By Lexy Perez
Arts and Entertainment Assistant
There comes a time where you find yourself engaged in a book that reminds you why you loved reading in the first place.
If you’re an avid reader like me, there’s nothing better than a story that enraptures you with its twists, turns and revelations leaving you wanting more. When I was younger, I found myself engulfed in “Nancy Drew” novels; solving a juicy mystery has always been a guilty pleasure. While “Nancy Drew” allowed me to channel my inner Sherlock Holmes, those mysteries were simply a warm-up for the mystery works of author Gillian Flynn.
Her best selling novel “Gone Girl” is a work that completely alters the meaning of the mystery genre. While it’s no child-friendly mystery, it is evident that it is in a league of its own joining the ranks of other mystery successors: Stephen King and Agatha Christie.
The story centralizes on Nick and Amy Dunne, a couple which gives new meaning to being in a relationship and “it’s complicated.” Nick is a struggling writer coping with the loss of his job, owning a bar with his sister and living in the shadow of his prestigious wife. Amy is the daughter of an Ivy-League family, forced to forever live as a created product to her parent’s well-known book series “Amazing Amy.”
After meeting, falling in love and getting married, the morning of their fifth anniversary changes everything for the couple. Amy goes missing, leaving Nick and readers on a journey to solving the mystery of what happened to her and whether there is more than meets the eye to Nick and Amy herself.
The novel takes readers through the trials and tribulations of the Dunne marriage, revealing secrets and scandals, via Amy’s detailed diary, surely to make you wonder what kind of relationship they had. The best thing about this novel is it never seems to follow the cliché mystery formula: “murder + evidence + suspicious people = mystery solved.” This novel introduces you to an alternated formula:” murder + evidence + mind confusion + headache + willingness to throw the book across the room because you are unable to figure out where this story is going.”
While its twisted, dark component adds flair and interest, the only negative aspect of this book is its ability to give you a headache, becoming the novel version of brain challenged “Inception.”
What sets this mystery apart from others is its ability to engross readers. This isn’t a story that can just be read. It’s a story that you become a part of. While reading, I couldn’t help but feel as if I was an outsider looking in, wanting to be involved in the plot, but never truly knowing enough details to even make a difference.
Although Gillian Flynn has other successful thrillers, “Sharp Objects” and “Dark Places,” it is “Gone Girl” that dignifies her position as mystery writer. I’m not sure if she will ever be able to pen another novel as brilliant as this one, but with a successful film adaptation starring Ben Affleck, it is discernable that Gillian Flynn is just beginning to make her mark in the literature world.