Gone Baby Gone

I was looking over the list of books I've read in 2012 (to be posted at the end of the year!) and was feeling vaguely disappointed. There have been a few bright spots, but this hasn't been a stellar year for me in the lit department. Fortunately, I was able to borrow my sister's copy of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, which has injected some much-needed excitement into the mix.

It's the story of an unraveling marriage, told from the point of view from both the husband and the wife. Unlike general marital unhappiness stories, though, this one takes a dark turn when the husband (Nick) comes home on the couple's fifth anniversary to find his house ransacked and his wife (Amy) gone.

As the novel progresses, we learn that neither Nick nor Amy match the personalities they prefer to present to the public, and that despite how poisonous their relationship is, there is just as much keeping them entangled. This book has innumerable twists and turns, and the reader is never quite sure who, if anyone, we're supposed to be rooting for.

This story could have easily spun into contrived melodrama, but Flynn's meticulous writing makes scenes that would usually come off as ludicrous seem completely feasible. Every time we think we know which way the story is heading, it veers off into another direction. I can't say much more, for fear of spoiling it, but Gone Girl is definitely in the running for one of the most intriguing books of the year.

Gone Girl: A-