Gone Girl Gillian Flynn Audiobook Review

Gone Girl Gillian Flynn Audiobook ReviewGone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Narrator: Julia Whelan, Kirby Heyborne
Length: 19 Hours 11 Minutes
Published by Crown/Archetype on June 5th 2012
Genres: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, General, Thrillers, Suspense
Pages: 432
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
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five-stars

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLEROn a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? 

You know how some books are so totally out of your comfort zone and genre, but they still kind of call to you anyways? Friends, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn called to me. It first really came on my NEED TO READ THIS NOW radar when Books Are My BFs read it and then went on a Flynn binge. THEN Tara at The Fiction Folio mentioned it in her shifting priorities post. And in my head I was all, hey if Tara wants to read outside of YA because of this book, then holy mother I need to read it now. Of course, I went for the audiobook version because it’s really hard for me to fit adult books into my schedule unless they are romance or on audio.

Friends, I am pretty sure the audiobook of Gone Girl was a total mind warp. Oh my god. Like, that was my reaction the entire time listening to it, just a big long drawn out Janice from Friends sort of OH MY GOD. Okay, so I’m not married and usually I lament that fact, but this book, Gone Girl made me kind of glad that I am not married because OH MY GOD. Okay, so we start out the book on the morning of Amy Elliot-Dunne and Nick Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Things are going pretty normal until Nick comes home, sees the cat outside and the door open. Amy is missing. THEN Nick becomes the prime suspect in her disappearance. Did he kill her?

Gone Girl alternates chapters between Nick and Amy’s point of view. As a reader, I kind of felt like I needed to take sides. When we first meet Amy, in her opening diary chapters, she is a perky, cool girl head over heels in love with Nick. She seems pretty fabulous. Like, Nick and Amy used to live in NYC, but then they lose their writer jobs and relocate to Missouri where Nick grew up and you’d think Amy resents it but she seems to be trying her best. Anyways, throughout MOST of the book, I was rooting for Amy. I was all you go girl, you get that SOB. YOU GET HIM GIRLLLL.

But then we get Nick’s chapters! And friends I kind of felt bad for him, to the point where I wasn’t sure which team I was on. I ALSO had no idea in the beginning if he killed Amy or not, probably because I am super dense. But okay, I also felt like for some of it, he deserved what he got because he crosses a line. Yet, when we are in his chapters, it’s hard to know what to feel for him because he’s an unreliable narrator so you can’t exactly trust everything coming out of his mouth and my brain was all I HURT WHERE IS MY MORAL COMPASS throughout the whole book, in a good way.

Look, if you are scared of taking a break from YA because of the pacing of adult books, don’t be. Maybe take a break with Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. The audiobook is a tad long, but I listened to it in fewer days than I do with ten hour audiobooks. I was such a nerd you guys. I actually would walk with this audio out to the mailbox playing on my phone, and usually I just shut the audiobook off in public. But, I was SO drawn into the story and I needed to know what would happen next. AND I was gasping SOOOO much that it felt like I was doing some sort of breathing exercise.

I cannot recommend the audiobook of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn enough. It has dual narrators – Julia Whelan reads the Amy chapters and Kirby Heyborne reads the Nick chapters.  This is one of the few audiobooks where I can say the narrators are the characters. I cannot imagine two better people to narrate Amy and Nick. Their voicing was just spot on, and also, pleasing to my ears, like I legit never set this audiobook aside. I even listened to it before going to sleep instead of reading a physical book and I NEVER ever do that.  Gone  Girl is 19 hours and 11 minutes long, but it definitely doesn’t feel that long. Kudos Random House Audio for a job that is TOTALLY well done.

Disclosure: Purchased with Audible credit.

Other reviews of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn:

Books Are My Boyfriends – “gets ALL THE TONGUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Novel Sounds – “is what Kanye West means when he says, “that shit cray.””

The Reading Date – “I had a hard time putting it down

five-stars
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April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.
About April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

Comments

  1. I am dying to read this! I just read her first book, Sharp Objects, and it definitely messed with my head….but this one sounds so much different! Ahhhhh, I will be reading it soon, I’m sure.

  2. I’m a huge fan of audiobooks (especially when the readers totally ROCK it) and this book has been on my TBR list for quite some time now. Since I have a crappy commute, I’m always down for a good audio version to pop on in the car. I’m totally down for the double-reader thing (glad they pulled it off) so thanks to your super awesome recommendation, I think I’m going to have to pick this one up!

  3. I loved this book, and I love that there’s dual narration — I bet that was really good. I can’t listen to books before I go to bed — I fall asleep (it’s hard enough to read a physical book!) Great review. You made me want to listen to it now.

  4. This is the adult book of the moment, isn’t it? So many people are raving about it. Adult crime is really far down the list of my favourite genres, but Gone Girl and Gillian Flynn are so buzzed about right now, I will have to read this to see what the fuss is about. It sounds like this is one of the times when the fuss is warranted. Cool review; makes me excited to try this!

  5. I’m definitely extremely intrigued by this book! I think the premise is quite interesting, and I’m certain that it would keep my on my toes if I started reading it.

  6. I am curious about the audiobook now! I wonder if the voices would match the ones I imagined? I was totally with you on Amy and Nick. I couldn’t decide how I felt about them!! A moral compass is hard with this book, for real.

    P.S. Thanks for linking me! 😀

  7. I have seen the book around but never caught my attention – the cover is a bit drab, I think – but you made it sound so good. I’ll try to find the audiobook.

  8. This is the first time I’ve heard of this book, but it sounds like I have to read it. Adding it to the tbr.

  9. This book totally consumed me while I was reading it! I loved it.

  10. It’s calling to me too. I want to read it soooo bad. I have a hold on it at overdrive/the library, but I’m #78 or something. =/ I really need to get an audible account. Anyway, I really can’t wait to read it!

  11. Oh, I wish I listened to the audio version! The book was so addictive but the audio sounds amazing. Julia Whelan is one of my favorites. And yes, talk about unreliable narrators – I was so confused with who to believe in this book! It kept getting crazier and crazier. I’m so curious to check out Flynn’s other books. Thanks for linking to my review btw 🙂 Fab review, April!

  12. Wow, clearly I need to read this as well! Are you trying to make my TBR burst, because it’s working! 😉 I’m not one for audiobooks because I just…don’t like them I guess. I think I’ll give this one a try though because they’re so convenient and the narrators make all the difference in the world.

    I’ve heard so many mixed things about Gone Girl, so I was never sure whether to pick it up or not. It sounds very eerie, creepy, and terrifying all at the same time while being incredibly alluring, so I’m curious enough to add this to my TBR Shelf and pick it up soon. I can’t wait to see what the final outcome is…did he kill her? O.o.

  13. I’m a relatively new audiobook fan, and lately I’ve been getting through my #nerdPrintz challenge by listening to those books, but after this review I *might* need to listen to this book. I’ve been reading lots of rave reviews already, but like you I have a difficult time breaking away from YA. Thanks for writing such an enthusiastic review!

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