Nick Dunne's wife Amy Elliot suddenly disappeared on their fifth wedding anniversary. Nick seems devastated as he loved his wife, who made him pancakes in the morning and did not expect him to be a 'dancing monkey' like most women expect their husbands to be. Nick is in shock and dismay, but is he?
The author- Gillian Flynn, at first, provides us with an illusion of a seemingly perfect marriage, wrecked by the sudden disappearance of the beautiful and 'amazing' Amy Elliott. Flynn paints the story of a flawless relationship only to break our understanding of the affinity in bits and pieces as the novel proceeds. While Nick involves the police in this mystery, he informs them of the fact that Amy had a history of being stalked and disturbed by her acquaintances like ex-boyfriend Desi Collings, whom Amy regards to have 'The Ultimate White Knight Fantasy' of rescuing her and other "abused and troubled women", and was someone who was spectacularly weird and off the rails.
However, as the plot goes, Nick uncovers shocking revelations that are cunningly hidden in the treasure hunt game Amy created for each of their anniversaries as a tradition. At first, the clues of the game merely pointed out the witticism of their perfect relationship, but succeedingly painted a different picture in Nick's mind. He quickly discovers that Amy was well aware of his infidelity (surprise!) and had been indicating towards his extramarital affair all along through her naive yet smart treasure hunt clues. Further in the investigation, Nick contacts Amy's ex-friends only to gather knowledge of his wife being a completely different character in her childhood.
The author covers a wide spectrum of themes like the 2009 Great Recession, dishonesty, media's importance, complex layered personalities, and a lot more. Gillian Flynn also discusses the topic of marriage in a very subtle yet pronounced manner- She reveals how two individuals in a courtship put their best selves forward, but only marriage can eat away at a person's false exterior and reveal their inner demons and afflictions. Flynn uses Nick and Amy's relationship to support this fact by displaying how a 5-year marriage slowly unwinds both of them into a toxic mess. There has been a great emphasis on the personality and thought process of Amy Dunne, who changes her shades to play different characters like 'The Cool Girl' whom all the boys seem to like. Amy turned out to be my favourite character, due to her maniacal intelligence and psychotically observant nature.
Gillian Flynn, I promise, will not fail to astonish you in this jaw-dropping crime thriller. Amy Elliott's transformation from a loving and sympathetic wife to a nasty, revenge-hungry, delusional stranger with tendencies to always play the victim card will give you the creeps, for Flynn has indeed executed a phenomenal job in Amy's character development. Far into the story, the reader would still be unsettled with conflicting questions. Deep seated insights into Nick's mind like- 'I will find you Amy. Lovesick words, hateful intentions', point towards Nick's innocence, but the media portrays a completely different story of Nick supposedly murdering his wife due to marital troubles. Gone Girl is a tumultuous rollercoaster, with new conspiracies coming to the surface every second, and a storyline that will force the reader to grudgingly admire the sheer brilliance of characters created by Gillian Flynn.
Proficient, beautifully illustrated in a concise yet complete manner.