Gone Girl:Marriage Can Be a Real Killer《消失的爱人》揭示残酷婚姻

《消失的爱人》曾雄踞2012年度美国两大权威畅销书排行榜《纽约时报》、《出版人周刊》长达100余周，成为年度最热话题。作者吉莉安弗林以黑暗诙谐的笔调深刻揭穿现代男女关系，俘获全球读者的高度关注。《娱乐周刊》评价其“一眼洞察了男女两性之间的权力关系是多么不堪一击，一对对夫妻又如何难以在人生的激流中掌控自己的命运。”

Introduction of the Novel

内容简介

gone girl was one of the bestsellers of 2012，and with good reason：it is a fast paced murder mystery with plot twists and surprises to keep the reader excited.The author Gillian Flynn provides literary excellence to the writing of this suspense novel.She takes that statement to its darkest place in this masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly，terribly wrong.

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage，Missourj，it is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary.Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappeared.Passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge.Under mounting pressure from the police and the media-as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents-the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies，deceits，and inappropriate behavior.Nick is oddly evasive，and he's definitely bitter-but is he really a killer？

As the police close in，every couple in town is soon won- dering how well they know the one that they love.With his twin sister，Margo，at his side，Nick stands by his innocence.Trouble is，if Nick didn't do it，where is that beautiful wife？

Tip：《消失的爱人》是2012年美国年度畅销小说之一，故事情节神奇莫测，吊足了读者的胃口。作者吉莉安‘弗琳以犀利的笔锋打造的这部悬疑惊悚小说，堪称张力十足。小说的男女主人公尼克和艾米在别人眼中天造地设的一对金童玉女，然而在他们结婚五周年纪念日那天，艾米失踪了，而这位完美女孩的日记字字显露她可以把任何人逼向危险的边缘。在警方、媒体，还有溺爱女儿的岳父母的重重压力下，尼克，一向被视为本镇最优秀的男人却编造着一系列谎言，举止不当。虽然尼克确实痛苦，但奇怪的是他却含糊其辞，躲躲闪闪，可这就能说明他是真凶吗？当警察介入后，小镇人人自危，每对夫妻都开始重新审视自己的身边人。

What Is the Truth？

真相是什么？

Gone Girl is the altemating point-of-view，semi-epistolary novel that tells two stories about Nick and Amy.It switches viewpoints from chapter to chapter，moving from Nick in the present to Amy's old diary entries.Gradually the two stories begin to converge.The pointed finger of media-and police-blame starts to swing Nick's way，and he doesn't endear himself to his readers as a hint of misogyny enters his tone.He lies to the police：little lies that don't really matter，but why is he doing it？And there's something odd about Amy's diary too；her version of the events of their past is different from Nick's，fails to ring quite true，grates in its perfection.lt's whatmakes the novel such a spectacularly wild ride-you're never sure at any moment which one of the two narrators are telling the truth，and you will go through moments of intense hate and instant like.

Gone Girl also exposes the true extent of human inade-quacies and frailties that make marriage，or indeed any inti-mate relationship，a mammoth task.When the pressure of ex-pectation is too high，difficult questions arise，pretence comes into play，and things may begin to get out of hand.When Nick and Amy fall in love，they are the confident，handsome man and the beautiful，privileged young woman embracing in front of their Brooklyn Heights brownstone and sharing a laugh at the expense of less blissful couples.Eventually，their pic-ture-perfect union falters：Amy grows weary of the"cool girl"image she's portrayed；Nick gives rein to old impulses and easy lies.As with many marriages，friction works its way into everyday exchanges， and the glow of the honeymoon fades.But with Amy and Nick，that fracture takes a much darker turn.

Even as Gone Girl grows truly twisted and wild，it says smart things about how tenuous power relations are between men and women，and how often couples are at the mercy of forces beyond their control.Early on，Nick writes，"lt was a compromise，but Amy didn't see it that way，not in the least...I suppose it's not a compromise if only one of you considers it such，but that was what our compromises tended to look like.One of us was always angry."As the novel moves on，the depths of anger on both sides are revealed，but even as evi-dence seems to point to Nick as a murderer，his anger seems very normal.He writes，"I got secretly furious，spent ten minutes just winding myself up-because at this point of our marriage，I was so used to being angry with her，it felt almost enjoyable， like gnawing on a cuticle：You know you should stop，that it doesn't really feel as good as you think，but you can't quit grinding away."It is a feeling that most people can probably understand，and it makes one think about how de-structive every day can be.

lt's a book you'II want to discuss with others，and also one that will make you reflect on love，life and the human state of mind as you've never done before.

Tip：《消失的爱人》是一本半书信体小说，采用两人交替的视角，分别从尼克和艾米的角度讲述了两个不同的故事，并逐渐融合。当面临媒体的职责，警方的施压时，尼克的语气中隐隐透出对女性的厌烦，并对警察撒了谎。而艾米的日记也有些古怪：她对两人过去生活的描述与尼克完全不同。这也正是小说的吸引人之处：你总也搞不清究竟谁说的才是真话。同时，小说也真实地暴露出人性的不足和缺陷，揭示了维系包括婚姻在内的任何一段亲密关系都是一项艰巨的任务。当对对方的期望过高时，难以解决的问题就会随之产生，伪装和欺骗开始登场，直至一切变得失控，就像尼克和艾米这对夫妻一样。这对金童玉女相爱时彼此倾慕，然而他们看似完美的结合却逐渐起了变化。艾米早已厌倦扮演尼克眼中的“酷女孩”，而尼克也放任了自己的行为。小说用精辟的语言总结了男女之间的权力关系有多么脆弱，试图摆布对方的力量如何频繁地超过了他们的控制，直至无可自拔，从尼克写下的文字便可窥见一斑。

About the Author

关于作者

Gillian Flynn was born in Kansas City，Missouri to two community-college professors-her mother taught reading；her father，film.Thus she spent an inordinate amount of her youth nosing through books and watching movies.She earned her master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University and joined Entertainment Weekly magazine.Besides Gone Girl，both her debut novel Sharp Objects and second novel Dark Places are New York Times bestsellers.Her work has been published in 42 countries.She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.Gone Girl has been adapted to a hit film whose director is David Fincher.

Tip：吉莉安・弗琳，出生于密苏里州堪萨斯市，父母皆为大学教授，从小在书籍和电影的浸润中成长。在美国西北大学取得新闻学硕士学位，曾在娱乐周刊≯工作。目前已出版三部小说，均为纽约时报、畅销书，其作品已在42个国家出版。《消失的爱人》已被改编成同名电影，由大卫・芬奇担任导演。（相关详情见本刊2014年第12期“爱电影”Top 10 Movies That Could Be 2015 0scar Nominees）