Gone Girl vs Gone Girl

First, the book (Spoilers ahead)

4.5/5 ⭐

This was just simply a fun ride. I fell off in the first 100 pages, not because I didn't like it, but I was reading something else. But I made myself pick this back up and finished it in two sittings. LOVED!

This book is about Nick and Amy, who are married. They moved from New York to Nick's Midwestern small town. Amy goes missing on their 5th anniversary, but left Nick clues to his anniversary present. Between trying to find her and get to the end of his scavenger hunt this book is a ride.

After we find out about Nick's affair things start picking up. This is about 150(ish) pages in out of the 415. I was not disappointed though. I loved us getting to really see the flaws in Nick, while having the "Diary Amy" as our initial thoughts on her.

But then part two happens and we see Amy for who she is. A psycho bitch- setting up this elaborate scheme to frame Nick for her murder after finding out about his infidelity.. I love how we see what kind of sense of justice Amy has and unravel her past to determine a pattern. The story worked so well, because Flynn really delves into their individual psyches throughout the book.

In the end they... end up together. They may not be exactly happy, but they are making it work. I honestly did not know how to feel about this ending. Overall, it was so thrilling and I was hooked once the scheme started rearing it's head.

Now, the movie.

3.75/5 ⭐(getting real specific here)

I read the book first...

That is all one should need to hear to know why the overall score is lower. I tried to stay objective, which is why the score is still almost a four. The movie by itself, is pretty good and thrilling and fun!

Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike do very well as Nick and Amy. However, I think that the best parts of them are lost without the background of the book. We lose their connection as well. The movie omits the love letters from Amy's scavenger hunt, which shows how well she knows Nick and even alludes as to why he'd stay with her in the end.

The movie is still gripping with the changes it makes, but it just isn't as deep as the book in terms of exploring their psyches. I do believe some of the omissions served the movie well. Specifically, some of the slow things in terms of trying to find Amy in the beginning of the novel.

For more of my bookish thoughts and progress on other books, my goodreads is https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/112159636-s-m-johnson

Thanks for reading!