable.
Amy, I love the quiz – totally appropriate! I have Sharp Objects on my bedside table and I’ll probably read that over the Thanksgiving weekend – if I can wait that long!
Awesome.
I like your thoughts with the quiz!
Brilliant!!! Love the quiz ending idea!
Oh and to the comment about the guy in the casino, I totally thought that too.
But I also thought during Part One that Go was an alter ego of Nick, that she was a twin who died as a chid and didnt really exist. Then, when it was obvious that she did, I was convinced that Go would turn the tables on both Nick and Amy at the end and prove to be the real evil and conniving one (I thought thats who his Dad was looking for when he came in on his final rant towards the end)
So I guess I thought there would be even MORE twists, but Im just crazy like that.
I loved the book and I am so looking forward to the movie. I see Rachel McAdams as a great Amy (with runner up to be Charlize Theron who I loved in her role in Young Adult). For Nick I see someone that looks like Ian Sommerholder, but I think we need a more established actor for the role. i’d like to see what Ryan Gosling could do with the role.
I thought Reece Witherspoon was going to be Amy… now I have to go look for updates 🙂
Ryan would be awesome but not with Rachel McAdams because weren’t they in something together already? I would love to see someone new…
Am I the only one who immediately thought the ending was very intentional and well thought out? It seemed (to me at least) that the conclusion was supposed to leave the reader with the impression that the entire book, Gone Girl, was written by Nick. (Forget that “manuscript” with which he allegedly parted.) Seeing it from this vantage point, that would be a real “gotcha”: Nick finally winning at Amy’s mind games by using a page out of her own book (literally). Her diary ended with the incriminating line about her worrying that Nick was going to kill her. Similarly, Gone Girl ends with the incriminating lines that point to Amy getting upset about something Nick said and wanting the last word (reminiscent to Amy getting upset about the minuscule details with her ex-friend, before framing her for going crazy)… Perhaps the author wants it to look like Nick wrote this book and is planning on using it to frame Amy when something eventually happens to him. Or maybe it’s just late and I’m over-thinking this. 🙂 Does anyone agree/disagree?
OOH – I had not thought of it that way…. now maybe I am tired…LOL 😀
Sort of hard to know what to believe at that point, isn’t it?
I just finished this book yesterday….WOW! I really enjoyed it. I thought it was so well written with so many layers of details. I really like how not only did Amy fool Nick, but she fooled the reader. As the reader I felt foolish. I disliked Nick in the first half. I knew Amy’s disappearance was her doing, but I only thought it was her leaving him because of how terrible their marriage had gotten, or maybe she had killed herself and her treasure hunt and clues were like a long suicide note….boy was I wrong there.
I did like the ending. This was clearly unhealhty, abusive relationship on both parts and that’s how those types of relationships are. I think in the end they were stuck with each other. I also thought it was interesting how throughout the whole book you keep reading about how “perfect” Amy’s parent’s marriage was….but I get the feeling that Amy and Nick just turned into Amy’s parents. Maybe they didn’t have such a perfect marriage, they were just always pretending, like Nick and Amy ended up, and now they were going to have their kid. Amy’s craziness had to come from somewhere. That’s my take on that. As far as her having the last word, I didn’t take that as her insinuating she was going to kill herself as I have heard some people say. Throughout the book Nick and Amy are both telling the reader their stories, it’s not just us reading a diary and hearing Nick tell his story to the police, it’s them talking to us, and she wanted to have the last word. That’s what I think. Now I have to re-read it from a new perspective. It’s like watching the 6th sense, after it was over, you wanted to watch it again to see all the details you missed.
I cant wait for it to be a movie!!! 😀
Is there a movie planned? Would be interesting.
I assumed that Amy having the ‘last word’ meant that she would kill herself and so let the baby die inside her dead body because of Nick saying he felt sorry for her etc. I have been telling people who have only seen the film that that is how the book ends!! I have recently met with blank stares from people who read the book so I started to look into it and this is the only comment I have found that thought the same thing!!
I don’t understand why nobody has mentioned that in the first part of book Nick has flashbacks of Amy crawling on floor with bloodied head. In one vision she is calling his name with her head bashed in. No further reference is made to these flashbacks.
I don’t thinkit actually said it was a flashback, I think he was just picturing her like that. I thought it was just thrown in there to make you think he might have had something to do with her disappearance.
I think you are right Tanya. Its been a while since I read this now, but I believe that is what I thought at the time too.
YES!!! I just posted about that earlier because it has been driving me crazy as well. I thought for sure we were going to see him crack her in the head and finish that scene for us. I think he mentioned it twice- how could that not play into the story later on???
I couldn’t read through all the comments, but I did want to put in my two cents! By the end of the book, I was underwhelmed. The book was so fantastical, the set up so crazy, the events leading up to the end so unbelievable, that I was expecting an ending that matched the rest of the book. But you know what? People use kids as pawns every day all around the world. Ho hum. I wanted to see Nick fake his death or kill Amy and get away with it or SOMETHING, anything other than the way it ended. Using a child to manipulate a spouse is so plebian and beneath Amy, ESPECIALLY once she went back to Nick. It would have had more of an impact on me if it had happened before she faked her death, but once she came back and got pregnant, I was like *yawn*. I guess I felt the ending was banal compared to the rest of the book.
The ending certainly annoyed me and yes, there was a whole new level of crazy going on here… but I did really enjoy it, sick and twisted…. all of it…. 😆
I was surprised, but Nick didn’t really bother me that much. Ok, he was lazy, cynical, and had an affair, but still. Amy on the other hand was a conniving witch – shallow, annoying, needy and I couldn’t stand her. I was also underwhelmed by the book as a whole. I had heard so much about it on twitter, but thought it would be more thrillerish and scary. I guess it’s more of a psychological thriller and I did find myself trying to second guess what would happen next. I also didn’t like the ending – I really wanted to see Amy pay for what she had done, but also couldn’t believe that Nick could be so weak as to take her back. I have chosen this for my December book club read so it will be interesting to hear what the girls think on Wednesday night!
I would love it if you would stop back and let me know what your book club thought!
I thought Amy’s diary was not a true representation of the feminist we were first introduced to. I was happy the author took me on this journey (though I had my doubts about Amy’s authentic voice in her diary) I didn’t think she was a psychopath until we found out she was alive. What a pleasant surprise. (Kind of)
The over indulgent parents (Rand, Marybeth, Jacqueline, even Maureen-though at least she isnt as self serving as the others) and abusive parent (Nick’s dad, do we even know his name?) were all disturbing. That Nick and Amy will be parents is sickening. I don’t want to imagine the new level of abuse Amy will inflict on her son, can Nick protect him? Not unless he can out-clever Amy and get her out of the picture some how.
I am going from memory here Hillary (its been a while ow since I read this) but isn’t the diary a “fake Amy”? Didn’t she write that as a decoy so people would think :oh poor Amy! If I remember that right then the diary would not represent the true her. 🙂
I know, right….even I turned d pages hoping there was more…I was like “huh??”….wherez my ultimate showdown….but then I realize this wasn’t about The start, The journey and The end…this was really about The journey…
As I was reading the diary entries I thought ” the author dropped the ball here” I was pleasantly surprised that it was the author’s intent to mislead us and make us question the authenticity of the diary.
I thought the book was really good until the whole episode with Jeff and Greta! I thought that a person like Amy would never open herself up to such a situation! Going fishing with Jeff because she thought she would need more money?? I’m sorry… Amy just would not have done that! I know Amy losing all her money was necessary to the plot… to force her to get in contact with Desi but I think the book became very contrived after this.
I kept thinking too, why do the police not check to see if Desi had an alibi for the day that Amy went missing! Seems that would have been something Amy would not have been able to control or set up… Did Amy just “know” that he would be home with only his mother as an alibi? Did I miss that somewhere earlier in the story? Unless, Desi had been her back up plan all along and Amy had engineered a way to have Desi be completely out of touch for that whole day just in case she needed it to be so! But, to me,that is really stretching things!
After Amy came back to Nick, I found myself just wanting the book to be over but then when it came to the the very unsatisfactory ending I laughed and actually said out loud… “Really?” I for one could care less if there is a sequel and I doubt I will see the movie when it comes out. I feel like I have already spent way too much time with this twisted mess!
This is a wonderful discussion
I thought the book was riveting, start to finish, and the ending was perfect. Anything more tied together after Amy’s last entry would have made the intertwined madness a little trite. .
There was no doubt in my mind after the abrupt ending, given Amy’s character, that she would ultimately, and did, murder Nick. A murder so perfect that there was nothing more to be said than by what might be reportage from other’s–not the narrators. If the subsequent dispatching of Nick was done with Amy’s amazing skill, as I suspect, she did have the last word. Truly.
I don’t know if anyone else has stated this already but I think there is a lot in the penultimate paragraph where Amy says she can’t stop thinking about what Nick said. She can’t. This makes me think that after the baby comes she tragically attempts to preserve her nearly “perfect nuclear family” for all eternity by double-murder suicide. Then all three of them are together forever! Sick, I know, but Amy trained me to stretch the limits of my ago nation this way! I kept thinking that maybe Andie created both diaries (Nick’s and Amy’s) as a cover to make them both miserable and kill them both. But that doesn’t explain Desi. I less Andie got to him too. WHO KNOWS? It was crazy and good.
Oops. That should say “imagination” and “Unless Andie got to him too”. Where is my spell checker?
This book obviously sounds like a FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION novel. None of this could happen in REALITY.
However, I’m actually happy to see that Amy survived and this isn’t the typical STORY where the wife dies and is the victim (as I was thinking at first). I don’t like the fact she was scheming all of this all along, it was terrible for the most part, but she is a powerful BOOK/FANTASY character and not a weak one (and survived to tell the tale, not a killed off character like I’ve seen have happen often with these type of strong characters). This is at least one good aspect of the BOOK/FANTASY.
ok im not a book kind of dude. but i got a free book from audible and i loved it. I could not stop listening to it. I loved Amy and did not like Nick. I did not care too much for the ending
I think the baby, to Amy was nothing more than an insurance policy to ensure that Nick would forever be indentured and subservient to her, knowing how important it was to him to have a son.It was kind of like a reverse Rosemary’s Baby, the mother was the devil instead of the father.
I think Nick’s reply to her that he felt sorry for her waking up every morning being herself was kind of a veiled threat in case anything “happened” to the boy.
That meant that they were both holding each other hostage and neither of them had a hope of the storybook ending that was presented so enticingly in the beginning of the book.
The ultimate “Be careful what you wish for” scenario
I was in love with this story until the plot threads began to unravel. There were just too many coincidences to accept. To many neatly-wrapped-up events. Too…too…too much. It’s a beautifully written story by an excellent writer, but in the end too many things popped up (how, Nick asked, if she’d been tied up, would she be able to get the knife)? How would Desi not have noticed it as it fell off the plate? Why wouldn’t they do a tox screen on Desi and see more than normal levels of sleeping pills? These bothered me, and there were many more things. While she wrote richly-layered characters, the plot fell apart for me. Boney, who was in Nick’s corner–kind of–let everything go, even when she knew Amy was guilty. I just don’t get building something up to nearly-epic proportions, and then saying ‘it’s all good’. And Nick…would he really challenge Amy at the very end? I dunno…I loved it until the very end, and then I wished I’d gone on a jog this morning instead of finishing the book. Harsh assessment, but it didn’t work for me. On the flip side, I wish I could fully develop characters like Gillian Flynn does…very impressive. They come alive on the page.
We are into 2013!
My take is that the entire novel is a satire on our society and its values. Nick and Amy and the people around them are portrayed in an extreme way that displays how disfunctional much of our doings are.
The town has an economic collapse because its megamall shuts down. So this is almost a second derivative collapse. The town never did anything particularly functional beyond retail sales, and now even that is gone. They live in an almost empty development where most of the homes were never owned, and the few that were have mostly been reposesed. The populous has nothing better to do than follow around celebrities, or make faux celibrities out of dead wives with evil husbands.
Throughout the novel there are references to people only knowing how to act because they have seen the scene on T.V.
Our ending involves a faux celebrity (celbrity through loose attachment to a fictional character) who is a not fake dead wife, who is only interested in maximizing her own enjoyment of life. This “evil” woman is now married to the perfect everyman who pays no real attention to the details that go on around him so long as he can be layed back and relax through life. His primary goal is to be liked by everyone, and sets up a “Cheers!” -like bar in which to inhabit.
Amy and Nick’s new marriage is the marriage in hell that is our society. The authoress spends much of her time taking broad shots at various parts of society, but does it in a way that makes you think she is not talking about you, she is talking about those “other people”. It is hillarious. The ending is perfect.
Disciplined Amy and Vengeful Amy would NEVER have succumbed to the grifters at the mountain cabins. Desperation is not a character trait of Amy’s; not the way Ms. Flynn wrote and developed her. First, she would never have had all her money in one place; she’s too smart for that. Second, she would never have gone “fishing” with Jeff. Third, she would have spent her time in her car with her quarter-tank of gas figuring out how to get her revenge and how to get her money back. The whole story started crumbling for me during this chapter. Disappointed. Amy’s parents get off WAY too easy in this whole scenario. Nick is right: they DID create this monster. Desi didn’t have to die; Desi’s mom would NOT have simply disappeared & gone away quietly; she doted on her son and had the resources to hunt Amy down and prove what she did. Instead, this thread is dropped entirely. No doting, wealthy mom would allow themselves to be dismissed like that when they’ve got the resources for an army of private investigators, etc. I’ll admit the character development is complex, but the “daddy” card is too shallow, especially given Nick’s own parental experiences. Gone Girl is not sequel-worthy to me; I was genuinely surprised at how frequently this encouragement is presented to the author in this thread of comments. I wouldn’t read it and I’m bummed that we wasted a monthly book club selection on this title. Oh well.
I was just getting into the story when one of the characters cursed and said Jesus f—ing Christ. Broke one of the commandments. I put the book down and won’t read the author again. Many other curse words could have been used. Shame on an author who resorts to this.
That is often a deal breaker for me too, I must have skipped over it as I do not remember that. Yes, truly something that does not need to be in ANY book.
I was extremely disappointed with the ending, I wanted the crazy AMY to get caught, to put all the other people that she put through hell in her past to rest! But I am very curious, as I have tried to see if anyone else has caught onto this part of the novel, Able Andy her husband, and Andie the girl Nick cheats on Amy with. Do you think the name correlations have anything to do with each other a play that Gillian may have done to mess with our minds. I feel as if there is something to this meaning
OOh nice catch… I hadnt thought of that!
The diary entry dated 17 August confused me. I just don’t see why Amy bothered to write it, what purpose it serves in incriminating Nick, or just what the point of it was really. Any thoughts?
I HATED the way the book ended. Very anticlimactic, but it does shows the injustice in this world we live in.
One thing I found fairly odd was in the beginning of the book, the divorced drunk of a neighbor who called to tell Nick about the door being opened and the cat. Why was he never brought up again? I felt like he could have played a role to catch Amy in her wicked ways.
I hated the ending as well I really wanted Amy to get caught. Ow ever does anyone else think that maybe she kiwis Nick? Retread the last paragraph she says she really wish he hadn’t said that but she always has to have the last word. Sounds to me like she soun another web.
Sorry I should have spell checked. I meant to say however does anyone else think she might have killed Nick? Retread the last paragraph she said I wish he hadn’t said that but she always gets the last word. Sounds to me like she spun another web.
I think Amy makes a real psychopath look good. I did not think Desi needed to be murdered, but it did allow for the weaving of another totally different lie to be set up as the book ended. Wicked, wicked, wicked.
And the lies. Amy is a pathological liar. By the end of the book, who knows what is real and what is not.
Amy wins on top. Nick loses and is used. The title is more than just about her disappearance. What a Gone Girl.
I really enjoyed this book. It kept me interested the entire way through. I was unsatisfied with the ending though. It may be because I was unsure of the meaning. I would love to hear the authors explaination. I understood what he meant. He was playing along, but he was only “acting the part”. I am afraid Amy was plotting to kill him or did kill him. I am not sure what the “last word” was. I hated Amy by the end. In the beginning, I was so sorry for her. She knew about his infidelity, she witnessed it. Then as she exposed herself to us, I hated her.
You make me want to read this one again…. 😀
I loved the book and dug the ending, even if it left me wanting more. But I feel like I missed something. Janet Maslin writes, in the NY Times:
“And Nick has a secret life that did not involve Amy. On the morning she vanished, he was off doing something that he is deeply ashamed of, and it is not revealed until late in the novel. Ms. Flynn’s idea for Nick’s biggest secret will be, for some readers, the most startling detail in a book that is full of terrific little touches.”
The review mentions Andie several paragraphs earlier so that can’t be the big secret, can it? What else did Nick do on The Day Of?
oooh, so glad I found your page. I started Gone Girl Sunday evening and finished it today! (I do have a job and 2.5 year old, so it was quite a feat, poor hubby will get some attention tonight after my face has looked like a permanent book cover for 48 hours) 🙂 but I just couldn’t put it down! Anyway… none of my friends have read this yet so I’m so glad I can vent about the ending somewhere!! Like most, I had several theories throughout. 1. It HAD to be Nick, the cheating scumbag who kept mentioning at the start how many lies he had told the cops, but not saying what they all were! Plus, the flashbacks he kept having of Amy on the kitchen floor calling his name! Then my thoughts went to his Dad, like many have said, missing on the evening of her disappearance, this one stayed with me until the end and I thought that maybe if she did return his dad would finish her off. Then, something Desi said when Nick went to see him at the start, something about Amy’s father, was he involved!? That then stuck in my head the whole way through. But ultimately it was Nick’s reference to his father not ‘technically’ hitting his mum which he thought allowed his dad to think that he wasn’t ‘technically’ abusing her – this made me think that the end would see us discover that Nick did do all those things to Amy but ‘blocked’ them out, lying to himself to the point where he believed he was innocent. Not for one second did I think they would stay together. This ending really disappointed me! He hated her, he just would not have been able to to stay! Even as a read the last word I thought I would turn the page to find out that (like her mother) Amy had unfortunately had a still born baby and with that Nick fled, selling his story which he had forwarded to another source (his lawyer) for safekeeping. But nope! One major part where the book lost me for a second was when she went fishing with the guy from the cabins!? Amy, rich girl Amy, whichever character she was wearing that day, wouldn’t have done that – plus she was too smart to leave her money like that!? One last little niggle (I’ve literally finished this a few hours ago so it is on my mind) we didn’t get to find out how much of Amy’s ‘diary’ was true or false. I’m left wondering what her true relationship was like with Mumma Mo? Nick’s mum sounded like a switched on lady, and mums are very intuitive when it comes to their boys – did she not get any bad vibes from Amy? The diaries have us believe that they grew close, with Amy doing a lot for her in Nick’s absence during her treatment, but we never get to find out if that is true or not!? Sorry, I’ve blabbed on. All in all I loved this book, such a page turner, so very very clever, but the end has left me a little underwhelmed!
Sorry – this was a comment not a reply 😦
I think the “touching” secret is that he was reading his old magazines. He knew it was nostalgic and silly, so that is why he hid it. Earlier, I thought he went off to meet with Andie the morning of.
HI, I still don’t know what Nick’s secret was, perhaps providing a sperm sample?
Loved the book but must have rushed through towards the end because I have missed something…what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?
Question about Desi’s alibi. I went back and read the part where Nick was complaining to detectives about Desi and one of them cut him off and said Desi is not a suspect. To me, this means that he has a firm alibi and that would also mean that he could not have abducted Amy so… huge hole right there in her story.
I really thought the author was setting up Nick’s father to have a more meaningful role in the book. I thought the twist would be that eventually the old and very bitter man (and with all the hints that Amy reminded him of someone) would come to the house and just lose it with Amy and kill her. It certainly seemed he was being primed for a more important role with various hints scattered – didn’t happen. To be honest disappointed in the ending.
I did not like the ending either. I also wanted Nick’s dad to do Amy in. Maybe when she was again plotting a fake poison ing plan by Nick. When Amy would be weak and unable to fight off poor dad. I would love to see a sequel with Jeff and Gretta making a return appearance. Amy had told so many lies that Jeff and Greta with little moral conscience of their own could deny the theft. And Desi’s mom. Very shrewd. She could come back with some evidence. I ffid not have the highest opinion of Nick. But he was human! Unlike Amy. She was diabolical.
oooh, so glad I found your page. I started Gone Girl Sunday evening and finished it today! (I do have a job and 2.5 year old, so it was quite a feat, poor hubby will get some attention tonight after my face has looked like a permanent book cover for 48 hours) but I just couldn’t put it down! Anyway… none of my friends have read this yet so I’m so glad I can vent about the ending somewhere!! Like most, I had several theories throughout. 1. It HAD to be Nick, the cheating scumbag who kept mentioning at the start how many lies he had told the cops, but not saying what they all were! Plus, the flashbacks he kept having of Amy on the kitchen floor calling his name! Then my thoughts went to his Dad, like many have said, missing on the evening of her disappearance, this one stayed with me until the end and I thought that maybe if she did return his dad would finish her off. Then, something Desi said when Nick went to see him at the start, something about Amy’s father, was he involved!? That then stuck in my head the whole way through. But ultimately it was Nick’s reference to his father not ‘technically’ hitting his mum which he thought allowed his dad to think that he wasn’t ‘technically’ abusing her – this made me think that the end would see us discover that Nick did do all those things to Amy but ‘blocked’ them out, lying to himself to the point where he believed he was innocent. Not for one second did I think they would stay together. This ending really disappointed me! He hated her, he just would not have been able to to stay! Even as a read the last word I thought I would turn the page to find out that (like her mother) Amy had unfortunately had a still born baby and with that Nick fled, selling his story which he had forwarded to another source (his lawyer) for safekeeping. But nope! One major part where the book lost me for a second was when she went fishing with the guy from the cabins!? Amy, rich girl Amy, whichever character she was wearing that day, wouldn’t have done that – plus she was too smart to leave her money like that!? One last little niggle (I’ve literally finished this a few hours ago so it is on my mind) we didn’t get to find out how much of Amy’s ‘diary’ was true or false. I’m left wondering what her true relationship was like with Mumma Mo? Nick’s mum sounded like a switched on lady, and mums are very intuitive when it comes to their boys – did she not get any bad vibes from Amy? The diaries have us believe that they grew close, with Amy doing a lot for her in Nick’s absence during her treatment, but we never get to find out if that is true or not!? Sorry, I’ve blabbed on. All in all I loved this book, such a page turner, so very very clever, but the end has left me a little underwhelmed!
Bring on the sequel. Desi’s mother is shrewd and someone. Maybe Boney will listen. Bring back Jeff and Gretta. Amy has told a million lies. And they lack in moral character I thought maybe Nicks dad would kill Amy. That would have fit. It was a great book. Except for the ending. Though I was not surprised. I had a bout with sciatica when I was reading and the book made me forget about my pain. It was that good. Will read more of Gillian’s work
Maybe i just missed this for some odd reason- but can someone pls tell me if teh book actually reveals what’s in teh box in his closet? or is this teh same box that’s later found in the out-house?
I want to know also. I cant remember….what was in the box. It was obviously planted by Amy
Is it not the first clue to the anniversary treasure hunt? The cops present him with it and go with him to his office at the college?
Great Book! Loved it and I’ve read all of your comments above, but I have to disagree with most everyone…Nick deserved what he got (cheating, shallow, pathetic a%&(*#e) and kudos for Amy for being smarter than Nick! Keep in mind how far someone can be pushed too!
The thing that makes me saddest is that Nick CAN’t Take the baby and run- or get out from Amy’s thumb in any other way EVER- because that manipulator would just pull her parent’s witness as her as ever-amazing-and -perfect out of their pocket, vouch for her and court and make another million on the episode with their new book “Amazing Amy and the pyscho husband”.
Nick is stuck for life and he knows it.
I know most of you hate the ending, but I actually kind of liked it. At first, I hated it but then after going over the story in my head, I realized it made sense. Amy is a psychopath, we all know this, but Nick is not a good guy. He is a liar, a cheater, a narcissist, a fake, a
mysoginist, a drunk, and completely selfish. Now I would say he didn’t deserve his fate despite those aforementioned qualities until I read this regarding him picturing himself with another woman “I already know a part of me would be looking at her and thinking: You’ve never murdered for me. You’ve never framed me. You wouldn’t even know how to begin to do what Amy did. You could never possibly care that much.” He was flattered that Amy went to so much trouble for him- that she killed for him. Though he is disgusted and disquieted by her actions, what an ego boost for Nick! How could he possibly go back to a normal life with a normal wife, he can’t (which he says so himself!). Now I am in no way sympathetic to Amy, but she killed for him and he is flattered. What does this say about Nick? I think the ending signifies that they deserve each other as Go said to Nick “You two, you’re $&@!ing addicted to each other.” I don’t think Nick would leave Amy even if he could. They deserve each other.
I never thought Nick was half of what you said. Don’t forget the first half of the book was false about what she said in her Diary about him. We were all conned.
I based what I wrote on what HE said and his actions in the book (during his chapters), not the entries in Amy’s diaries. Nick is not a sympathetic character. I think most people don’t get the theme of this story.
aha! This is the best analysis I have seen yet! I think you may be right, when I consider some of the couples I know. They seem desperately miserable, yet unable to separate themselves from each other. I always shrug and say, “Now THAT’S co-dependency”. I guess this just takes it to a new level. I like it. Now I can like the whole book. Thanks!!
Amy’s damn Diary threw me for a loop. I related to her diary entires, as I tried just as hard to please my man, I was the innocent honest loving wife like her diary portrayed. I’m twenty years older now, but loved Ms. Flynn’s writing about thoughts we women can have. Then to find that Nick was having an affair and the diary was false was very twisted, I liked it. I hated the ending. I would have loved to see Amy giving birth, after life sentence, with one ankle handcuffed to the bed. They hand the baby to Nick as Amy is screaming for her baby. And he walks to his car and Go is waiting for them.
cuffed after her life sentence and Nick walking out of the hospital w
I like the idea of your ending!
Does anyone realize that the first half of the book “Amy’s Diary Entry’s” were false all a lie. We read nothing but lies for the first half of the book. Loved it. Nothing was true or real about Nick.
So what are you saying the theme of this book is? I freely admit the ending left me a little lost so I would love to hear your thoughts!
Just finished book!!! All I could think was why did Nick delete his book, he should have sent it to Go. I’m thinking when he said he wanted the last word, it WILL be his last word because she is now planning another way to punish him.
Hi – I’ve already left my comment about the ending but just wanted to ask you about your thoughts on Gillian’s other books Dark Places and Sharp Objects? Have you read them? As good as Gone Girl? I loved Gone Girl – are there any other books you’d recommend to someone who enjoyed this?
Thanks in advance 🙂
Superb post however I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this subject?
I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Cheers!
Just thought Nick had given up by saying something that would cause Amy to realize he is just pretending that all is back to when they first got together.
Some plot holes: what about the guy in the casino who saw Desi and Amy together and kept staring at them? Desi told him they were from Canada. Much was made about this guy – I was expecting to see him see Desi’s picture on the news and report that he saw him in the casino, then the police would scan the security camera and see him and Amy together.
Also, if Nick and Amy had gone to fertility doctors, there would be a record of them trying to have a baby, which would contradict Amy’s diary that Nick didn’t want kids. Why didn’t Nick bring this up to the attorney?
Also, the cops found the diary and the stuff in the woodshed because of anonymous tips – who would have known to tell the cops to search the father’s house? Seems like this would also have been a question to ask.
I was a bit let down by the sudden ending – I thought one or more of these things would come up and break Amy’s story, or else Nick would engineer some way for Amy to die in childbirth and then he could be free and clear of the sociopath and raise his kid alone.
Has anyone else considered that Nick and Amy needed each other? The baby was just Amy’s way of finding herself back to Nick, because she realized she had nothing left to do once she accomplished her manipulative scheme. I felt like Nick was just as psychologically messed up as Amy was, just in a different way. They fed off of each others weird energy. That is why Nick could never really devote himself to Andie, and why Amy did such out of place things when she was at the motel. The books ending, to me anyways, was perfect. It was a twist that no one really expected.
My complaint is that the ending requires us to care a lot about the characters but they aren’t developed enough (for me) to care about. Also the baby thing was contrived. An action suspense book calls for an action suspense ending. Also what was Go’s purpose? I was sort of hoping Go and Gone would have some relation – now I think it was kind if a jerk move by the author to the reader.
I thought that Amy saying she had the last word and no further words from Nick that Amy had killed Nick. That was my interpretation of the end. It made me gasp when I read the last paragraph!
Same with me. I thought that he just gave up and she would eventually kill him for something.
I like the ending. I wasn’t surprised.
I would have expected Nick to give in because he has a weak personality and will.
Also~~~~~take away the ‘psycho Amy’ background and I see many marriages in the same situation…pretending to get along because it’s easier and in enabling addiction behavioral situation.
OH…I forgot to add~~~
The ending was a perfect opening to a follow-up book.
Imagine the story to follow!
Right????? I think so too!
I hope she does a follow up to this story.
Did you notice the giant plot hole? Nick’s tv interview took place in St. Louis, but minutes after it was over Go called from Mississippi to say the cops had the search warrant for the shed. Go was at the interview, how did she get back so fast? She even said “See you at HOME” before she left.
My gosh – I did not catch that! Nice catch!
They lived in Missouri. Near the Mississippi River. They were all only about 40 mins away from St. Louis at any given time, except when Nick flew to New York to meet his lawyer and when Amy drove to the Ozarks, which is only about 2 hours from St. Louis.
I would love to ask Flynn what her research and strategies were for character development. Obviously most (if not all) of the characters suffered from psychological problems and I would like to know if they were based on specific disorders or if they were just made up as she went along. I would assume she did her homework, as all of the other scenarios were “by the textbook.” I also wonder what she wanted the reader to get out of the relationships between the parents and their children. Clearly that was a theme throughout the book, as Amy, Nick, and Desi all turned out very differently due to their upbringing. And there were many references to children and parenting in other characters throughout (Noelle, Boney, Hilary) who all treated their children very differently. And to end with another child being brought into it – How do you think the theme ties into the bigger picture?
Kayla, Flynn had a psychology degree, as it says online! So I am assuming that is where she got her extensive background in psych
This was supposed to be a thriller!! The ending was weak. “Amy held the sharp knife to her belly. You wouldn’t want to be a grieving father for the rest of your life Nick, now think about it. Would you?” The End.
I also thought that the ending was weak and ambiguous. I had to phone a friend who had already read the novel and ask her if she thought it was possible that Amy decided to commit suicide and take the baby with her. This is implied by her getting the “last word”. One’s “last word” could be literal here and could be seen as the final thing they ever say. With such a mentally ill individual – it may have been the only way out for this extremist. It was her way of dealing with the fact that she could never truly control Nick and make him love her.
She kills herself and the baby and has the final word. This book is terrible.
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I didn’t hate the ending. It just was a little disappointing At THE MOMENT. (now, a day after, i’m getting ok with the ending)
I was seriously, physically, checking the last page of the book, to see if there is anything else left.
I’ve never expected Amy to be punished. The writer clearly had no intention of being that boring. It would be too movie-like. I think people are drawn to this book because there is no such thing in this story. If there is any hero, Amy is our hero in a sick way.
If anything, i was expecting something crazier and sicker ending.
If there is a sequel, (starting from Nick saying something at the end that HE for sure knows it is gonna bother Amy a lot) it would be fun for part I to be like, who is fooling who, and all the readers just can’t figure it out until the part two. Because now we all want Nick to win and think maybe he could, while, Amy is still so or improved Amy.
Also, even if Nick wins Amy in sequel, I think that they should find a way to be back to each other. They truly fits. That’s what make this story so irresistible.
In some sick way, they really complete each other.
BTW, does anybody have any particular part of the book that made you laugh out loud?
I’d really like to know!!!
me : when Amy said something like : he is kissing parts of my body which has nothing to do with sex. he is making love.
(when she was complaining about desi in bed)
by this part of the book, Amy’s character was just so fun-to-watch for me. Waiting for her to move forward, almost cheering her up.
Lunatics by Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel — funniest book also in two voices
Sheila,
I like your ending. Maybe Amy comes home one day from the store to find Nick and the baby gone and a copy of Nick’s freshly printed book sitting on the ottoman (and their recently replenished bank acct. empty.)
I agree with you about Andie. At 18 or 19 years old I’d give her a pass but by twenty three you know the deal (or should know). Don’t mess with a married man. He may be more guilty than you, but you’re right on his heels. And don’t be so rediculously naive. Of course he had to cut ties with you, at least temporarily. Actually, if she could have held it together that would have provided another potential ending. Her and Nick kill the monster and run off together with the baby and the money.
And lastly, Amy really was a monster. A fantastic villian. While I too hated Nick initially, he wasn’t all that bad of a guy. A lot of men would have run to someone else if married to that thing. It wasn’t right, but it was easy to understand. I don’t really get those who say they both got what they deserved. Nick was human being who made some mistakes under horrible conditions. Amy was pure, selfish evil.
Overall, I’d call it a good book with a great twist in the middle (when you learn Amy’s true nature.) For me, it didn’t live up to the hype, but it was certainly good and brilliant in some places.
I was unbelievably annoyed by the ending.
No retribution for Jaqueline? No consequences for Amy? And now a baby… Run, Nick, Run! Is right!
I actually found the first third of the book to be really boring and hard to get into. I didn’t like, Nick. I wasn’t sure if he was the killer but I thought he was an ass. But I was told that the halfway point of the book was worth waiting for. I was blown away! Jeff and Greta! Nancy and Lydia! This woman was a nutcase!
My favorite part was when Amy shouted “I killed myself” -what wouldn’t she do? She’s a dangerous woman. A psycho bitch! Part of me wanted Nock and Amy to reconcile but…Amy should have gone to prison.
It was a great book (finally)! I wet from hating, Nick, to feeling sorry for him. Then loving poor, poor, Amy, to wanting, Nick, to keep his hands around her throat… She’s coocoo bananas.
This is filming in my Missouri town right now,very exciting!
I totally LOVED the book though i think she couldve made a better ending. Like maybe the child was their savior after all maybe one child has the power to manipulate his parents to be good parents. Then maybe they will change gradually for the good of their child.
I feel sorry for amy actually. That she had to punish Nick first before really realizing that she cant go on without him. Nick on the other hand is also annoying because he made a choice to choose young pretty girl over his own wife. I never liked cheating husbands. But dont get me wrong Amy and Nick is perfect for each other. They deserve each other.
I found Nick unbelievably tedious. The weak willed middle-aged man having an affair — what a cliched character.
The novel did get more interesting once you find out Amy has been manipulative all along. However, I am very uncomfortable with furthering the sterotype that women are lying liars who lie about rape.
I didn’t find it startlingly original. There are parallels with Rebecca by Daphne du Marier; both feature seemingly perfect marriages hiding master manipulators.
I don’t really enjoy reading about dislikeable characters. Perhaps I’m still to young to be the target audience, as I think it’s trying to say something about marriage.
I know everyone hates Amy, and she’s hard to sympathize with, but the ass Nick cheated on her. I love how Amy taught him a lesson to never cheat on her. She can teach someone a good lesion. WOW vary powerful book. Loved it.
I loved it too but you give AMy a lot of credit 🙂 I love your opinion!
Gillian Flynn comes across as a real amateur – She is clearly more focused on impressing herself with cutesy, clever words than being able to build an engaging suspenseful story.
Flynn’s mental spin-outs do nothing except interrupt the flow of the story.
I thought the book was God-awful – some of the worst writing I’ve seen in ages. Finally gave it up after page 75. I won’t be trying out any more of her books.
I am shocked – I loved it. I cant wait to read something else by her. 😀
I really hated nick on the first book , so yeah , i wanted amy to revenge from him .
I absolutely loved the brilliant writing, sparkling dialog and wonderful plotting until the plot completely fell apart at the end — extraordinarily disappointed!
a) Boney would’ve checked out Desi’s whereabouts while Amy was “abducted” — he couldn’t have been absent from the planet all that time; also an autopsy would’ve revealed sleeping pills
b) if Nick was so smart and on his game by the time he chose to stay with her, why would he make a comment to Amy (I feel sorry for you. because every day you have to wake up and be you.) that was guaranteed to trigger her obsession with justice and murderous tendencies? the comment felt tacked on, meant as a Hitchcockian twist, but artless.
I cant wait for the movie!
I just finished reading this page turner of a book and like many who posted, I’m very disappointed by the ending. I wanted Nick to exact his revenge! Granted, he wasn’t the greatest guy, but Amy’s manipulation, pathological lying, and sociopathic behavior make Nick seem “not that bad!” I read something where the author felt that this was the only ending that fit. Others have said that these two got what they deserved, each other. But it is unsatisfactory. Are we to believe that they will continue to remain married and raise a child together?
This spoiler page has brought out a lot of emotion. I heard recently that the author changed the ending for the movie so it will be a complete surprise. I am kind of excited to see how it changes 🙂
I just finished the book today and loved it. The twists were really unexpected and the I loved how intricate and intelligent the story. I didn’t dislike Nick but I found him to be too whiney and weak. You guys will probably think I’m a sociopath for saying this but I really loved Amy’s character. Even though she was evil and so vindictive, I still could understand why she did what she did (not that I’m justifying it in anyway) and I kinda loved her for being so crazy.
I just finished the book today and loved it. The twists were really unexpected and the I loved how intricate and intelligent the story. I didn’t dislike Nick but I found him to be too whiney and weak. You guys will probably think I’m a sociopath for saying this but I really loved Amy’s character. Even though she was evil and so vindictive, I still could understand why she did what she did (not that I’m justifying it in anyway) and I kinda loved her for being so crazy.
I’m very curious about what other people (you!) think about this book.
I do not have a favorite character to receive the Go. She is the sister of a very loving and caring. only that I discussed.
Travel Pulau harapan
I just finished the book yesterday; my 20-something daughter gave it to me. I felt sorry for Amy at first, having to move and all, but it didn’t take long for me to dislike her. As she was revealed as being crazier and crazier, I liked her less and less. I hated the way she treated Hilary Hand. Desi was a whack, too, but I figured “he’s a big boy”. Amy did murder him, and that’s pretty unforgivable.
As for spoilers, it seems to me the doctor who performed the rape exam would know that Amy never was pregnant.
Just read these comments and have these thoughts:
Amy was humming M.A.S.H.’s Suicide is Painless…. Because her original plan WAS to commit suicide.
Ending: Nick HAS fallen back in love with her, how else can he feel such pity. And, there’s the miscommunication issue all over again, because Amy does not want to be ‘pitied’ – that is unacceptable… Just as cheating was. Nick has inadvertently given her a new reason to dispose of him. She doesn’t mind his fear, nor his over the top pandering, but she will not take his pity. I believe he is oblivious and she is psychotic beyond belief.
Dr’s exam can’t tell if ever pregnant, just if ever had a child…
The Jeff/Greta/Dorothy incident…. They had no clue. She was even watching the news WITH them. She changed her appearance, heavy, short hair/different color. It wasn’t until she transformed back (over month’s as Desi’s “guest”). also… This episode does open Amy’s eyes to how difficult life can be, as well as letting her hear other people’s opinions…. This is where we can, as the reader, hope she will changer her mind.
Then we have Desi…. who I first think will turn her in, but he ends up being psycho too.
But Desi does give her free reign. He allows her everything but the gate code. Two manipulators. She plays along, while she methodically plans a way to kill him and make it look like she was his prisoner. She was using him to make her “return” to Nick.
The whole book is clever on many, many levels.
Great thoughts here Lily!
Hey I just finished it too!
At first I kind of hated Nick and pitied Amy very much. But eventually, it turns twisted and I pity Nick very much more for being stuck with that psychopath.
Ps. Love your ending plot, indeed. Hahaha
I’m a librarian and I always recommend Gone Girl as “The book you’ll love to hate.” I, like many of the previous posts, thought Nick was a jerk in the first half and suspected the missing father right away. I hated the characters passionately, but I really enjoyed the book and I really wanted to know how it ended, in spite of despising the characters. I think that’s what makes Gillian Flynn so successful in this novel. She is able to create these characters she wants you to hate, yet you’re so invested that you have to know how it’s going to end.
I think I am due for a re-read…. so much crazy 😀
I just finished the book, a real page turner. I thought it might have an ending like the film Double Indeminity, Nick being charged with Amy’s murder and given some prison time and when he gets released actually finding her then murdering her. The ending was not satisfactory.
Hi everyone, I know I’m about two years late, but I finally just got around to reading Gone Girl, and I sincerely hope at least somebody still checks this page because I have a question that is bothering me to the core! Obviously Nick wasn’t guilty of murder like we’d all suspected in part one. Amy was alive all along and she had cut her own arm to leave the blood on the kitchen floor. So why was Nick having those flashbacks/mental images of Amy bloody and dying on the kitchen floor? And why was he worried that he’d been “seen” at the end of the first chapter? I’m so confused!!! Can anyone shed light on this?
To be completely honest, I think it was because once people start putting an idea into an individuals head it sort f becomes like a subconscious and fictional memory. Nick started to believe that maybe he did do it, like manipulation. That’s just my take on it lol 🙂
I think he is worried that he was “seen” cheating.
Great thoughts…. I think Shelley may be right…. I really need to read the book again.
I like your ending. Here’s mine: Amy has the baby and comes home from the hospital to Nick’s loving arms. All seems well. Nick has not deleted his story and has sent it on to Go as well as Officer Boney. Nick slips her a sedative during dinner, kills her, hides her body in a trunk, throws the trunk into the river, calls the police and reports that Amy is missing….again.
Marsha you literally made me laugh out loud! That is awesome! 😛
Am I crazy but no one has mentioned Punch and Judy.I thought she left it up to us what to think.Remember Punch killed the baby and then Judy.Is there anyone that thinks Nick could have done what Punch did
I certainly think it’s possible, Betsy. After all, we can see in the last pages of the book, that Nick is really going mad right along with Amy. They are both caught up in this twisted life, and neither of them really wants to be separate from the other, in my opinion. I think that he could absolutely end up be just as homicidal as his wife.
Yes!!! Great discussion Betsy and Candyce!
Just finished it myself. Hated the ending! Very anticlimactic. And the poor child. What a mess he would be. The next book should be “My Mamma Was A Psycho B”. LOL. On top of that, there were really no characters I could get behind. No hero. No one to really care about. Don’t get me wrong, it was a real page turner, and very well written. Lots of surprises and twists, but I think the ending just killed it for me. It was a missed opportunity for someone (namely Nick) to step up and do the right thing by that child. And I had thought the same thing – either he throws her in prison and raises the child himself, or runs with him. There’s really no other way that poor baby has a chance. 😦
I think I was soooo fired up when it ended 🙂
Disappointing. Kept waiting to get to the suspenseful parts and it just never happened. Come on – the shed – really??? The diary seven years worth of rants and raves so what!!! No surprises here
After I finished the book, I thought of the ending to the novel Ethan Frome. Ethan is trapped in an unhappy marriage to Zeena and is also stuck with crippled, cousin Mattie – once, the girl of his dreams. I wonder if Edith Wharton would have approved of Flynn’s ending for Nick. Both men are trapped, and I keep hearing the old saying, “Be careful what you wish for.”
Interesting comment. Thank you!
Without going into great detail regarding the inept and extremely naive way in which Ms. Flynn constructs male character dialog, thoughts and responses, I find it particularly interesting that the reviewers at this site also apparently have no clue either as no one seems to have pointed that out previously. Oh well, I suppose mediocre writers bring out mediocre reviewers.
Pat
Ah, now Pat – I appreciate comments but certainly do not appreciate people being an ass. Please refrain from your rudeness.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the many twists and turns it took the reader on. There are many things thrown into the first part of the book that served no purpose other than to throw the reader off, Nick keeps seeing Amy bloodied with head bashed in, he keeps mentioning being seen, admits he is an unreliable narrator and he is heavily guilty of the sin of omission, keeps lying to the police, etc. The evidence against Nick was almost a little too strong.
When Nick brings up Desi as a possible suspect for Amy’s disappearance the police immediately dismiss him as a suspect, why? The normal conclusion would be that he had an alibi for when she went missing but suddenly he doesn’t have one at the end when Amy says he took her? What about his movements after Amy is missing? Amy tells the police it takes a few days to get to the lake house he doesn’t have an alibi for any of these days?
Amy letting her guard down and making “friends” after just a few days on the run was another one that really bugged me. She was smart enough to start saving money a year in advance but never did any budgeting to figure out how much money she might actually need? (Where is she buying milk from an unknown person who is just making up a price? I have been to the Ozarks, they have small villages with grocery stores or at least gas stations, not some old bartering system with a guy on a corner.) New York city, rich, spoiled girl goes fishing for $50? Her being robbed and losing all her money after she says she is smart enough not to keep it all in one place? She is this brilliant crime planner able to carry off multiple hard to execute plans perfectly against people all through her life but gets outwitted by the likes of Jeff and Greta? Her not trying to get any sort of revenge after they take her money? None of these are consistent with her smart, plan everything out character.
Nick’s thoughts near the end about not being able to accept a normal life or woman again as he would compare them to what Amy did for him felt off to me. I guess the author wanted us to feel he was also insane, just not as crazy as Amy, but it didn’t ring true to me. I guess if he is really insane that partly explains how he could have actually lived with and slept in the same room as Amy at the end. (There is no way a sane person would have!) And maybe even explains why he would have made the dumb comment about being sorry Amy was who she was to her. Even if you accept the fact that he is insane the ending is unsatisfactory and anticlimactic for a book with so many exciting peaks.
Having said all that, I want to again say that I liked the book overall. The witty dialogue was fun. The commentary on people pretending to be someone else, people using movie characters and plots as a basis for how to act, cool girl/guy expectations, etc. felt spot on. The parent/child relationships throughout the book intrigued me a lot. It had so many great things going for it I am able to overlook the plot issues and weak ending and look back on my time reading it fondly remembering how I couldn’t put it down excited to see where the author would take me next.
Excellent thoughts here Kevin! I have one more book to read of hers and then I will have read them all. I enjoy her style of writing.
Just finished the book. I saw it coming (didn’t know it would be the very end though) once I read about that letter from the hospital I thought Amy will not let pass the opportunity to take those sperm samples. That woman was obsessed with body fluids for goodness sake! The end made me sick. Poor baby!! Imagine having that psicko as your mother?!? That poor baby will be another seriously screwed person. I love your alternate ending. Nick should have taken the kid and run!!
I honestly don’t think that after Gillian foisted that disappointing ending upon us, that there is any way a sequel is in order.
First of all, if someone kills, or jails Amy, where are the diary entries to keep the mystery going?
Beyond that, Nick is obviously some kind of idiot to go along with her blackmail (though in a weird kind of way), and then agree to have a CHILD with her. What was he thinking?
Yeah, that ending was so anti-climactic that now I don’e want to see the movie….
And the truth be told…I feel like the author kind of gave up on the great thrilling writing she did in the first 7/8 of the book. After Amy came back and punk’d Nick into her world, for me it all seemed like there was no creativity left? Cops just giving up on political grounds? Nick pretending to be in love all over again…NO!
One thing I haven’t seen discussed was the relationship between Desi and Amy’s father. Her father mentions that Desi always seemed cold and didn’t try to impress him. later Amy reveals that she told Desi she had been sexually abused by her father. it all was very subtle but it explained his coldness.
Holy Chili Cheese Frijoles!
~I loved the story, HATED the amount of cursing…Soooooo much cursing.
~I was reading on the kindle app and was going back and forth and highlighting and towards the end of part 1 I thought I figured it out and that AMYS PARENTS MURDERED HER, so that Amazing Amy would get more sales. I thought I was so clever. I was wrong and I loved that.
~I really think Desi would have had cameras in his home being the creepy captor that he is. I can totally see him watching her moves on his iPhone while out and about with his mum.
~ I was disappointed with the ending and confused. She couldnt get Nicks words out of her head and she wanted the last word…what does that mean? Does she get the last word?
~I would have liked Amy to have a difficult labor and maybe somehow slipped into a coma or was murdered while get a transfusion or something. She didnt get to deserve to die of natural causes because that would make “her story” more Amazing. Then Nick raises the baby and tries to be the best father and the opposite of his with the help of Go…
sigh…
Also Amy Dunne has a Pinterest page….I LOVE IT!
I heard about the pinterest page – how fun!
Well first loved the book . Each character had a lot to offer the the drama of everything that was happening . Family and friends or so called friends seemed like friends got used a lot in this book. I don’t think I ever disliked Nick but didn’t like the infidelity he should’ve just divorced her. But Amy she is one crazy woman she’d scare me . Did not like the ending like everyone else REALLY ! Please tell me that you will write a part two and lets finish this even if Go takes the baby from both of them and runs to the end of the world and no one but her and the attorney knows where they are !! Nick would never be able to do this with Amy alive it just wouldn’t work, he’s a good guy but weak and she’d always be able to pull his strings. Come on Book 2 gotta have closure of somekind but not like that
Exactly… give us a book 2!!!
I hated EVERYTHING about this book: the plot….what plot?..the unbelievable characters, the ink, the paper, the spine. Total waste of time; absolute absence of ANY redeeming value. Only wish I could reclaim those empty hours searching for some modicum of purpose and literary value
It is interesting how this is such a love it or hate it book.
Pretty good read! Before I started, I’d heard the movie was coming out sometime this year. That said, the ENTIRE time I’m reading, I’m picturing CHRIS PRATT as the male lead (LOVE him)! I’m a fan of Ben Affleck, & I sure hope he brings *IT*. I very, seriously doubt there’s any actress out there for fitting for Amy’s character than Rosamund Pike. I cannot wait to see this movie!
P.S. HAAAATED!!!! THE ENDING OF THE BOOK! WHO? DOES? THAT?
OMG I needed a better ending. I was so mad at Amy aineyaround the time she was in the motel is when I started having different feelings about her situgation. I hope the movies ending does not match the book.
I read this book when it first came out and now that they are advertising the movie, I can’t remember what the book was about. I don’t want to have to get it from the library again and read it again. Can someone give me a synopsis?
read my reviw
I thought the neighbor who in the beginning let Nick know the house was open and cat was out, took Amy. But then he was never mentioned again. I, too, thought the story would be better without the language used. I didn’t like the ending. I thought Amy should have been punished for the murder and for (like in real life) taking the authority’s time to investigate her disappearance. I also thought Nick should not have taken her back. Seems several of us who read the book would have preferred a different ending.
Oh yeah… Amy needed to get hers for sure.!
Hi is this spoiler page still open?
I guess it is
Oh yes 🙂
wow, i just read this book in the last 2 days and was enthralled. i wondered how the cops could believe that amy would cut desi’s throat when she says she hates blood so much and even swooned at giving plasma when she could have just cut her binds and sneeked out while desi’s was in his sleeping pill slumber. also, there would be forensics teams all over desi’s house and they would find the bottle she abused herself with and get evidence from it. i supposed she would say desi raped her with it. i would have liked to see amy have the baby and then get arrested on some slip up she missed and sent away so then nick and go could have taken care of the baby.
In a way, it is too bad that this book is in the mystery genre. It would really be fun to revisit this family in five years. One can imagine a follow-up in which Nick strays again and Amy plays Medea with their child. Or Nick takes off with the child and Amy tries to hunt him down. Or Desi’s mother formulates a plot to frame Amy. Or Nick and Amy’s marriage turns so dysfunctional that child welfare brings an action to terminate their parental rights. Or Nick kills Amy and frames Justine.
Many commentators speak to the weakness in the plot. They are usually right, but for me the biggest reason behind those weaknesses is the necessity for the book to fit into the mystery/thriller genre. There is really no good reason for Amy to kill Desi, for example. Drug him and slip away. Desi is not going to “spill the beans,” because he would have to admit to effectively kidnapping her. OF course, she would have to explain away her absence; but a person who could come up with a frame-up this ingenious could figure out a convincing lie to explain her absence as well. And because no one would really have been hurt, the interest in the police or media in digging out the truth would die away. But you can’t have a mystery book without a murder. Furthermore, the need to drive a mystery plot makes it difficult to explore the one aspect of Amy’s personality that is greatly underdeveloped — her extreme hysteria. Unfortunately, millions of wives are cheated on, and many seek revenge. But how many of them are willing to frame their spouse and kill themselves over it? There is a lot of the drama queen in Amy: how could she create the perfect frame-up and not somehow let the world know how brilliant she had been in doing so?
As a mystery, “Gone Girl” is preposterous, though immensely enjoyable. As the family tragedy it probably should have been, it would have been less fun, and sold 100,000 copies rather than 8 million. To Ms. Flynn: You go, girl!
Awesome comment!
Just saw the movie! Wonderful! Now I want to read the book. Loved all the casting of roles except for Desi – what, what! Should have been someone else for that role!
Cant wait! I hope to see the movie yet this week! I have a crazy week ahead 🙂
The parallels between Medeas personality and Amy’s are so they, you have to wonder Flynn used EURIPEDES play as a model.
I wonder if Nick would be happier In jail for murdering her than having to stay with her
It really is the only way he will be free of her.
I saw the movie last night. Never read the book. There was something I did not get…probably didn’t hear at some point….If he didn’t sleep with her since her return during that 6 weeks, how was it HIS baby? What did I miss?
they went to a fertility clinic and he thought his sample had been destroyed because they hadnt tried to use it yet, but amy had gone to the clinic and had it saved and then artificially insiminated (sp) into her. therefore it’s his baby without them having to have been initimate. it was her last trap for him. *she’s totally insane*
I just finished the book last evening. I wanted to read it real quick before I heard any reviews of the movie. Like everyone else, I blamed Nick, then thought it was the father, and then had my mind blown!
I like to think Amy dies in childbirth. I think that would be fitting, since that will be one thing she absolutely cannot control! 😉
I just can’t STAND the idea of someone that sickly manipulative and vengeful being allowed to raise a child. 🙂
I think I need to read it again so I can be prepped to see the movie 😀
Nope she can control that too epidural and Caesarian. Technology has made it very possible for women to control just about everything, including men. Men are satisfied with just comtroling the tv remote and the fridg temp to keep their beer cold.
Well, it’s got a lot of competition in today’s hollywood, for most tortured concept. Are today’s average moviegoers, actors, producers, the whole industry so brain dulled by excess stimulation they need constant extreme distortion of human values for entertainment?
I watched the movie is pathetic. The author of the book wrote the script for it…. If we think big about this I’m scared, probably it means that the road we started as home sapiens is still fairly long. We’re are the good movies of the 8 ‘ gone? Think the author getting rich with this story is ridiculous. … she should go and work …. I mean a serious job to pay the rent of a single bedroom. We should have a fair information from the media …. not just advertising in disguise of interviews and pretending reviews.
For me – in the end – I’m just sadly disappointed in Nick. He had figured it all out. He had discovered the truth. His wife is a sociopath; a maniacal murderer. Truly insane to the core. He seems to be on a path to smoke her out – to reveal the truth to the world!
Then not.
Nope, let’s just forget all about that and just . . . win one for the gipper? Just do it for your newborn son? You gotta protect your son, Nick . . . from her! Great big deflation of the entire plot line in the end for me. I was expecting so much more.
Nevertheless, notwithstanding the odd little plot quirks here and there, it was still a good read. Ozark Amy and how she befriends Jeff and Greta, but then so easily loses all her money to them? Seeking out Desi in desperation as a result? After all of her meticulously careful planning for over a year, the story line seemed to stray a bit on these issues. Much too sloppy for Amazing Amy, the perfectionist. Way too many errors on her part in the Ozarks, although she does admit as much herself on page 284. It just did not fit her M.O. at all! Not plausible. I’d wish that Flynn had tackled those issues with a little more finesse. I mean, if you’re going to write a sociopath, you have to go all the way! No mistakes are allowed!
It was fascinating to read about how Amy’s prefect “public” childhood was carefully crafted and molded by Elliott and Marybeth – all of the objectifying of their daughter through the Amazing Amy Books; how Amy was really nothing more than a business product to them – not a real person – that Rand and Marybeth were so concerned with their own literary empire that they utterly failed to ever form a real bond or meaningful human connection with their daughter. Quite disturbing. Maybe the early roots of what eventually led Amy to become a sociopath in the first place? Parents can sometimes do that to their kids and not even realize it . . .
Your right, Amy dd make a lot of sloppy mistakes.
I know I’m replying to this after months, but do remember that Amy’s original plan was to drown herself in the river. She didn’t really have a plan for staying disappeared so that’s why it unraveled.
OK, now I’m defending a book that really annoyed me. 🙂
Totally agree Marty, I would have written the same thing had you not.
I was really surprised that the denouement settled with Nick and Amy staying together and what not. I mean, I can appreciate it because it really shines light on how toxic marriage can be, and the ills we are willing to traverse to keep them together. I really wasn’t feeling Amy’s conniving, calculated attempts at deceiving everyone around her- but the reality of the matter is that a woman like Amy (take what you will from that), in both mental and physical appearance, is always granted so many additional societal “get out of jail free cards.” I’m only 28, and I come from the other side of the theoretical track, however I can only surmise that social, economic, and cultural factors all play a major role in her plan’s success just as much as her thorough planning and execution.
The book had me till the part when Amy came back crawling. She said Desi kidnapped,How the hell did she end up in the Ozarks of southern MO IN A CABIN? If Desi took her to his Mansion in St Louis? Also I thought she was going to be arrested for killing Desi. How did she get away with that?
I read the book about 4 months ago, and this seems to be a weird interpretation of the ending. Nick says something mean to her like ‘at least I don’t have to wake up and be you everyday.’ Then she thinks something like, ‘why would he say that? Everything would be perfect if he hadn’t said that. I can’t stop thinking about it.’ I took that as Nick is not going to live up to what she wants and she will eventually kill him. To me, it seemed like an inevitability. We don’t know when or how, but she will kill him for being a disappointing husband and father. The movie ending felt the opposite to me – like he would kill her at some point. I don’t think in either story that they just continue on for 18 years. They will both be binge watching Law & Order for tips on getting away with murder. Somebody’s gonna get got.
A comment on the comments. The comments on this page give a better picture of where the educated American mind is at than and 100 opinion pieces in, e.g., the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal. The commentators are generally what I would characterize as “upper middle class readers.” They are literate, intelligent, and engaged. I could spot no “trolls” among the commentators, and only a couple of “self-advertisers.” On the other hand, the commentators are readers of mystery novels. They are not commenting on Proust. These readers are probably among the heart-and-soul of the American electorate, and what they reveal is, ah, revealing:
1. American morality has not changed much in recent years. Almost nobody defends Amy, although a number of commentators have some sympathy for her. Most of the readers don’t like the fact that justice was not done. Those who consider the future of the child fear for it. No commentator I spotted thought Nick was right in having an affair rather than simply divorcing Amy. Readers sympathized with characters holding traditional values (Margo and Bo), booed those who seriously transgressed traditional values (Amy, Desi and the Nancy Grace character) and were ambivalent about those who were flawed but not hopeless (Nick and the Elliots). And marriage is central to both the story and the readers’ reaction to it. Those reactions to marriage are traditional ones, not ones reflecting positive attitudes toward “modern” or “open” marriage.
2. American feminism is a very moderate feminism. The majority of the commentators were female, and I am sure that many would identify themselves as feminists of some stripe or another. Yet there was no radicalism here. None of the comments I read found Amy to be admirable, much less heroic. None attributed her pathologies to the male patriarchy. Many judged her more harshly than most of the male readership. Their comments tended to reflect more traditional female concerns — protection of children, dislike of bad parenting, concern for just retribution, and distain for a certain stereotypically manipulative female behavior.
3. There are virtually no politics in these comments. This suggests that when people are seriously engaged in the moral and social issues raised in Flynn’s book, they make their judgments based on their personal moralities and experiences, not their political tropisms. Perhaps politicians underestimate their constituency. Or perhaps we are not centering our political dialogues around the right things.
4. The extreme interest and engagement reflected in these comments suggest that Flynn’s work has touched a chord. I am not quite sure what that chord is. While she is a great characterizer and a good plotter, she is a mediocre wordsmith. She is also, on a deeper level, somewhat ambivalent about her characters. I suspect it is this ambivalence, and the ambivalence of the plot, that has a lot to do with the readers’ own reactions to the book.
I, too, didn’t like the ending. Now Gillian Flynn should write a sequel, Gone Baby, where Nick grabs the baby and runs to a country like Brazil where we have no extradition treaty. We would forgive because who wants their baby raised by a psychopath who would use the baby as a bargaining chip in her bizarre, controlling schemes?!
Hi, I clung to every word in the book. The movie was good, but the book explains every action into detail. I believe that this book is sequel worthy. I think that the plot could explode well beyond Nick and Amy. It could take off into another “Flowers In The Attic”
The parents could further be developed
and much more sinister. Amy and Nicks child could have various issues growing up that caries into their own dysfunctional family further down the line. These characters have such potential. It’s almost like Cliffhanger.
That’s an interesting idea, I wonder if the baby is going to grow up only to be proven to be much worse than his mother. I could imagine him doing the same horrible game that his mother did to his father,and imagine Amy actually falling for it, that would be one juicy read!
I thought, as it turned out, it was a game for both Amy and Nick. He gave her clues during his TV interview and she was totally into it. Didn’t anybody else think they were both psychos. They both loved the crazy part of each other, it fired them up.
Have any of u seen the movie yet?Comparing the film to the book has always been the hardest part for me.. The book has so many details that the film could’ve easily missed. …All I have to say is that the movie pissed me off all over again!!! It made me feel bad for Desi..however…
I think Rosamund Pike may have a difficult time getting good roles in the future. A female who plays that frightening of a character that EVERYONE HATES so brilliantly – could get typecast or avoided completely. After all, Hollywood tends to believe in their own characters. Her next film choice should be of a “good” women. She should NOT choose another “wicked woman” role.
Good point!
SHEILA
To me it is truly shocking that so many people actually think this is a good book. I will admit that it is well constructed and extremely well written but the ending is sold shatteringly offensive so extreme and so ANTI male that it’s speaks of a bigger issue as to why so many people –and especially women– think this is a good story.
if you have seen or read interviews of Gillian Flynn then it becomes readily apparent that she has some serious issues with men in general.
What is significant is that so many readers and commentators here — mostly women –have complained about the ending the story. What bothers most readers is that the story makes no sense because there is nothing in the Nick’s background as presented by the author that would convince the reader that Nick would take her back and accept the wife’s return so quietly.
The idea that a man/ husband who has been framed for murder by his wife …would take her back .. stay in the same room… with full and certain knowledge that the WIFE is in fact the murderer of another human being… with full in certain knowledge that his wife is actually psychotic … because she CLAIMS to be pregnant with his child… is not only beyond reason it shows a extremely strong anti mail emasculating bias.
In the numerous interviews Gillian Flynn has stated that when she needs to know how a man might thimk or percieve a situation she asks her husband. If so that husband has to be the biggest wimp and loser on the planet .
Ms Flynn actually wants us to believe that this author came with this ending .. Submitted it to her husband… and he thought …”yeah most men would react this way … yes this is if a good ending…”?
REALLY?
A truly awful anti man book
Just because someone thinks a book is good does not mean they agree with everything that has happened in it. 🙂
i am NOT against the ending per se… but to have guy accept his wife’s return like that without the author developing the husband’s character… THAT is the reason so many dont like the ending
The ending set me wrong too… at the time I read this book in 2012 I believed there had to be another book… they left so many ends open that I felt there had to be more. As time went on and it appeared (and appears) to be it… I have come to accept it. I dont have to like it, it would never be my story… but I give the author credit for going with an unpopular ending to this story. Love it, like it, or hate it… this post is the most viewed post on my site with currently over 268,000 views… crazy but this book has fueled something.
I appreciate your take on the book.
I came to the same conclusion. The ending indicated that the entire thing was a power fantasy book. It’s Dexter for girls basically. And yes, the amount of women that liked the book is disturbing, but pretty much expected.
Help! Settle this disagreement – did Amy kill Desi because she was truly afraid that Desi would keep her captive forever in his video-surveillance secluded home and as Desi said, “I lost you once, I’ll never let you go again”? OR Did Nick’s television plan to Amy work, cause Amy to see the old Nick, fall in love with him all over again to the point she wanted to return to Nick more than anything and was willing to kill Desi in order to pin the whole crime on him and be able to tell Nick, “Look I killed for you, who else would do that?”.
I think both. IMO, Amy does not like to be a kept woman… I think she feels trapped when someone is making the choices for her life as her parents did with the books, “Amazing Amy”. I think Nick’s words on tv gave her a place to go as she did not know what she would do with no money once she left Desi.
Please could somebody tell me the exact ending of the movie?? I had to leave earlier
the last part I saw was when Amy came home from hospital…
I did not see the ending come whatso ever!! I didn’t think that Nick would end up loving Amy still even though he denied it, I figured the ending would be Amy is in jail and she would do something stupid to harm herself and the baby! I was rooting for Nick! Amy is completely crazy, something has to be wrong with her to go to that extreme of lengths! BEST BOOK EVER THOUGH *****favorite book I would have to say 🙂
Just seen the movie last night….. wow!!!!! freaken crazy, so much action. I really enjoyed it. Would so love a sequel…. in the sequel she could get psycho on her mom….. LOL!!! :))
My ending involves Amy having the baby but realizing Nick can never get past her crimes. So she reverts to her original plan of drowning herself. She leaves behind a memoir of her life as she sees it including all the inadequatcies of her parents, friends, husband, etc… Of course, she expects them to be consumed by guilt because they forced her to kill herself. She drowns herself in the river. Her body is found. Nick finds the memoir and destroys it to protect their child. The End!!!
why is it I seem to be the only one remembering the guy in the bar with Amy and Dezi who recognized her as one of the ” sisters” (either Dunn sisters or her maiden name – I forgot). Did Amy have a twin herself? Also I believe the ending tells that Nick and his sister (or is it?) are the real lovers. When the actor who plays his sister looks up at Nick in the last scene, she has brown eyes and it looks just like Amy. She didn’t have brown eyes in the earlier scenes in the film. I believe Amy had a twin and it was the character who played Nick’s sister. Remember she was mad saying she’d have to “wait 18 yrs” b/c of the baby? Why would his twin sister be out of her mind over that? I believe that was her twin (as the guy hined at in the bar scene) and not his sister. Whew! Confusing..and want to see it agian.
WOW…. what? Did you read the book or just see the movie? I am confused and intrigued all a the same time. Now I need to watch it again.. The guy at the bar was probably referring to the fact that her picture had been all over tv as she was missing. That is shy he thought he had seen her before.
Hi Sheila..No I did not read the book. The movie was interesting enough where I may pick up a copy of the book. The unknown character in the bar specifically asked Amy if she was “one of the Dunn (or maiden name) SISTER(S). There wouldn’t be any reason to put that in the movie, unless the writers were trying to tell us something. As soon as he said that, I immediately thought she had a twin. But I couldn’t figure out where the twin was or if she had taken Amy’s place at any point in the movie. Then I thought the only other character left that looks similar to Amy (minus the glasses and dark hair) was Margo. At the END of the movie, she looks up at Nick’s character, and obviously had taken out the green or hazal contacts and has brown eyes, and looks like Amy’s twin. Why else would Margo say that she had to “put up with the situation” (Nick has to live with Amy and kiss butt to Amy for 18 yrs till the kid is 18 and he can divorce her)? Her reacton was that of a girlfriend – not a sister. If you watch it again, you may see what I mean. If you read the book, and Amy has no twin, and Margo is really Nick’s sister…then the writer of the movie version were messing with us just for the sake of making us think. I can’t be the only one who picked up on these things. 🙂 Thank you for the reply.
In the book (and the movie), Margo is definitely Nick’s sister. They are very close and she is just upset for her brother (and herself) that if he wants to be with his child, then he will have to be with her for another 18 yrs.
Hi Shelley. Thx for the reminder about posting only for people who have read the book. Last night I was searching for a place to comment about the movie and missed that info. If you check out the link below, there are a few people who think Margo was more than just a caring sister to Nick. Happy Reading!
https://www.tumblr.com/search/Margo%20Dunne
This is an interesting take for sure. I do have a spoiler page for the movie thoughts that I just added to my book vs movie post as I am seeing an interest in chatting up the movie and I love that! Here is the link: https://bookjourney.net/spoiler-alerts/spoiler-page-for-gone-girl-movie/
This was a story about the power of the media and how public opinion shapes the justice system. In the end Amy gets away with murder because the feds and the police did not want to appear hostile to “amazing Amy” the darling of the public. She was a master manipulator who had grown up under the bright lights of celebrity and really knew her way around. She hand-picked Nick from the first time she met him, knowing that he was weak and easy to use. The ending makes perfect sense in that context.
I thought this book was a great read! Really interesting main characters- not likeable but interesting. Amy is an absolute wack job and Nick is an everyday putz. In the end it would have been nice for Nick to man up and work a little harder to prove Amy’s guilt but I tought the ending was right on track with the rest of the story. I think there is no question that the baby is Desi’s and this is how Amy gets the last word. The heading of the last chapter reads ” 10 months, 2 weeks and 6 days after Amy’s return”.
the baby is Nick’s from the sample he left at the fertility clinic. she led him to believe that she hadn’t taken any action after they received the letter saying they would dispose of Nick’s semen, but actually she had had it saved and insiminated as her last resort to force Nick to continue her game.
Is there something with the 10/2/6 reference?
Being in LA, I had already read the screenplay/screen novella “Out of the Blue,” which shares many of the same themes. In contrast, Gone Girl seemed less intuitive and too “written” – as though the characters were placed into the story and not a natural outcome of it, hence, the ending wasn’t as satisfying. The psychology also seemed off: through much of the story, I didn’t buy into these characters being real people. I thought the other story was more clever; the characters were similarly mad but more realistic, and the ending was more satisfying by a long shot.
I was expecting the 2 thieves to come back and maybe change the ending. Thought it could have been a better twist at the end. It bothered me that she is now pregnant and in control again! Is there a part 2?
I just finished the book. I really have no desire to see the movie from the reviews I have read. The ending of the book could have been better, perhaps Amy is telling the whole story from her prison cell?
It is truly amazing to me that this book/movie are so highly praised. I went to the movie a few days ago, and after it ended my companion and I burst out laughing because it was so ridiculous. We weren’t the only ones either.
Hahaha that’s cute. Apparently you and your companion didn’t get the message. Which is that, like a lot of couples in the modern world, he stayed with her, a complete psychopath, to help project the image of a happy healthy couple to the outside world. He stayed with her not just for the child, but because he knew the rest of the world would hate him if he left. He chose to be liked rather than to lead an honest life. When she saw him with the other woman she sought to destroy him until the TV interview when she realized he was willing to play her game for society. Look around, she’s not the only one involved in a farce of a relationship for the sake of the image. You should know, superficial people are like that……..
So glad I found this page! Although like some others, I saw the (film) today … maybe it’s good to ask the book readers because many details had to have been left out. This film was *spectacular * but this is driving me crazy: with your bare eyes, you can tell the difference between 5-year-old ink and fresh ink, especially when they are on the same document. How could the detectives missed the obvious step of checking the ink?!
Good point 🙂
Well find an answer for me! It’s driving me insane! 😉
The film was so well crafted it’s hard to imagine how such a gaping hole in logic could be missed. The truth is out there!
Maybe with the “burning” of the diary it was hard to tell how old the ink was? I wonder why Nick and Go didn’t move all the items they found in her shed before the police received the tip… they knew that Amy was using that to make Nick look like an over spender.
I thought that too! There were a lot of holes … but still an excellent film.
Agreed – its the great ones that make you allow a few “huh” here and there 🙂
I thought that Jeff and Greta should have called the police and reported having seen her after she was found. And let them know that she was willingly staying at the cabin by herself. That would’ve provided proof that she was lying.
There is so much about this book that makes me think it was set up for a second book. I still think she could do it… t ends on a note of giving up… condemned… but what if? 😉
Hi; I’m Glenn, a 47-y/o from NJ. I’m a big Agatha Christie fan & fan of surprise endings & well-told stories. Finished this at 12:29 last night & am still W-O-W-ed! I’ll have to reread parts of it. I loved the flip-flopping chapters. After numerous “burns” of surprise endings by the media, I bought this & just started reading it. I did not read the back cover or the praising reviews in the front (which do reveal some of it). I suspected Nick wasn’t what he claimed w/the ringing phone. I loved that Amy was such a sociopath, but did feel bad when she was robbed. Desi was a creep waiting to happen (too controlling). I liked Nick & Amy, & laughed myself silly during Amy’s Q&A w/Det. Boney! So loose w/the facts! I was trying to figure out how it would end and WAS disappointed w/the ending but couldn’t figure how else to end it well….
The book is told very much like some of Agatha Christie’s great mysteries, but there’s some Patricia Highsmith in there, too (“The Talented Mr. Ripley,” who was NOT the Matt Damon character of the movie, but a callous psychopath who kills his way to riches through 5 books!), which is probably why I was OK w/Amy.
Yes, I felt bad for Nick, but he was kinda stupid (w/the sperm, I mean). But the brains of any “girl” (or woman) will trump any man’s any day!
LOL… Amy is one twisted girl that is for sure!
The ending destroyed the book for me. This woman who cries rape so many times and it is always false puts sexual assault out there and not in a good way. How many times are women accused of deceit and are also threatened if they tell it will be a he said/she said and everyone will question her and how she made it happen or that she was never raped. So, this woman never gets prosecuted and has made so many men look horrible in the process. It is woman like this character who perpetuate the idea that victims lie about rape.
The book makes many people mad – I think it is supposed too. There are books that go the other way too making it look like it is always the guy. In fact I think more books portray the guy as the bad one than women… while it may be upsetting… it is a crazy twisted book that has people talking.
There are many, many comments disparaging the ending. The ending is perfectly showing why most men stay in their marriage. There is no other viable alternative. If they get out if the marriage they are either slayed emotionally by society and go underground or destroyed financially. So their only option is to stay in a relationship with women driven by burnishing their ego image for the sake of their family friends or community which is exactly what has driven the american economy for the last six decades and why it is also getting ready to tank completely. I though it was a metaphorically genius ending to a bankrupt institution in a bankrupt economy.
Good point. I love the diversity of the comments 😉
Loved the book the whole way though but the ending…Aww what that’s it?! Anticlimactic. I would have had Nick wait it out till the baby was old enough for him to run off with him and have Amy suffer public humiliation. Of course the ending that Flynn wrote had Amy with last word because that’s just like Amy to have to win!
When I was trying to predict the ending I thought there was going to be some bloody battle in the kitchen between them with Nick killing Amy who wasn’t actually pregnant.
I still hope that Gyllian Flynn will surprise us with a followup book 🙂
Yes me too. It has been a while since that book but maybe she’s waiting till the movie is done at the cinemas. Going to hopefully see it soon. Glad I read the book first 😊
I went for my third time last week – mainly because i have friends who have not seen it yet so I keep going with them 😀
During the first part of the book, I assumed Nick was the killer, owing to his admission of ‘lies’. Of course, these were related to his affair and not the murder.
I was disappointed with the ending because I really felt Nick’s anger towards her and he seemed to change from a guy who really didn’t have a clue, to a guy who was sharp and fixed on his goal of getting Amy to return. I find it VERY hard to believe he would feel an ounce of love towards her after what she’d done to him. Knowing Nick’s character throughout the book, Nick would never have slept in the same house as her, let alone the same room! I feel he would have probably made his excuses and moved in with Go. Yes, Amy is three steps ahead of everyone and can certainly mind f*ck most people, but she is able to make mistakes (the two thieves when she’s on the run and the man who believes he knows her when she meets up with Desi).
I think Nick would have been encouraged even more to uncover Amy’s sociopathic behaviour once she revealed the pregnancy. Once in jail, Nick would be able to look after his son with Amy inflicting more damage.
I believe Nick wants to escape but she has him trapped – between her talent of lies, having his baby (which he wants), and his heartfelt wanting her back on tv… he would be crucified by the world if he left her.
yes but who would believe him?.. the police and parents and public already were believing Amys story and won’t listen to a crazed theory
I thought it was the Scot Peterson story until she came home
Oh my gosh – right!
Can someone help me here…? I just finished the book, and I kept waiting for the part where Amy’s perfect head gets bashed in & she is crawling across the kitchen floor crying out to NIck!!! This is referenced in the book a couple of times (by Nick) so up until the last page I was waiting for him to crush her. No luck. Anyone??? Did I miss something?
I think that is in reference to what he is thinking… she has him trapped but if he could… he would.
Yes that’s how I pictured the ending, once I realized Nick didn’t kill Amy in the first place this way but then it didn’t happen
Loved this book, couldn’t put it down! I was hoping that at the very end, Desi’s mother would come through with an alibi or some other proof that Amy lied. I also kept thinking about the meeting at the casino between Amy and Desi. There are cameras everywhere in casinos, that footage would’ve dismantled her story. I think cheaters are scum, but I was rooting for Amy going prison, and Nick living happily ever after. Until Nicks dad died, I was hoping he’d maybe wander into their house and kill that psycho in her sleep! An earlier commenter said something about hating both main characters was what made it not the best book. I disagree. Writing that can make me dislike two people so much, yet still be invested in them– AMAZING (see what I did there? Haha)
I agree.. I think the author did exactly what she had hoped too… created characters that you can either love or hate and leaves it all messy… like life 🙂
With so much anticipation being build up i tried to guess so many plot for this. Here are my summaries and things that was going on in my head:
(1) I never thought from the beggining that Nick was killer.
(2) When i saw Nick so cool about his wifes dissapearance i thought there was something fishy between Nick and Amy
(3) By fishy i mean they had financial problem and with hints about insurance and all i seriously was pretty convinced till the end that it was their plan for money or something like that i thought they would scam money from insurance and nick would run away and meet amy later and they would be on a vacation
(4) Then came the twist when they showed Amy a psycopath i thought she would probably kill herself and nick would end up in jail and there would be a cliffhangar in the end when the lady detective i forgot her name has a hint that nick is innocent and the movie ends
(5) Then finally when all the above things were not possible i thought amy would be exposed by Nick and lady police and Amy would end up in Mental Asylum. When she returned after killing her teenage boyfriend and she was in hospital i thiught she is going crazy and would end up in mental asylum.
(6) Then finally i thought that Nick would talk to Amy parents and accuse them of knowing that amy was a psycopath and they did not tell him.
(7) Somewhere in between i even thought she was doing all this for her book that she was writing and wanted to create drama in her life like in the movie “The Secret Window” like a psycopath.
(8) After all hopes died i finally thought Nick with her twin sister would kill Amy and provide evidence that she was a psycopath and get his revenge till the end i thought her parents knew about her beinv a psycopath.
Finally the ending really ruined it for me i expected Nick to take revenge because frm the beginning i never liked amy i always thought that either the bad one is Amy or they both are framing someone. I had so much pity for Nick and the child that is going to br born in that family just imagine how much the child has to go through with such a psycopath Mother.
I hope there is a sequel to it and Amys truth is opened to the world and she suffers in a Mental asylum.
Great thoughts! I had not thought of an insurance scam… good one! I too am hoping from more from Nick and Amy 🙂
Hi. Finally someone besides me who believed Amy had a twin. Again, the guy in the bar asked her if she was one of the “girls”. Remember the close up of his sister at the end? It was Amy’s twin. Just the way I saw it.
I dont see that at all but there is another comment at well that thinks that. 🙂 Sue did you read the book and see the movie?
Where is the casino that amy gets neil p harris to meet her at in Gone Girl?
How did Amy escape the lake house without the gate code?
Interesting
who did nick have an affair with and how long?
I haven’t read the book or seen the movie. I haven’t read enough of this page to totally spoil it either. From the trailer it feels a little like the Scott Peterson story. But parts from this page tell me different??
That is actually really interesting… I had never thought about that… but yeah… it does sound a bit like that.
I saw it coming. Right from the start!
AA
A little late to the party here, and obviously knew via living on planet earth that this book would be twisty, but WOW MAN this is an incredibly well crafted story.
Very often I *rebel* against reading what “everyone else is reading” only to end up reading it anyway and at a point where you would have to live in a cave to not know what’s going to happen. Every so often, having a pretty clear idea of the story’s denouement,I still get blown away by the details and the ability of the author to keep up with their own twists.
I started it at 9pm last night, read til 4, and held the last thirty or so pages for when I woke up (I have Mondays off, this is how I party, ha ha). I’m going to rent the movie this evening. I’ve heard there is something extra at the ending so I’m hopeful, but really bummed to read in these comments that Amy’s parents are downplayed because I think their influence on and treatment of her (as a commodity to be traded) cannot be underestimated…
Although I also see her as the grown up version of Darien (Alicia Silverstone’s character) in The Crush(1993)!
I find Ben Affleck beyond gross and smarmy- looking forward to despising Nick even more. So many deplorable characters in this story and I so enjoy being a hater!
I had hoped that Nick would wind up,with Rhonda Boney. She was a strong woman, and he needs one….just not a sociopath.
The one hole in Amy’s plan I kept hoping someone would figure out was her disposable mobile phone. She gave the number to the alarm company for Nick’s Dad’s house. They rang it and she let it ring so it would loosely pinpoint her location at the time, AND she used it to ring in to the police line.
It’s not a plot hole because Nick wasn’t aware that the alarm company rang her first, but I really thought that might be her undoing!!
PS, I don’t get all the hate for Nick and people saying they deserved each other. Sure he was spineless and when I was taking Amy’s diary as true I thought he was a cheating a-hole. However all her past crimes against other people show’d that it wasn’t his cheating that made her this way. She was pretending to be a ‘cool girl’ when they got married. I do not like the idea of cheating at all, but its not surprising he was love starved married to a psycho.
Does it say in the book that she called the alarm company? I read it in 2012 so now I can not recall 🙂 Good points!
Hey Shelia, thanks for replying! It says in one of Amy’s first honest chapters after the twistaroo that she changed the Alarm code 2 weeks before she disappeared and gave them her secret mobile number as the contact number with Nick’s as a backup. She wanted the alarm tripped so it would pinpoint him at his Dad’s place after the murder. (That’s where the cops find her burnt diary). When the phone rings in her cabin she knows he has gone there.
Not a plot hole as I said, but one way to debunk her story!
Nice catch! I remembered the alarm change but could not recall how she made that happen. I forgot about the phone ringing in her hotel too about the alarm…. egad… she was creepy good! 😛
Oh and you asked how I would have liked it to end. I thought Nick should keep a copy of the book and once the baby is born send it to the publisher, send the kid off to the inlaws for babysitting and then shoot Amy, then himself.
Raising a child with her didn’t seem like a good option. Her idea of punishment and justice was so extreme who knows what she’d put the child through!
Wow!!! I would totally be for Amy not raising the baby but Nick I thought could handle it if Amy was out of the picture. Go would help him. Amy can go away, but spare Nick… I think he could make it without AMAZING AMY by his side. 😆
I agree. My drastic ending was just for if he couldn’t find any way to escape her clutches!
Even if it would have given her place at the hotel away, she told the police she was taken to a remote place by Desi. They would have just thought the cabin was that place and that her phone couldn’t be answered because Desi had her tied up.
I still haven’t read this book, but don’t think I will. 🙂
What if desi ‘s alibi that morning has been proved ? Would this ruin the whole story?
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Yes the ending was disappointing, lets go back to the start, oh Nick definitely had something to do with wife’s disappearance right?, he thinks it, all his thoughts are on how he has hit Amy over the head also he is having an affair which gives him a motive , then there is sweet naïve Amy and her diary who would do anything to keep her man happy…. but the truth is Nick is having an affair to have some meaning in is life, his wife who has a brilliant mind can do anything to make it look like she is the victim all along, only in the end I found her manipulative and controlling who has always gotten her way for being pretty and a golden girl star, “from her parents books about her life” Just because you are pretty it doesn’t mean everything has to go your way…. so then I really hate Amy and all her mind games… She has set it up that Nick gets done with her murder only her plan didn’t quite work out so she had to get herself pregnant so Nick wont walk out on her… so Nick is a better man for staying with her then I gave him credit for.. but once he found out I thought Nick would have gone ahead and killed her or some sort of Murder suicide but in the end the police would have gotten the truth some how like a secret copy of Nicks story sent to the police weeks before the final even…… but has this now left it open for a second book????
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I finished the book in less than a day (Gillian Flynn has a definite way with words that sucks me in) and I was just as shocked and disgusted as most of y’all.
I have to admit I liked Amy and felt sorry for her up until she returned pouty lipped, baby voiced to “Poor Nicky”. The sympathy I got for Amy was from her childhood. She felt like a prized possession to her (ironically, child psychologist) parents rather than a human. Loved when they had to borrow the bulk of her trust she was only happy with things and being in utter control. After Jeff and Greta robbed her I was hoping she’d find her way and come to her senses. When she and Nick were reunited is when the lump in my throat wouldn’t go away and I switched from team Amy to team Nick. And in the part where Nick finally snaps and starts to strangle her I was hoping he wouldn’t kill her, but that it would snap Amy out of her manipulative, selfish reality, divorce Nick and he could move on. I was so, so shocked she walked away scotch free, especially after killing Desi! Clearly Boney was on Nick ‘s side, but for professional or personal reasons? Mia, her daughter, is mentioned, but not a partner of her own. And it is (often) mentioned how attractive he is.
I’m glad to have read another post curious about Desi and the eerie relationship he had with his mother (I was thinking it was borderline incestuous myself…so strange how he longed for a younger version of his mom…ick).
By the end I couldn’t stand Nick or Amy and was hoping for a swift, I don’t know, house fire or mysterious car collision to put me out of my mental mind f*** misery. Now all I can think about is their lives as a family with a baby and will Amy get her trust repaid, with interest? How will that affect the family dynamic between her, Nick, and baby Dunne? God, I hope Mrs. Flynn writes a sequel.
I love that this post still brings up such great discussion! I too wold love a sequel.
love Luke C comment yeah strange relationship between Desi and his mum
I was so disappinted in the end . I thought for sure there was another chapter. This book was one that i couldnt put down. I have to think of how i would end it, but your ending sounded great.
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This story just happened to have innumerable similarities (including characters, twists, psychology, plot points, scenes, key points of dialogue, and other elements) to a spec script written four years prior to Gone Girl. The author of the spec script has the experience one would expect if one was to have written such a story. That intimate knowledge of human behavior is what made it compelling. And the ending fit perfectly. It fit perfectly because when someone has the ability to understand not only such characters but also the psychology of readers and has written to that psychology, she also understands how such a story should end. And it’s a double whammy.
I LOVED this book!! Someone told me to read it because of what I am going through with my wife….however, I am NOT a cheater.
Part one made me feel like an ass hole for being that regular guy, like Nick, being dismissive to things my wife feels are important. I feel like my wife is a lot like her, journal Amy, thinking more of the idea of love than actual love…well, i guess the real Amy explains why in the end; there is no unconditional love, according to Amy. I feel my wife believes the same thing.
Then we see how crazy Amy is! I really thought it was an awesome story!!!
I actually thought the two from the cabin were gonna show up again, or Detective Boney was gonna find something. But, I know how Nick feels at the end, kind of…. I kept going back to my wife, even after she tried to ruin my career. However, I now realize how crazy I was for that. I just think this was a GREAT book.
By the way, am I the only one who sees Amazing Amy when I see a picture of Gillian Flynn???
Just realized, WAY too much info of my personal life there. This book just hit me really hard. I just finished it tonight and needed to talk about it, then i saw this page.
Hi just curious I now this is an old discussion but I’ve just finished the book and I don’t now if I’ve missed somthing what happend to able Andy she refrenced a couple of times “I wonder have the found able Andy yet” which led me to believe that she has murdered him and his body was going to turn up at some stage also implicating Nick did I get this wrong. I loved the book although the first 100 pages didn’t really have me glued to the book like I would usually I put I down for about two months and only picked it back up finsihed it in two days couldn’t put it down did anyone else think the start of the book dragged a little. I loved both characters though and was disappointed by the ending I thought they deserved somthing more explosive. That been said I wonder did it end like this maybe to keep it open for a possible sequel, here’s hoping.
I can’t simply go without leaving a comment. This post is a great read. ❤