"There are two sides to every story..."

Discuss the October 2014 book of the month, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.
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steffielara95
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Re: "There are two sides to every story..."

Post by steffielara95 »

I think saying there are 'two sides to every story' is unnecessarily reductive. The point seems more that there are palimpests of perceptions of every story, in the mind of everyone involved and everyone observing. It isn't just that 'Nick's story is true' while 'Amy is lying', but there are elements of truth, self-deception, deliberate deception of others and misperception in both their stories. For me, that's what made the book so skillfully constructed and so difficult to predict.
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Damis Seres Rodriguez
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Post by Damis Seres Rodriguez »

I believe the tag suits beautifully to such a twisted story. Because indeed, there are two sides, two versions of everything. But on average, people tend to believe it means that there's a good and a bad side, a right and a wrong, the truth and the lie; and in my opinion there's nothing further from reality. This book shows, with great detail, that sometimes, neither of those sides are blameless, and that, in a few cases, is not about to pick the right from the wrong, but the twisted from the more twisted.
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Post by Barbara Larkin »

There are going to be multiple sides to every story, depending on how many people were involved. Their views and how they see themselves in any given situation will ultimately colour how they look back on an event. There were sides to the story, then there was the truth, which seemed anathema to both the protagonists. It's also prudent to point out that the truth is technically just popular belief.
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Rayah Raouf
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Post by Rayah Raouf »

There are always two sides to the story. People always tell a story from their point of view. They either exaggerate or add unnecessary details. In this case, it worked amazingly. I loved it.
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
Jasleen Chadha
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Post by Jasleen Chadha »

Not really. Well, I believe there are three sides to a story: his, her and the truth. Which in this book proves to be true because we never truly know why a person does what he does and we can't judge him for that.
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t_mann23
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Post by t_mann23 »

The tag definitely fits this book. Nick and Amy's stories are so interesting and it's hard to tell which one is closer to the truth. Either way, both sides are so captivating.
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Post by Linda S 1 »

I agree that there are two sides to this story. In the first half I was extremely angry with Nick's character but in the second half things took a complete turn.
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Chinazo Anozie
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Post by Chinazo Anozie »

Scott wrote: 26 Dec 2015, 19:58 At least some copies of Gone Girl have the tag line "There are two sides to every story..."

Do you agree?

Do you think the tag line fits the book?

I agree that there are at least two sides to every story. I think the tag line fits the book beautifully.

Do you know of any other books that reflect the concept of there being two side to every story? Do you know of any great excerpts or quotes about the concept? It's a common proverb but I'm not sure of the actual source if there is one.

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I think it's more apt to say there are actually three sides to every story. The first two are the subjective view of the parties involved and the third is the truth, the objective view.
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Preye I
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Post by Preye I »

I was so young when I first the book that I actually didn't understand completely what was going on. As I grew up I re read and it made me question so much. I find it difficult to explain this book but I think that tag line does it perfectly. There are always two sides to each story and I am glad that I could read both sides.
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Ben Madeley
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Post by Ben Madeley »

It is suitable for the book but it's a bit too much of a generic story. We all know there are different sides to every story.
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