Periodically, as I read books I feel are worthy of discussion, I'll take a bit of time and write about them on the blog. I just finished one that rates as my best read of 2012. While I don't tend to read as much as Mrs. Burnette, that's still saying something. The novel is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. While I hadn't read anything else by Flynn, I had managed to catch a couple rave reviews for the book in both Time and Entertainment Weekly. When I went to the library to check it out, I was informed that I was number 32 (!) on the wait list. Evidently, I wasn't the only one intrigued by the book. I finally started reading it the week before school began, and it didn't take me long to discover why it was in such high demand. Flynn has written a sharp-tongued, twisted adult novel, that delivers on all the praise showered upon it.
The language Flynn uses throughout the text is edgy and catchy. The sun comes through the morning blinds with an accusing "long, blaring finger aimed at (Nick)" (4). A nice line of personification but also a bit of foreshadowing for what's to come. When Nick's wife Amy is making breakfast, she is "banging wooden cupboards (rump-thump!), rattling containers of tin and glass (ding-ring!), and shuffling and sorting a collection of metal pots and iron pans (ruzz-shuzz!) (6). It's a "culinary orchestra" (6) with the word "orchestra" not being used lightly. Her characters speak like most of us. A conversation between Nick and his sister, Margo, ends with Margo advising Nick not to talk with the police like "myuhmyuhmyuh" (52). That was "the thick-tongued noise she always made to convey my indecisiveness" (52). Flynn manages to maintain that linguistic flair throughout all 415 pages.
The police do come into play, since quite early in the text Nick's wife goes missing, all evidence points to murder, and Nick is the most likely suspect. The indecisiveness Margo referred to earlier is plastered all over Nick, and he digs himself in deeper with every lie he tells and every secret he withholds. Things are not looking good for Nick as Flynn adroitly reveals new bits of info and evidence that slowly build to a huge twist in the story about half-way through. It's not the first or last, but it definitely is the biggest. Flynn's decision to tell the story by switching between Nick's present reactions to the events and Amy's diary entries from before was an effective way to share their unique perspectives on a marriage that was in tatters.
Now this is an adult novel. The language and themes are for mature audiences. Even Flynn tells her son in the Acknowledgements, "if you are reading this before 2024, you are too little. Put it down." So if it's an adult novel, then why share this with you? Well, for one I want you to see me as a reader and not just someone who assigns reading for you to do. I also want you to see the value in discussing what we read. If we read a book we enjoy or even a book we thoroughly dislike, our tendencies are to talk about that book with others either to be sure they read it and share your joy or to be certain they avoid it and escape your pain. Lastly, I want you to see how quotes go a long way towards strengthening your writing. Imagine the second paragraph without the quotes. Just not much to it. The quotes add depth, something I will be expecting to see from all of you.
So keep on reading and be thinking of sharing your thoughts with the rest of us.
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