Bookworm’s Delight: Gone Girl

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn is a crime fiction that falls short of brilliant because of it’s ending. It is a story of Nick who has a troubled marriage with his wife, Amy. On their fifth marriage anniversary, Amy goes missing in the morning. Everyone suspects Nick. Their are strange searches on his computer, things ordered through his credit card that he didn’t actually order, his wife’s journal that shows she might’ve been afraid of him. Everything is bad for him? He says he didn’t kill her. So where is Amy?

*spoilers ahead*

Flynn has put a lot of detailing in the characters, each one more complex then the first. Nick is despicable. He is the sort of man you hate, pity and maintain a distance from. You may wonder what his story is, coming across him. Go, Nick’s twin sister, is more of a mother than a sister but possesses a motherly nature that is diffused slowly, without any extreme characterization.

The brilliance of this book is Amy, the pure evil. She’s cunning, manipulative, foxy, extremely smart. She’s s person with multiple identities, a person who has never shown her true face. She camouflages her true self, much of which was because of her parents’ business. They wrote books titles Amazing Amy, loosely based on what a perfect girl should do. Amazing Amy was always what Amy was supposed to be, but fell short of. Amy’s character has levels. She has a criminal mind, much of which has layers that never end. She is delicately complex, intricate in thinking and hard to imagine. She has a killer mind.

Gone Girl is amazing. It’s a peek into a sociopath’s mind. It’s racy. It’s a definite page turner… to disappointment. It’s a bad ending. It’s a good read it you don’t mind an upsetting ending. Still, if you like crime fiction, go for it! The story will stick with you. And movie’s come out too!

Bookworm’s Delight: The Book Thief

Markus Zusac’s novel, A Book Thief is set in Nazi Germany at the brink of the second world war. It traces the story of Liesel Meminger and her life on the poor outskirts of Munich. The copy that I own has a very vague and intriguing opening that is:

This is the tale of the book thief,
as narrate by death.
And when death tells you a story,
you really have to listen.

Needless to say, it had me biting on my nails, at least on what is left of them. It is a book that reduces the stone-hearted to tears with its not so kind description of death, during those years. The Book Thief is raw, its real and its believable. It has the Fuhrer, it has hiding Jews, it has a quite a lot of deaths, and of course, thievery. It’s from the heart. It’s pure. It’s painfully angry and it resonates with people at a common level.

It transforms initial childishness to mature decisions smoothly, without disturbing the story. It is a very explicit imagery of the civilian lifestyle in the world war. It creates a very pitiable character of death. “I am haunted by humans.” Its very thrilling closing line. It made me ponder. And considering Liesel’s life, its probably the best statement you can finish a book like this. The most important feature of this book is how the author managed to retain Death’s essence throughout the story. It is felt throughout the story. Its pain at being everywhere at all the time, gently carrying the souls and trying to vindicate the assumption that even death has a heart. It’s everywhere. And finally, I’d just like to clear up, its NOT a political or a boring book, but a normal fictional book.

In all, it is a really heart touching book, which would be a shame to miss. So, grab your copy and enjoy this 580-paged novel, with popcorn and a handkerchief.