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Gone Girl

By: Gillian Flynn
Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Kirby Heyborne
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Editorial review


By Mysia Haight, Audible Editor

PSYCH OUT—THE JAW-DROPPING GENIUS OF GONE GIRL

Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl is among the all-time best crafted stories told by unreliable narrators—two of them, the perfect couple—and a gripping thriller filled with jaw-dropping twists. This dark mystery novel also shines a critical light on the media-fueled public rush to judge people suspected of crimes who, regardless of the evidence, simply look guilty—an unsettling trend that has only escalated in the decade since the book’s release. Along with its critique of media exploitation, the novel has been widely embraced—and hotly debated—as a manifesto of modern feminism.

Ten years ago, I was approaching that dreaded life stage—middle age. After years of doing my best to be a good wife, mother, aunt, sister, daughter, and friend; a good worker, mentor, and role model; and a good listener, problem solver, and crisis manager, I was feeling taken for granted and restless. What if I did something unexpected, something out of character—something bad?

Happily, I satisfied my yearnings by becoming immersed in the brilliant mind and devious machinations of Amy Elliott Dunne, the hero (or, depending on your perspective, villain) of Gone Girl. When it was published in 2012, Gillian Flynn’s ingenious novel about a missing wife and the husband increasingly implicated in her ominous disappearance stirred up a lot of buzz. As an avid fan of psychological thrillers, unreliable narrators, and contemporary fiction driven by strong, complicated women, I couldn’t wait to read it. And I was blown away! In spite of her questionable (to put it extremely mildly) actions, I found Amy, an amazing woman who was taken for granted—first by her parents and then by her husband—relatable and, yes, sympathetic. I kept rooting for her to get the life she wanted, even when I was appalled by what she did and who she hurt to make that happen.

Has Gone Girl changed my life? Well, it didn’t motivate me to change for the badder—old good habits die hard. Yet, thanks in part to Amy and other remarkable women characters like her, I’ve gradually become better at speaking up for myself and getting heard.

Years after first reading Gone Girl, I haven't forgotten Amy. I love the way Rosamund Pike brought her to life in the 2014 film adaptation, which I've watched in its entirety three times with three different women—my sister, my niece, and my daughter. So when I discovered that one of my favorite narrators, the remarkable Julia Whelan, voices Amy in the audiobook, I just had to go back and listen. Her performance is brilliant—so believable, it's chilling—and even though I know every twist in her twisted story, Amy continues to amaze me!

Continue reading Mysia's review >

Publisher's summary

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The “mercilessly entertaining” (Vanity Fair) instant classic “about the nature of identity and the terrible secrets that can survive and thrive in even the most intimate relationships” (Lev Grossman, Time)—now featuring never-before-published deleted scenes

NAMED ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOKS OF THE DECADE BY CNN AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE DECADE BY TIME AND ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Janet Maslin, The New York TimesPeopleEntertainment WeeklyO: The Oprah MagazineSlateKansas City StarUSA TodayChristian Science Monitor

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY San Francisco ChronicleSt. Louis Post-DispatchThe Chicago TribuneHuffPostNewsday

©2012 Gillian Flynn (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Absorbing . . . In masterly fashion, Flynn depicts the unraveling of a marriage—and of a recession-hit Midwest—by interweaving the wife’s diary entries with the husband’s first-person account.”The New Yorker

“Ms. Flynn writes dark suspense novels that anatomize violence without splashing barrels of blood around the pages . . . Ms. Flynn has much more up her sleeve than a simple missing-person case. As Nick and Amy alternately tell their stories, marriage has never looked so menacing, narrators so unreliable.”The Wall Street Journal

“The story unfolds in precise and riveting prose . . . even while you know you’re being manipulated, searching for the missing pieces is half the thrill of this wickedly absorbing tale.”O: The Oprah Magazine

Featured Article: Best Audiobooks to Listen to While Working Out


Need to motivate yourself to work out more? We've all heard that exercise is good for the body, and reading is good for the mind and soul. But knowing these facts doesn't increase the number of hours in the day. Maybe you can eke out a little time for one activity but not the other. Or maybe you are looking for something to motivate you to get those steps in. Why not download a great audiobook and get lost in a listen while breaking a sweat?

Editor's Pick: Best of the Decade

Get to the gone
"I’m a sucker for great story structure, and Gone Girl uses every inch of its narrative to subvert expectations in ways that shock and amuse. The perfectly utilized diary entries fold into a legendary mid-book reveal. The face-turn-heel of a seemingly perfect victim who revels in the way they’ve expertly managed your expectations. The unreliable narrators who reveal so much about themselves by what they don’t say—or how they shape emotional states into origami. And it all feels fair; while most twist-filled stories tend to seem rather flimsy under a microscope, the closer you look at Gillian Flynn’s masterpiece, the more you notice the sheer togetherness of it all, each part working in concert with another, coalescing to form a story that has one finger firmly on the pulse of popular culture, and one on the carotid of a serial killer."—Sean T., Audible Editor

What listeners say about Gone Girl

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    34,697
  • 4 Stars
    16,018
  • 3 Stars
    5,290
  • 2 Stars
    1,818
  • 1 Stars
    1,497
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    35,299
  • 4 Stars
    12,119
  • 3 Stars
    3,426
  • 2 Stars
    926
  • 1 Stars
    744
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    30,752
  • 4 Stars
    13,392
  • 3 Stars
    4,971
  • 2 Stars
    1,882
  • 1 Stars
    1,584

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Unsettling

The ending left me wanting more! I didn't expect that twist at all. Bitter sweet for sure.

My husband thought I was crazy... Not anymore!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Magnificent!

Incredible story with insane twists and turns. The readers were amazing with their performance. Highly recommend this one...even better than the movie!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Just wow

Enthrallimg and captivating, full of shocking twists. Completely engaging. A clever composition by Flynn, and narration. Always keeps you on your toes and wanting to read more. Time flies while reading Gone Girl.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Edge of my seat

Love the narration. Love the story, the suspense. Flynn knows how to wind an amazing tale and you can't help but be pulled along for the ride.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Not what I'd Expected

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Can't decide.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Very slow at the beginning but then after you figured out the diary was fake everything changed and I couldn't wait to see what happens.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Amy got robbed by the trailer trash couple.

Did Gone Girl inspire you to do anything?

Evaluate my own personality and be sure I don't know any socopaths!

Any additional comments?

Usually I don't partake in anything trendy with lots of hype but since this book was classified as a Thriller (my new favorite category) I decided to give it a try. NOT MY CUP OF TEA!! I have already listened to "Into the darkest Place" and "Still Missing" and those were excellent stories with satisfying endings, this was not.

The story was well written and well narrated and there are plenty of twists and turns but this is a very dark and depressing picture of marriage, human nature, public opinion, the media, etc. By the end of the story I felt drained and empty then angry because I had stuck with the story only to get no satisfactory ending. Both of the main characters are unlikable and neither have qualities that are redeeming. The only characters I had any relation to are the twin sister and the female cop (Boney). They had human reactions to the situations and intellengence.

I wish I had spent my token on a different thriller, I was trying to get away from the series books and listen to a single novel. Now I am going back to the tried and true.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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omg, great listen!

it's a page turner...what a couple! the narrators are great and play the characters perfectly. Listen to, or read this book before the movie comes out!

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Stop reading at the end of Part 2.

What would have made Gone Girl better?

I don't think Nick's persona was adequately fleshed out. He didn't make sense.

The ending? Like a dull, reverberating thud.

Would you be willing to try another book from Gillian Flynn? Why or why not?

Possibly. Flynn is a talented writer and writes with an observant wit. However I'm not a big fan of dark disturbing stories - unless they resolve in a way that makes the journey worthwhile.

Have you listened to any of Julia Whelan and Kirby Heyborne ???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Julia Whelan's narration is outstanding, as it was in Nora Robert's Witness. In fact I searched for more books she had narrated. Heyborne did a great job, too.

You didn???t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The plot line kept me entertained and absorbed until the final quarter of the book, at which time I was longing for it to end.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Twistedly Splendid

The first hour or so I am thinking "Meh... I just don't see what all the fuss is about, just another murder, mystery, who-done-it". And then... (nope, no spoilers here). The most difficult part about writing this review, is that it hard to describe how amazing this book is without ruining it for anyone who has not read it yet.

The premise is that a woman (a wife) goes missing on her 5th wedding anniversary. The story is told dueling piano style. It alternates views from the husband and wife. It starts off just a little slow... but you have to wait for it... and then BAM it turns into something you can't put down or stop thinking about when you have to put it down.

Every time I thought I had it figured out I was wrong and I wanted to know what was right. I wanted to know all the pieces that held it together and all the pieces that would make it fall apart. It is a puzzle that you take out of the box and swear none of the pieces will ever fit together, but somehow they do. Absolutely brilliant!

This is the best book I have read/listened to this year, so far.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great book full of twists...

What a great way to write a book!! So many times through the book I found myself OMGing.... Really really really hate the ending but the ride was soooo worth it!!

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    5 out of 5 stars

Kept me entertained and wanting to hear more!

I knew nothing about this book and went into it completely blind. I selected it based on the number of positive reviews. I am a 50 year old male and really questioned my selection at the very beginning. Halfway through the book I thought it was good but not five star. It then took a twist and kept me captivated until the end.

I really enjoyed it. I would recommend it to others.

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