What are your views on Nick and his character?

Discuss the October 2014 book of the month, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.
User avatar
KatSims92
Posts: 205
Joined: 21 Jun 2018, 13:01
Currently Reading: The Beauty Myth
Bookshelf Size: 451
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-katsims92.html
Latest Review: From Drift to SHIFT by Jody B. Miller

Re: What are your views on Nick and his character?

Post by KatSims92 »

I didn't like Nick as a character either. I don't think he deserved to have a psycho murderer as a wife, but still he made some really unwise, arrogant decisions.
User avatar
AmySmiles
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 1268
Joined: 21 Mar 2018, 10:43
Favorite Author: Dana Peters
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 149
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-amysmiles.html
Latest Review: Sex Education for Adults Secrets to Amazing Sex and Happily Ever After Too by John Wilder
fav_author_id: 154082

Post by AmySmiles »

He is naive, and a push over. I don't know too many men who would let that kind of an ending happen to them like that. But that's fiction for you. :)
Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.
–Author Unknown
sush_destiny
Posts: 326
Joined: 07 Mar 2019, 16:35
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 49
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sush-destiny.html
Latest Review: Island Games by Caleb J. Boyer

Post by sush_destiny »

Hypocrite, but understandable and relatable. At least, to me.
User avatar
srividyag1
Posts: 348
Joined: 30 Jan 2019, 21:26
Currently Reading: The laws of human nature
Bookshelf Size: 108
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-srividyag1.html
Latest Review: The Hungry Heart by Brenda Gayle
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU

Post by srividyag1 »

A relationship is always tricky because you are not completely sure if the face you see outside is the face the couple sees in each other. From Nick's journals, we see his pov, but according to Amy, her pov is right. The author has beautifully portrayed this and used this to her advantage, to provide twists in the story. After all, it is open to interpretation if Nick is "good" or "bad" or somewhere in between.
- Srividya Giri
*****************************
Smile more, it's infectious.
*****************************
User avatar
leiabutler
Posts: 176
Joined: 08 Apr 2019, 16:51
Currently Reading: I Will Make of Thee a Great Nation
Bookshelf Size: 36
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-leiabutler.html
Latest Review: Britain Loves Baking - The Bakers Annual 2020 by Greg Wixted

Post by leiabutler »

I like Nick and his character, particularly because he has faults. He isn't the perfect man or husband and he appears very real.
I think he has immoral aspects of his character which I don't personally like, but overall I think he is interesting andd portrays a very realistic representation of a real man.
User avatar
dorebri2020
Posts: 256
Joined: 09 Jun 2019, 20:14
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 25
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-dorebri2020.html
Latest Review: Island Games by Caleb J. Boyer

Post by dorebri2020 »

I disliked Nick immensely. His hatred and lies made me extremely upset, and I could not find myself relating to him at all. While I felt that the story did not suffer from him as a character, as he was purposely written that way, I definitely disliked the characters if they stand alone. Outside of the characters, the many twists and drama throughout the story were very entertaining, but I found the end of the story annoying and aggravating and would change that.
"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."- J.K. Rowling. :D
Atara Miles
Posts: 212
Joined: 22 Sep 2019, 17:26
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 16
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-atara-miles.html
Latest Review: Days of the Giants by RJ Petrella

Post by Atara Miles »

I loved the story exactly how it is. Everything blended perfectly with the dark theme. Nick seemed kind of weak though. He seems to act on his desires without consideration for how it would affect others. For the most part I just pitied him. As much as he was a terrible husband, he didn't deserve to be the victim of Amy's manipulation, no matter how much she justified her actions.
User avatar
winecellarlibrary
Posts: 417
Joined: 11 Oct 2019, 16:05
Favorite Author: Juliet Marillier
Currently Reading: Yesterday
Bookshelf Size: 462
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-winecellarlibrary.html
Latest Review: The Lines Between Us by Rebecca D'Harlingue
Reading Device: B07VMB5L3C
fav_author_id: 17456

Post by winecellarlibrary »

Nick is not a great person, but he's not a bad guy either. His biggest mistake is getting so wrapped up in being laid off that he finds comfort in a young student of his. It was an incredibly selfish move. However, by that point, Amy had already shown her true self and he realized he did not marry the woman he fell in love with, as the woman he fell in love with never existed. (I find it interesting that Amy faults him for letting his true self come out, but at the same time, she punishes him for not continuing to love her true self after willfully deceiving him.)
There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!
-Emily Dickinson
User avatar
nanglada
Posts: 118
Joined: 10 Feb 2019, 17:36
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 25
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-nanglada.html
Latest Review: Zonas de quema by Jorge P. Newbery

Post by nanglada »

He is definitely a grey type of character. He did bad things, but I don't think he was a bad person.
User avatar
siusantos
Posts: 249
Joined: 05 May 2019, 06:43
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 182
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-siusantos.html
Latest Review: E M P Honeymoon by Dorothy May Mercer
Reading Device: B01FJT7N4W

Post by siusantos »

Being a womanizer is not acceptable, and I felt he is such a pushover. He doesn't know how to deal with his problems (both personal and in his marriage), so it blew up in his face.
User avatar
Damis Seres Rodriguez
Posts: 528
Joined: 17 Feb 2020, 14:34
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 46
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-damis.html
Latest Review: Cynthia and Dan by Dorothy May Mercer

Post by Damis Seres Rodriguez »

Himmelslicht wrote: 15 Dec 2014, 09:20
tlgabelman wrote:I agree with Himmelslicht, Nick was portrayed as "the usual guy." It was painful to see such a self involved male character be worked to the nth degree by his female lead. I honestly do think he had an original thought of his own. But the mastery of Amy was that she was so good at manipulation everything he did, he thought he had control over, when in fact it was always her.
That makes me think until what point does one have control over what one does. After a while, how do you know if you like noodles becauseyou like or because he/she made you like it?
Until what point do you know that you developed the habit of being tidy for yourself or because you've been pressured to do it because of your significant other?
Of course these are tiny bits of the problem in general, but in the hands of a really smart and devious person, one could become a toy.
She played him like a fool since the beginning. She wanted a human pet because she has always been Amazing Amy. And she got one, even when he started to slip away, all she had to do was to find the right leash to chain him to her. It's weird as hell but it worked.
Yes. It is quite obvious that she played with his mind, and to be fair, with the minds of everyone around her. But I doubt that he was just your average guy. And I doubt it had everything to do with her. Now, I'm not trying to blame the victim here. It is never the victim's fault. But when someone with sociopathic tendencies and such a clear Narcissistic Personality Disorder picks someone to drain them, they do because of certain qualities of their complements. Not just because. And most of the times, they are not as blind to what's going on as they seem to be. I find it hard to believe that during all those years he really NEVER saw anything that made him think she was not the sweet she claimed to be. Granted, he was under great manipulation. But there's always *something*.
I agree with you on the pet part though. She was treating him more as a lost property than a lost love. It was clear that he was nothing but a breathing object for her.
Barbara Larkin
Posts: 243
Joined: 03 Mar 2020, 22:04
Currently Reading: The Raven Boys
Bookshelf Size: 55
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-barbara-larkin.html
Latest Review: We are Voulhire: The Flesh of the Mind by Matthew Tysz

Post by Barbara Larkin »

Nick was nowhere on par with Amy's vindictiveness and was technically victimised by her. This doesn't take away from the fact that he was still unlikable. He doesn't deserve to have a psychotic manipulator for a wife, but his character was lacking.
User avatar
Dominik_G
Posts: 697
Joined: 29 Jun 2020, 14:45
Currently Reading: Secret Window
Bookshelf Size: 32
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-dominik-g.html
Latest Review: A Long Dark Rainbow by Michael Tappenden

Post by Dominik_G »

I didn't particularly like Nick, I thought he seemed quite dumb at times, but then again: who would be prepared to deal with the twisted ways of a psychopathic mind such as Amy's? I really disliked the ending, though.
User avatar
Rayah Raouf
Posts: 893
Joined: 04 Nov 2020, 14:19
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 46
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-rayah-raouf.html
Latest Review: The Heart of the World by Michael Tillotson

Post by Rayah Raouf »

He seemed foolish. At first, you feel sorry for him. But I think that he was the reason why the marriage fell apart.
Memories are dangerous things. You turn them over and over, until you know every touch and corner, but still you'll find an edge to cut you.― Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
Linda S 1
Posts: 122
Joined: 12 Jun 2021, 09:04
Favorite Book: House of Hollow
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 28
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-linda-s-1.html
Latest Review: A Portrait of Mommy by JL Coston

Post by Linda S 1 »

Nick was a bit less flawed than Amy and hence more likeable. Despite that, I still found the characters too dark and unrelatable. It made the story less impressive for me.
Post Reply

Return to “"Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn”