Who tells the truth?
Buchtipp „Gone Girl” von Gillian Flynn
“When I think of my wife, I always think of her head. The shape of it, to begin with. The very first time I saw her, it was the back of the head I saw, and there was something lovely about it, the angles of it. Like a shiny, hard corn kernel or a riverhead fossil. She had what the Victorians would call a finely shaped head. You could imagine the skull quite easily. I’d know her head anywhere. ”
Nick is married to Amy. Both worked as journalists in New York till they lost their jobs. As also Nick’s mother became seriously ill, they decided to move back to the village where Nick had lived before, together with his twin sister and his parents. With Amy’s money which she received from her parents’ fund who wrote successful children’s books called “Amazing Amy”, Nick and his sister were able to open a bar.
Suddenly life changed: It is the day of their five years anniversary, and Amy is missing. The house is left in a terrible mess, the cat sitting in front of the door, and Amy is gone. Without any money or credit cards, without anything packed. What has happen to Amy? Nick quickly is in the focus of the police – has he killed his wife? Can Nick convince the police with his story of a loving couple, arranging affectionate riddles at each anniversary day?
The story is told by Nick, then by Amy from her diary, starting at the day where they met each other the first time. It seems like both love each other, Amy’s trying to please her husband even though in fact there are doubts and problems. Is Nick really the easy going husband Amy loves without any doubts? And is Amy really the woman who understands and supports her hubby?
But who tells the truth – is it Nick or is it Amy?
“Diary entry: His name is Nick. I love it. It makes him seem nice, and regular, which he is. When he tells me his name, I say, ‘Now, that’s a real name’. He brightens and reels off some line: ‘Nick’s the kind of guy you can drink a beer with, the kind of guy who doesn’t mind if you puke in his car. Nick!’(…) He refills my drink without me having to ask, somehow ferreting out one last cup of the good stuff. He has claimed me, placed a flag in me: I was here first, she’s mine, mine.”
“Gone Girl” is a brilliant and fascinating thriller. Each chapter of Nick’s story and Amy’s diary brings up a new dark side in the life of the couple, having its grand final at the very end.
Die deutsche Fassung “Gone Girl – Das perfekte Opfer” von Gillian Flynn ist bei Fischer Scherz im August 2013 erschienen. 592 Seiten