Summary:
‘What are you thinking, Amy? The question I’ve asked most often during our marriage, if not out loud, if not to the person who could answer. I suppose these questions storm cloud over every marriage: What are you thinking? How are you feeling? Who are you? What have we done to each other? What will we do?’ Just how well can you ever know the person you love?
This is the question that Nick Dunne must ask himself on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police immediately suspect Nick. Amy’s friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn’t true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they aren’t his. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. So what did really did happen to Nick’s beautiful wife? And what was left in that half-wrapped box left so casually on their marital bed? In this novel, marriage truly is the art of war…
My take: 3 looks
Originally reviewed November 16, 2013
Amy is gone. Just disappeared, and Nick doesn’t seem to mind. Truth is, Amy was a little hard to live with. I totally understand this, especially when Amy gives her definition of “The Cool Girl”.
Side note: the description of “The Cool Girl” alone is worth reading this book. It’s brilliant. It’s true. And did I mention that it’s freaking brilliant?
Every woman enters a relationship as “the cool girl”, only to tire of the role and resume her normal self, persona and personality eventually. That’s when the husband doesn’t understand what happened to his wife. Sadly, the “uncool girl” was always his wife, just pretending.
What is what happens here. There is a lot of back story on Amy, her parents and a series of books they wrote. There is a little back story on Nick, but much of his story revolves around a weird relationship with his twin sister.
The format of the book is very interesting. Told by both Nick and Amy, alternately, and in various points of time surrounding Amy’s disappearance, it is not until toward the end of the book that you get a full picture of what is happening.
The end is a good one, but at the same time leaves you a little, “what just happened?” I really enjoyed it, and recommend it.
Recommended.
