BY SERA ULUSOY (MAN/IV) sera.ulusoy@ug.bilkent.edu.tr
What are the first names that come to your mind when you’re asked about your favorite thriller writers? Be it the psychological or the mystery thriller, I have found that the majority of us associate the thriller genre mostly with male writers. This may be largely based on the fact that there are more male thriller authors out there—or let’s just say that there are more male thriller authors whose books have become more popular—or maybe it’s just that I am mostly surrounded by people who happen to know more of the male names in the genre. Still, even when I am asked about my favorite thriller writers, the first few names that pop up in my mind are Dan Brown, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Sidney Sheldon, Tom Clancy and so on—or at least that was the case until I came across the novels of Gillian Flynn, who is, I believe, not only the best living female thriller writer but also one of the best overall. And quite frankly, in my opinion—although the majority of you will protest—Flynn’s style is a lot more intriguing than Agatha Christie’s. Despite the fact that these two authors cannot really be compared, due to the difference in their eras and the subjects of their novels, I wanted to mention the name of the mighty Agatha Christie, as she is one of the most popular female thriller writers of all time.
Every once in a while I enter this slightly dull and rather depressed phase in which the books I read somehow don’t satisfy me or make me feel intrigued enough even to finish reading to the end—I do finish them, though, either out of respect or out of the feeling that I might have missed the very thing that makes the novel interesting in the minds of others. Still, when I hit this phase, I feel miserable for not enjoying books enough, and my reading rate decreases a bit as I dread reaching the end. Occasionally, what gets me out of that stage is rereading a classic I have enjoyed very much, such as “The Great Gatsby,” or reading an enticing newer book for the first time. Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl” falls into the latter category; it was that “enticing new book” that got me out of one of those dull stages. I was once told that the greatness of a writer is hinted at in the very beginning of a book; you can tell whether or not the author is great by reading just the first paragraph or even the first line. While this does not apply to every novel, as I’ve read quite a few books that began with a brilliant line but did not have a very sophisticated ending, I believe it is one of the things that makes Flynn’s style superior. She knows how to get the audience hooked from that very first page and makes you wonder how the story is going to end. Having read all three of her novels, including “Sharp Objects” and “Dark Places” (which is currently being produced as a movie, the lead being Charlize Theron—an odd choice considering the physical attributes of the main character of “Dark Places”), and having read a couple of articles about her and interviews with her, I feel it’s hard not to admire her writing skills. She is quite “ritualistic,” as the majority of writers are during the writing process. While writing “Gone Girl,” she pretty much locked herself in the basement, almost never leaving until she felt convinced that the characters were depicted fairly and justly, and that none of them was favored in any way—except for maybe the incredibly irritating Ellen Abbott (though even she was justified in certain ways). However, I must add that despite this, Flynn is sometimes criticized for being a misogynist. And—again, as the majority of great writers do—she gives a piece of herself, her life, to the characters, regardless of how dark or moody they are. In her first published novel, “Sharp Objects,” the main character Camille had so much in common with her that it got me wondering whether some of the events in the novel had actually occurred. Camille was from a town in Missouri, and Flynn is from Kansas City, Missouri; Camille was trying to make it as a crime reporter in Chicago, though she felt she didn’t have the stomach for it, while Flynn realized that she was too “wimpy,” in her own words, to become a crime reporter after having studied journalism in Chicago.
Now why have I chosen this week in particular to talk about Gillian Flynn? Aside from how her brilliant style and considerable success have inspired and encouraged many (including me) to pursue their dreams to continue writing—and maybe one day get published—“Gone Girl,” Flynn’s best-selling novel, has just been released as a movie with the likes of Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike and Tyler Perry cast in the leading roles. I had been waiting for the movie to come out for quite some time, and I was so enthusiastic about the novel being turned into a movie that I even lashed out at people who criticized the casting of Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne, not because of how much I like Affleck as an actor but rather because I really didn’t want people to take this excitement away from me by bashing the lead actors.
My advice is that despite how great the movie is, you should read the novel—preferably before you see the movie, as you should experience the feelings that Flynn elicits in her readers. It’ll enable you to further comprehend each and every character, and even relate yourself to one of them, as you will get a better sense of their backgrounds, and Nick Dunne, as the underachieving, cheating protagonist of the novel, will seem more likeable. Plus, you’ll get the chance to see how thorough and successful Flynn is when describing each character’s psychology before, during and after the “events” that occur throughout the novel.
And if you are not keen on reading, have yourself a treat and go see the movie this week!