Nick Dunn is a laid off writer, who moves back to his home town in Missouri from New York City partially to take care of ailing parents, and opens a bar with his twin sister. Amy is his wife, who has lived in NYC all her life, so moving to Missouri is quite a cultural shock. She comes from a comfortably wealthy family, who made their money on Amazing Amy books, based on her. The story starts out on the day Amy disappears from her house, and it doesn't look good. Half of the story is told by Nick during these days after her disappearance, with thoughts of their past together. The other half is told by entries from Amy's diary that tell the story from her point of view, and give details from their courtship, life in NYC, losing jobs, moving to MO. Wonder if the cops ever find these diaries.
The book does give an intense inside look into a crumbling relationship. How two people coming from different backgrounds can fall in love, and the relationship really works for a while, but then through those differences and miscommunication, it starts falling apart. I can't say I became fond of either character, especially the more I learned about them. Some of my favorite parts were when the author described the culture clashes Amy experienced in Missouri. She was amazed that parking was for free. (Having grown up just outside NYC, I get it.) And the scene where she recycles all the plastic containers that people brought food in to their housewarming party and expected to get the containers back. Or the concept that people buy in bulk, because they have room to store stuff.
I am trying to figure out why this book felt so uncomfortable as I don't mind suspense in other books. There are uncomfortable moments in many books for me, but then something happens and it is over and I can enjoy the rest. In this book I started feeling uncomfortable early on and the feeling never left. As soon as we learn Amy has gone missing, we know something bad has happened to her. And her husband Nick reacts in ways that don't look good for him, so as the reader I started suspecting him as having killed his wife pretty early on. So it was very uncomfortable to spend lots of time with him, even if he didn't do it in the end. (I will have to find out, I guess.) And then to hear Amy's view of her life as she moves towards her own disastrous end. (And if she comes out fine in the end, good for her.) My personal prejudice is against people who don't do anything. And I did not see Amy doing much besides being a housewife. In very few cases do I think being a housewife is enough - back when one had to provide most of the food for the family and possibly clothes, and in modern times if you have a extraordinarily busy husband, whose life needs to be managed. Being a mother - yes that can be a full time job, but if you are just a housewife, you could be doing charity work or delve into hobbies - artistic or otherwise. I did not see Amy doing much after she lost her part-time job. In Missouri she helped Nick's ailing mother, but again, I did not see her finding things to do for herself. In today's online interconnected world, you can live anywhere and still participate in a rich cultural, even social life. Sorry for the rant.
OK, so I briefly went looking online for what happened in the end, and though I did not get a clear answer, there will be more twists and turns in the book. I do not mind suspenseful spy thrillers and sometimes mysteries, but I will not see movies like Fatal Attraction (which this book was compared to) or Silence of the Lambs. I can see others really enjoying the book, it was just not for me.
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