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Gone Girl  By  cover art

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

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Surprise Ending

What did you love best about Gone Girl?

The story really surprised me at the end. It left me thinking after I finished the book. I thought I had guessed pretty well on chapter 1...and I had until the twist.

What did you like best about this story?

Each chapter added great elements that really added to the story. The last, very short chapter, made me laugh.

What does Julia Whelan and Kirby Heyborne bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

GREAT reading by both. Some of the best of the audio books I have listened to so far.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Just who IS the crazy person?

Any additional comments?

I hated the constant use of the F-word. So much that if I hadn't paid for this book, I might have discontinued listening to it.

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

Unsatisfying

I enjoyed the twists in the story but the end was quite disappointing. It left Nick being the sap he was in the beginning. I needed Amy to get at least a little back of what she gave.

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

Wow!

Would you listen to Gone Girl again? Why?

I listened to Gone Girl twice just in case I missed something the first time!

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

There were many plots twists that kept me on the edge of my seat. Good guys and bad guys kept switching places, to my delight.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It took several days to finish this book, but if I could have, I would have listened to it in one sitting.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome!

I loved this book! There are a lot of twist to this story and it really keep you guessing. It's hard to stop listening to it. I love the narration. They did a great job. Can't wait to watch the movie again!

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Figured it out

I figured out the twist etc fairly early on. Wasn't really interested after 3/4 of the way through which is odd for me I could piece together enough and that was good for me. I finished it though and didn't care for the ending

Performance wise. The male narrator was great. The female one was okay until she did a guy's voice then it was off putting.

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This should be required reading for EVERYONE

If you could sum up Gone Girl in three words, what would they be?

Sociopathic manipulation & destruction

What did you like best about this story?

The mystery and tension was incredible. It's been a long time a twist or turn actually suprised me, Gone Girl did just that. Nothing is what it appears to be. What really excited me about Gone Girl was taking the mask off a sociopath and showing the damage they can do, the lengths they will go to, to win, the other people they use to abuse their target for them.

1 in 25 people is believed to be a sociopath, It's not an illness, it can't be cured. People who have this personality disorder don't have a conscious or empathy. Gone Girl illustrates in great detail the subtle and insidious ways sociopaths impact our lives for their own entertainment, pleasure or gain.

What about Julia Whelan and Kirby Heyborne ’s performance did you like?

They really were able to emote some very subtle stuff. They did an amazing job.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Some books are only covers

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enjoyable

loved it. fun story that keeps the reader guessing. excellent walking motivation. plug in and plug along.

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Great book!

Better than the movie! Such a roller coaster of emotions. Very intriguing and always another twist in the story. Very unexpected.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Weird sick characters.

Not a story with a resolution. I need closure in my novels. I bet literally it is brilliant, but no heart strings pulled here.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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On the fence

I'm going thru last few chapters again cause I am still stunned w this ending. I was hoping for more.
Fantastic storytelling. Just not a huge fan of ending.

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