Read ’em or Watch: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Hey everyone! I read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn a few days ago and that inspired me to start a new feature on here where I read a popular backlisted book, watch the adaptation (if there is one) and tell you whether you should read the book or just watch the adaptation. I don’t know how often I’ll do this, but I thought it might be a fun series because it combines two activities I enjoy.

I couldn’t figure out what to name this series or what to do about books that don’t have adaptations so I reached out my friends Lynell and Mychelé for some help. They came up with names (Read ‘Em or Watch was Mychelé’s idea) and helped me brainstorm ideas for books without adaptations. For those books, I’ll tell you whether or not I think it should be adapted (tv show vs. movie), theater release or streaming service (Netflix, Hulu or Amazon), my dreamcast, music artists or film score composer, etc. This is a work in progress so please bear with me as I work out the details.

Without further ado, let’s talk about Gone Girl AKA the book that PISSED me the fuck off.

Gone Girl was all the rage when it came out, but this was my first time reading it. I already knew the plot twist because I watched a little bit of the movie back in the day, but this was still a fun reading experience. I started the book on September 29th and finished it on October 3rd so these are my real time thoughts. It’s mostly unedited so there’s a bit of profanity.

Thoughts while reading Gone Girl

• 23% done on October 1: Nick is so damn calm and nonchalant for someone whose wife is missing. Sir, at least pretend you’re in distress in front of the police and cameras.

• 38% done on October 2: Nick Dunne is insufferable. 

• 53% done on October 2: This hoe has serious issues. WTF?

• 58% done on October 2: Andy is fucking annoying.

• 100% done on October 3: I hate that I sat through this whole fucking book and it ended the way it did. I was going to rate it 4 stars, but the ending really pissed me the fuck off. If I owned a physical copy of this, I probably would’ve thrown it across the room because I hate the ending so much. Fuck Amy and fuck Nick. Those insufferable bitches deserve each other.

Editing note: I didn’t update after I hit the 58% mark until the end because I got busy. Sorry for the gap.

I’m pissed (spoiler warning!)

I’m so fucking upset. This bitch literally framed her husband for murder and then had the audacity to come back because they stole her money and she changed her mind. I’m upset because Gillian Flynn wants me to believe Amy was so perfect that there were no holes in her initial plan or the other plan she came up with on the fly. There’s no way. I’m mad Nick acquiesced and didn’t try to fight back or get revenge after this woman framed him for murder. On top of wasting our fucking tax dollars on this bullshit investigation, Amy also murdered a man. But in the end she got exactly what the fuck she wanted. I hate this ending. i hate it so much. It’s so unsatisfying. I hate it.

October 5 update: I’ve sorted out my feelings about this book. I’m still pissed about that ending, but it deserves the 4 stars I was planning to give it so I’m going to reluctantly rate it even though I’m STILL salty.

For some reason, I couldn’t find this movie on Netflix or Hulu, but (luckily) my public library came through!

I listened to the audiobook so hearing Ben Affleck’s narration at the beginning of the movie was slightly weird. The dialogue felt a little off in the beginning, but I think Ben Affleck delivered Nick’s nonchalant affect well. But he also looked like he was being held hostage at every press conference.

Andy looked like a child and wasn’t annoying, but that’s because she didn’t have many scenes in the movie. Once things pick up and the twist is revealed Ben Affleck really started acting ACTING. Tyler Perry was a nice surprise in this movie. I liked him as Tanner Bolt. Amy still pissed me off so we don’t need to talk about her.

Me, thinking the movie would fix the book’s ending and give me the ending I deserve.

The movie left out a few minuscule details, but it’s true to the source material. However, I think the story unfolds better in the book. Read the book.

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Have you read or watched Gone Girl? What are your thoughts? What book(s) should I read/watch next for this feature?

P.s. My future posts in this series won’t include spoilers. It was hard to talk about this book without talking about the twist.