In one of the few times an author has responded to my query, Gillian Flynn wrote back about my dislike of her ending in Gone Girl…
I’m sorry to hear that! I can only say I wrote the ending that was the most unsettling to me. I am a big fan of the ending of unease. To me it feels real and it feels unnerving. Because you may not know exactly what is going to happen next in Gone Girl World, but you know it’s not good. I love hearing different people’s theories about the ending—to me that’s the fun of reading a book, when you find yourself imagining the characters even after the book is over, and you find yourselves in debates with friends about it, as if the characters were two people who lived down the street (in the case of Nick and Amy, you’d probably want to relocate…). Gillian Flynn
She’s right about my not wanting to live near or know Nick and Amy.
What did you think of the ending?
Read my review of Gone Girl – here
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Loved this book and found the ending just as unnerving as the rest of the story! Flynn had her way with me as I finished the book a week ago and am still unable to stop imagining Nick and Amy! This book was so good….it deserves to be a “Best Seller”…..unlike most others that end up on that list.
You need to move on 🙂 They are not the kind of characters you’d want to dwell on too long.
Moved on after creating my own ending for Nick and Amy: they end up like Gil and Irene in Louise Erdrich’s “Shadow Tag”….perfect!
Love your reviews!
Ah – that’s great; I haven’t read it but NPR called it ” A Page Turner With Deceit At Heart.” Glad to hear you are enjoying the reviews.
Thanks for sharing the author’s comments! I just finished the book last night and found the ending unsatisfying and unsettling as well–but with this kind of a book, I don’t think there could have been a “settled” ending. In fact, I can even envision a sequel. It was one wild ride of a read, and your review is terrific (and you managed to do it with no spoilers, too!). Well done.
Thanks for the kudos. I agree that the characters would not have lent themselves to any kind of a good ending, but I probably would not read the sequel.
Ha! I don’t know if I could take it, either. But, the author succeeded in making me think of how the characters would continue in the “next Gone Girl world,” and, as she says, it’s not good!
But it helped keep the book on the New York Times best seller list for a long time 🙂
It didn’t sound good to me the first time. Still doesn’t. Too many others you’ve enticed me to read to waste my time on something like this. I can just turn on the news and get all the malice one needs.
Thanks for commenting; good to hear from you. You are right about the news; I try to avoid it most days.
She’s definitely right about the feeling of unease! I felt like someone punched me in the face at the end. I wasn’t sure about it, but now I appreciate it. I do think about them and the afterwards.
You might also like Harriet Lane’s new book “Alys, Always” – another sucker punch ending. Have you read it?
Not yet. I have it for review but haven’t got to it.
I’ll be interested to know what you think of the characters.