Nick and Amy are the new Martha and George from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf; a toxic, ruthless couple who make up Gone Girl’s story of a missing wife and a marriage turned sour.
The novel starts on the day of Amy’s disappearance. Nick, her husband, is the narrator, and although their relationship seems fine on the surface, something is not quite right. At first, they’re a cool couple, effortlessly happy, one of those couples that everyone loves but secretly hates because no one is that perfect. But as we keep reading, we find inconsistencies and lies; something just doesn’t add up.
Nick’s narration is interspersed with Amy’s diary entries from several years ago, which tell us the story of how they first met. But soon we realize that Nick, for some reason, is lying to the police – their accounts of what happened aren’t exactly the same. Nick is also a bit of a shady character; he’s surprisingly calm about his wife’s disappearance, he has a disposable mobile phone, he talks quite a lot about the shape of Amy’s skull. In fact, one of the first things he says is “You could imagine the skull quite easily”. Naturally, we are suspicious.
Gone Girl is a brilliant read, maybe not perfectly written, but it’s entertaining and fast-paced. The alternative narrative voices almost force you to keep reading, as you always want to know what Amy or Nick will have to say next. However the book could have benefitted from making Nick seem more evil in the first part- for some reason, he isn’t a convincing enough suspect and actually comes across as quite likable.
Most unfortunately, the ending is a disappointment. It gave the impression that the author couldn’t find a plausible way of tying up all the loose ends, and it feels as if she’s taken the easy way out. It does seem a shame to end such a complex, well thought-out, psychological thriller on this flat, slightly predictable note, but still, the last few pages don’t completely take away from the suspense we felt throughout the rest of the book. A good, exciting read for the start of term.
Gone Girl is available now from Random House.
words: Llio Maddocks