:INFO
The Twist You Already Know and Why It Does Not Matter
Everyone knows the twist in Gone Girl by now. I reread it knowing the full structure and was surprised to find that the knowledge did not diminish the experience. Gillian Flynn's novel is not great because of the reveal. It is great because of Amy's voice, which is one of the most controlled and terrifying first-person perspectives in thriller fiction. The second reading confirmed what the first read had only suggested: this is a novel about performance and it repays a reader who knows what is being performed.


:COUNTER.half
422 Pages
|
:COUNTER.half
8 Years Between Reads

:QUOTE [quotetype:plain, subtitle:Gillian Flynn]
I am a good wife. I am not necessarily a good person.


:JOURNEY
Rereading Gone Girl
5 Revelation
4 Funnier unreliable
5 Aged precisely
5 Best in genre

:CHECKLIST
What Knowing the Twist Does and Does Not Ruin
[x] The tension of the second reading is entirely different and arguably better
[x] Amy's diary gains a layer of dramatic irony that the first read cannot have
[ ] The mid-book reveal section still has genuine power on reread
[ ] Nick's chapters require rereading with full knowledge to appreciate what Flynn hid

:POLL
Have you reread Gone Girl after knowing the twist?
Yes and I found it even better the second time
Yes but it was less satisfying once I knew what was coming
No, I have only read it once
No, I do not reread thrillers once I know the ending