Books: Gone Girl

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn has been on lots of 2012 best of lists, and I finally got to it. It's about a woman, Amy, who disappears on her fifth wedding anniversary, and the time leading up to and after that event. Chapters alternate in the voices of Amy and her husband Nick (both writers struggling with careers in magazine publishing) and their shifting self-perception, thought processes, and shocking actions. 

It casts a domestic veil on the depths of depravity of which humans are capable; it also sheds light on the light and dark complexities of love. The dual points of view keep it lively, as do Flynn's characters, whose sinister potential is a bottomless abyss.

Apparently a movie adaptation is in the works, with Reese Witherspoon producing and presumably starring, but its conversion to the screen will lack much of the essential bizarre thought process of the protagonists. Their self-delusion is part of the book's fascination, demanding the reader to reconcile internal and external perceptions.