Review: Gone Girl (by Gillian Flynn)

My Rating: 3.5 stars

I’ll just say it right off the bat:  my thoughts about this book are of the “outlier” variety so if that’s going to be a problem, my suggestion would be to stop reading this review right here.

Okay, for those still with me, here it goes…. 

First off, I decided to finally pick this book up not because I really wanted to read it, but rather, to satisfy my curiosity. Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl came out back in 2012 and in the 14 years since then, I’ve heard it referred to over and over again, in various contexts, year after year, pretty much endlessly:  this is the book that started the psychological suspense craze, the book that made the whole “twist” phenomenon a household name, the book that made having the word “girl” in the title a surefire hit, the book that single-handedly launched the “cool girl” trend, etc. etc.  Having read my fair share of psychological thrillers / suspense novels over the years (novels which, supposedly, all owe a debt to Gone Girl in some way, shape, or form if they were published after 2012 – at least that’s what I was made to believe), I wanted to finally read this “mother of psychological suspense novels” to, yes, see what all the hype was about.

From a craft standpoint – plot, character, structure, pacing, etc.—this book is indeed brilliantly written (which, I have to make clear, is very different from being “well”-written).  I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say that this book, the way it is written, can be considered a masterclass on how to write compelling, page-turning psychological suspense, especially in the way that Flynn goes deep into the twisted minds of two truly deranged individuals and picks apart, in detail, what spurs their every thought, feeling, and action. Sure, we may not agree with the way these characters behave throughout the story (though that’s putting it mildly – I was actually disgusted by both main characters for the entire read), but we do come to an understanding of WHY they behave that way.  To be honest, it wasn’t hard to tell from the get go that Nick and Amy were not good people and their toxic relationship was a train wreck waiting to happen – yet by the same token, it was also hard to look away when, ultimately, the train slammed into the wall and created a grotesque mess that seemed impossible to clean up (and yes, despite how miserable I knew the experience would be, I couldn’t help reading on to see if and/or how they clean up the mess).

With all that said however, the main reason why this book didn’t work for me was because I hated EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER.  As other reviewers have pointed out, the story is dark and twisty, with so much violence, abuse, sex, gratuitous cursing, etc. – which, yes, can be a turn off, but for me, the dealbreaker was actually the characters and the horrible, despicable way they behave throughout the entire story.  The characters don’t make any attempt to change, there is no redemption arc, no comeuppance for bad behavior, no remorse or repentance, no repercussions for criminal acts – for pretty much the entirety of the 400+ pages (20+ hours on audio), these characters remain both pretentiously narcissistic and overwhelmingly self-absorbed, to the point that, throughout the entire time I was reading, I felt like there was not a single moment where any of the characters deserved even an ounce of sympathy from me. 

So basically, my overall opinion of this book is that it is very much overrated.  Now, would my opinion of this book be different if I had read this when it first came out 14 years ago?  Perhaps yes and perhaps no.  But the truth of the matter is that, over the past 14 years, I’ve read enough psychological thrillers with “twists” ranging from the jaw-dropping to the “you call that a twist?” variety that, in a way, I’ve pretty much seen it all, at least that’s what it feels like.  To this point, I found the twist in this book to be a bit anticlimactic in the sense that by the time I got to the end of part 1, I already figured out what was going to happen.

One last but very important point is that I chose to listen to this via audio, even though I had a paperback copy available on my shelf.  I’m glad I did so because the audio format proved to be the best way to take in this book.   Of course, the bonus content in the audio book version – including a special chapter written from the perspective of Amy as a child that provides insight into her upbringing and relationship with her parents – is a definite perk, but the real draw is the fantastic performance from the audiobook’s two narrators, Kirby Heyborne and (one of my personal favorites) Julia Whelan.  For me, it is precisely because of the outstanding job by both narrators that I ended up rating this 3.5 stars – if I had just read the book and didn’t listen to the audio version, I seriously would’ve rated this 2 stars or lower.

Review: A Man Called Ove (by Fredrik Backman)

My Rating:  5 stars

I know I'm super late to the party with this book, but hey, better late than never, right? Actually, A Man Called Ove has been on my TBR for years and the paperback copy had been sitting on my bookshelf for just as long. I was originally "intending" to finally read this book last year, as I had read Anxious People (my first exposure to Fredrik Backman's work) the year before and loved it.  But then one of my book clubs decided to read Beartown, so I picked up that one next, and of course, like everyone else who read that book, I fell hard for the characters (and the story) — so much so, in fact, that as soon as I turned the last page, I immediately picked up the sequel Us Against You and flew through that. Then, just when I was experiencing major  Beartown withdrawal, I miraculously scored an advance copy of The Winners (the third and final book in the trilogy) and devoured that 688 page tome in one sitting (and even though I cried through much of that book, I still loved every minute I spent reading it).  After that, I spent the last couple months of the year fighting the urge to re-read the entire trilogy all over again (mostly because I had a boatload of other books that I knew I had to get to). Anyway, I've digressed…so I decided to finally pick up A Man Called Ove because I knew the American movie remake starring Tom Hanks would be out this month and since I MIGHT go watch it (I'm still on the fence technically), I figured now would be as good a time as any to read the book.  Also, in another stroke of perfect timing, I attended the Livestream interview that Fredrik Backman did with the Center for Fiction last week where he talked about Ove as well as the movie adaptation, among other things (the entire interview was absolutely fantastic — I came out of that interview loving Backman even more than I already did, lol).  

So yes, I finally read Ove and it was as amazing as I expected it to be.  From the story to the characters, I loved every aspect of the book, which had me laughing one minute and crying the next minute.  Backman is one of those rare writers who is so adept at striking that perfect balance between sad and serious in his stories (which are my absolutely favorite type of stories to read!).  Just like with his other novels, in A Man Called Ove, Backman explores the many nuances of the human condition that are resonant and relatable — themes such as loneliness, community, society ills, prejudice, grief and loss, parenthood, friendship, etc. — and ties everything together into a masterful story that is heartwarming and poignant, sad and somber, yet also funny and ultimately hopeful, all at the same time.  

Now after having read 5 of Backman's novels (I intend to be a completist and read all of his works at some point), one of the things I've noticed about his writing is that it is always so earnest and full of heart.  After watching his most recent interview, I realize now how much of his own vulnerabilities he both knowingly and unknowingly incorporates into his stories — for example, with the character of Ove, he reflects his own awkwardness in social situations, his difficulty communicating with people, his wife being his main connection to the world and other people, etc.  The way Backman is able to be so "spot on" when writing about the various aspects of the human condition — our feelings, emotions, relationships — it imbues his stories with an honesty and sincerity that makes his works especially accessible and endearing.

It's probably obvious already that Backman is one of my favorite authors — I will pretty much read anything he writes at this point.  With that said, I haven't actually read all of his backlist works yet, but as I mentioned earlier, I very much intend to be a Backman completist, so it's just a matter of time before I get to the rest of his books.  I am absolutely looking forward to it!

Review: Wonder (by R.J. Palacio)

My Rating: 5 stars

This book has been on my TBR for quite some time already, but of course, with so many books on my list, I never got around to reading it. Recently though, my nephew's school assigned this one for all the students to read, so I figured I would read along as well. I'm so glad I did, as I ended up loving it so much! From the first page, as August Pullman narrated his experience attending middle school for the first time after being home-schooled most of his life, I couldn't help falling in love with this smart, funny, precocious kid — a kid who had to endure more than his share of grief and pain in life because of his face, yet always managed to take everything in stride. Auggie knows he is different and by now, he is used to all the stares as well as the weird looks and whispering behind his back — but even so, that in no way prepares him for what he ends up experiencing at school or the various challenges that cropped up in his interactions with his classmates. As Auggie navigated these challenges, encountering both good moments as well as bad ones, I also couldn't help rooting for him every step of the way.

While majority of the story was told from Auggie's perspective, there were also chapters told from the points of view of various people in Auggie's life, such as his sister and her boyfriend, his classmates, his sister's childhood friend, etc. This narrative structure took me by surprise, yet I loved the way it was done, as it gave so much more depth to the story and also made the characters come alive. The narrative from the perspective of Auggie's sister Via moved me the most, followed by his classmate Jack's narrative as well as the one by Justin (Via's boyfriend).

Not surprisingly, this was an emotional read from beginning to end. Auggie's journey is heart wrenching but also uplifting, and It's impossible not to be moved by his courage as well as resilience. Even though I knew throughout the time I was reading this that the story is fictional (and R.J. Palacio emphasizes this fact in her Author's Note when she talks about her inspiration for the story), it nonetheless felt so real to me that, at times, I I would forget that Auggie isn't a real person — regardless though, what he stands for and the powerful impact of his story is the most important. Despite being marketed as a novel for children, the story actually contains life lessons for all ages and absolutely deserves to be read — though of course, be ready for the roller coaster of emotions that will undoubtedly accompany this one (I cried pretty much the entire time I was reading this, so it was a good thing that I read the entire book all in one sitting).

Lastly, I know there was a movie adaptation of the book and while I'm not a fan of adaptations in general, I heard that the movie was particularly well done, so this is one I definitely intend to watch at some point.

Review: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking (by Susan Cain)

My Rating:  4 stars

I’m not a fan of writing reviews on non-fiction books, as I tend to only read these types of books on subjects that interest me (or if I’m “required” to read for work, like all those Business books for example) and find it quite difficult to “briefly” summarize my thoughts in the short expanse of a book review. This is especially true when a nonfiction book I read is not just informative, but also insightful, impactful, and causes me to think differently about certain aspects of my life. Susan Cain’s Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking definitely falls into this category!

I’ve long known that I am an Introvert, which is one of the reasons why I was attracted to this book. However, going into it, I wasn’t really expecting to gain much, as I thought that this book would be very similar to others I’ve read on the same topic, most of which were informative but not what I would deem “enlightening.” Well, this book turned out to be very different from what I expected as far as “self-help” books go. Through meticulous research, interviews, as well as her own knowledge and experience, the author presented a very thorough account of what introversion is, its roots and history, pros and cons, and how it stacks up in comparisons to extroversion. While there were definitely some parts of the book that were way too “scientific” for my tastes, which made those sections a bit of a chore to get through, the author made up for it, in my opinion, through the various stories she recounted of her interactions with real-life introverts and extroverts (ordinary people whom she either met in the process of doing research for this book or friends/acquaintances she knew from before) as well as examples from the lives of famous public personalities such as Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mahatma Gandhi, Warren Buffett, Dale Carnegie, etc. I also appreciated how the author not only shared her own struggles in the area of public speaking but also personally got involved with attending workshops and motivational events to gain firsthand experience that she incorporated into the book. Though I didn’t always agree with some of the points that the author made, I respected the fact that she was able to back up those points with arguments that were both thorough and made sense.

For me personally, as an Asian-American working in the Corporate world, I was especially able to relate to the sections where the author discussed introversion and extroversion as it pertained to the business world (more specifically, to “Corporate America”) as well as to Asian culture. I gained quite a bit of insight in areas that, coincidentally, I had been struggling with recently. Of course, I’m not saying that this book is the solution to all of the issues I’ve been challenged with (nor do I expect it to play such a role), however the insight I’ve gained from reading this book has helped me put some things in perspective, and in turn, gives me a different angle with which to approach these issues.

Overall, this was a delightful read and a highly recommended one, regardless of whether you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert. The author covers both traits in enough detail that it is actually not necessary to identify with one trait or the other in order to gain something from this book. I’m actually recommending this book for some of my colleagues to read, as I feel it is more useful in the business sector than some of the traditional business books we are usually told to read (books that I find are generally less interesting and less engaging)!

(Read in January/February 2017)