Dark Places

So after the disappointment from Maze Runner Trilogy, I needed a treat and that's exactly what I got from Gillian Flynn, yet again. So far I've read Gone Girl. This is my second book by Gillian Flynn. I'm not going to reiterate the entire story, because it's too complex for me to do so. I will just discuss how I feel about the plot, which parts I loved and which parts I didn't. Lets get straight to it.

I'll start with what I didn't like, or to be more precise, what I didn't find to be quite logical. It was the Kill Club. I mean, is there such a thing? Well, the way she put it, it sounded like it was legit. However, it just seems weird to exist in real life. It may not exist in my country, but maybe Kill Clubs exist over there, I don't know - but the whole idea of random people becoming obsessed about murders not relating to them didn't quite fit. It's not like they were ex-cops or lawyers that wanted to make use of their skills after being thrown out from their jobs. They were just really random people. However, this story needed a premise to start the plot - to get the ball rolling for Libby Day (the youngest daughter that survived). 

Basically, Patty, Michelle and Debby were murdered (Libby's Family), and Libby testified that her brother Ben did it, although she did not see him do it - at a very young age (7 years old). Besides the Kill Club, I loved everything else about this novel. Gillian Flynn is very true to herself. She digs deep into the human psyche and tells the truth that hurts. Sometimes, we are all capable of scary things. Flynn portrayed each role in the novel very well, each of the characters exposing the raw nature of human beings at a certain age. 

Patty Day, a mother trying her best to feed four children while having a husband that really isn't there, full on loans, and an alcoholic. Not forgetting that he isn't paying for child support. She has good support from her sister Diane though. However, her decision to kill herself to allow her family to get the money from her life insurance - I must say is a terrible decision as a mother. It's almost as if she wanted to escape the entire tragedy happening to her family, while looking at the brightest side of her decision. It was downright stupid. That decision was good for the plot, as it carved a smile on my face - a smile of utter shock and excitement at the same time, but analyzing it from a maternal angle, even if it did work out the way she wanted it to work out, it wasn't the best thing she could come up with. 

Ben Day, the son - the one accused of all the murders. Well, this is the saddest part of the story. I think all teenagers or youths try so hard to blend in the crowd, they'd do anything for it. Come to thing of it, I doubt "trying to blend in" stops at the teen age. I think it goes on as adults, its just that we portray it differently. Ben Day tried so hard to get the approval of Diondra, his girlfriend. He made her pregnant. Diondra is the ultimate manipulator of the entire plot. Along the book, I thought the child was going to be Trey Teepanos' in the end, and Diondra was just manipulating Ben for money. Turns out the child was really Ben's. Trey was just collateral damage of the tragedy. They were so high on DevilRush (a recreational drug) when they were killing bulls. They started mumbling Satanic worships and called that devil worshiping. I guess, Ben was still very high from the drug, allowing him to remain calm when Diondra was choking his sister Michelle to death (Michelle found out about the prenancy and wanted to tell her mother about it). 

Even after he found out Michelle was dead, he was so calm. When he saw his mother and the other sister, Debby dead, he wanted to vomit, but he was able to pull himself together and leave the scene only thinking of how he and Diondra would start a new life together. This part, I don't know whether to call him a coward just like how Diondra does, or to call him tough for being able to carry on his life. Diondra always made him feel less of a man, always laughing at him with Trey, manipulating him into doing things for her, and finally making him feel guilty that he made her pregnant. All these things work on a person's mind, and eventually - people like this snap, and they change into an entirely different person. Until Libby unfolded the story, he stayed true to Diondra, not saying a word about her participation in the murders of his family. He stayed in jail for her and also his daugter for twenty five long years. I guess true love makes you a loser.

Flynn also shows that some people are able to live with guilt, even if it is for a very very long time. Diondra represents this. People of no sense of responsibility would be the father - Runner Day. Crystal, Ben's daughter was instinctively able to pick up an iron to smack Libby with it. I guess the kill gene is inheritable. Also, on the other side of the spectrum, Flynn shows how one can get trapped in oblivion and their soul paralyzed by tragedy within family. That would be represented best by Libby herself. She spent years and years trying to get back up, only to spiral all the way back down, digging into the dark recesses of her mind, all for the sake of money. She does not have the courage to live, neither does she have the courage to die, although mentally planning to kill herself is somewhat of a hobby. In fact I do that sometimes. It really does help you get through a tough day. 

Lastly, the focus goes to Krissi. I guess what Flynn is trying to say here is, what big damage a small lie can cause. The ripple effect. Also, the focus is on how psychologists/psychiatrists do their job. Its almost like they want the children to say what they want to hear. Leading questions or statements. As a medical student, we are trained over and over to not lead patients with directional questions or statements. When you feed children with leading statements, they are just probably going to agree with you, even if the lie grows out of proportion. When they realize things are getting out of hand, it's already too late. None of the murders would have happened if it wasn't for that one lie from Krissi - that Ben had molested her. Well, it was just a school girl trying to cover her tracks. She got caught doing funny stuff with Ben (actually with her consent), but when her mother questioned her differently, the answer came out differently too. "Did Ben touch you wrong", coupled with "it's okay you can trust me" making the child overly secure to the level of telling a lie because her mother seemed disappointed that she did not hear what she wanted her daughter to blurt out. In trying to please her mother, Krissi blurted out that Ben touched her weirdly. Everyone who did not die, suffered tragically from the lies in this novel.

1. Kirssi - Her Mom never forgave her and left the family. Krissi became a stripper.
2. Runner Day - Spent his last days in a grasshopper bait site loaded with arsenic and having liver cirrhosis from his alcoholism.
3. Ben Day - In prison for 25 years.
4. Diane - Lost a sister, and her nieces. Spent part of her life taking care of Libby and getting only hurt in return by Libby's rebellious behavior.
5. Libby - basically lost all hope in life, being the lone survivor.
6. Diondra - was good for 25 years, but now in prison and separated from her daughter, Crystal.
7. Trey - Had to move away and work in some Feed and Farm supply.

Moral of the story - don't lie, don't do drugs, don't get together with girls elder than you, don't get them pregnant on top of that, don't worship Satan, don't kill cows, don't get loans, don't kill yourself hoping your family will benefit from your life insurance. Hahahaha! I really enjoyed this book. It was really really fun. I will read her other book as well, Sharp Objects, but not just yet - because all Flynn's books are very dark, and I don't want too much of it at one go haha! Till next time! :)