From publication to Hollywood; The Journey of Gone Girl as a Bestseller
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn was a huge success at the time of publication and continues to receive great acknowledgments six years after its original publication date. What makes Gone Girl a success is not only the main theme of the story--crumbling marriage-- but also the style of writing. The style of narration, which jumps between the “past” and the present and between the characters’ psyches, gives people insight into the different perspectives in the story.
The story tackles themes of marriage and relationships, money, abuse, and mental health. These themes are all very relevant to American society now and can be seen in almost all popular culture television shows and books. It is also very relatable because of the push and pull between Amy and Nick’s narrations both in content and style. Readers feel for both characters and relate to the experiences of being in a long-term relationship. Amy’s narration explores women’s mindsets about having to pretend to be someone else for the sake of getting a guy to like them, while Nick’s narration allows men to relate to the lack of fulfillment they might feel. The fact that they both lost their jobs and were facing the economic recession is also another theme that appeals to the modern day American.
In a time where relationships are strained and mass media is affecting all aspects of our lives, Nick and Amy find themselves in the middle of a toxic relationship, which is ruining them, and their story makes headlines. The interference of the media in Amy’s case is a snapshot of the current state of the media. Media often shapes news according to the narrative that they wish to drive. What we can observe now in American media is the victimization of women and the immediate blame on the husband. What Flynn does is take the story of the husband that is wrongfully blamed for a crime he did not commit and explore the repercussions of that in light of the contemporary mass media.
The visual aesthetics of the novel also affects the way it sells. Gone Girl’s cover is attractive because of how mysterious it is. It makes the reader want to pick it up and look at it closer.
The cover is not very descriptive and it offers very few elements to the person looking at it. It draws in the buyer to pick it up and examine what is actually on the cover. The lines on the right may appear to be roots from a distance, but up close it is easy to identify them as hair. Hair is often used to solve mysteries and crimes because of the ability to analyze its DNA, which signifies that there might be a murder or crime involved. The cover does not give much away about the story, but it hints towards certain themes that are attractive to the readers.
All of these components that Gone Girl had led to its success as a bestseller. In addition, the novel does not conform to the typical “mystery” novel, though it is definitely a page turning mystery full of twists and reveals. The fact that it goes beyond one genre of literature attracts a larger readership audience. However, that does not mean that every book that is current, crosses genres, and is relatable will succeed. We see many great novels that do not receive the same kind of success due to many reasons such as a lack of marketing due to funding or being picked up by a lesser known publisher.
