The GrownUp by Gillian Flynn "Doesn't Disappoint" |Book Review|

 

There is no mistaking that we love a good suspense in a gossip. Especially when gossip turns into something more sinister. Have you come across anything like it? Like your reserved-icy neighbor who has the perfect life, sneaking in, one night, in odd late hour, or you see across the street, a house, where an orange luminous light flickering in broad daylight, never shuts off? I know I am getting way too ahead of myself but don’t blame me, Gillian Flynn’s The Grown Up makes you think otherwise.

Title: The Grownup 

Genre: Short story/Suspense

Author: Gillian Flynn

Publication Date: December 23, 2015

Publisher: W&N

Where can you order? Click here

The 2005 debut centers around an unnamed narrator whose life is cracking with giving hand jobs and her love for horror books, creates a pathway for her to appear smart and edgy like the rest with a degree, since her dystopian childhood ceased her to move away from studies, but not from her astute and wealthy patrons like the dialogue quotes in the book (which I found interesting), 

"I have lots of stamina and no pride." 

Our narrator is ambitious and wishes to do much more in life. Rather than masking her salacious job title to the world, she wants to be an entrepreneur – by swindling her way. All thanks to Viveca, a clairvoyant, who helps her see the opportunity. One day, a wealthy and dejected Susan Burks arrives with a troubled problem at the dingy place, where our narrator has to think quickly in raking bucks out of her. The conversation between the two doesn’t go as planned but our cunning narrator finds her way into her home – a gloomy Victorian haunted-looking mansion welcoming her with open arms and a sinister smile of a teenager, who awaits in upending her life: 

"I watched the house. It watched me back through long, baleful windows so tall a child could stand in the sill. And one was." 

This short fiction is a suspense and it’s supposed to be a horror. As you read, you may feel compelled to believe what is happening in the first few chapters. But as the story progresses, it changes your belief in a jiffy. Gillian Flynn has written it so well that she may deceive you throughout the pages. I was engrossed in the twisted tale and didn’t see what our narrator hoped would happen. As you read, it sticks with you and makes you think what could happen. This novel could be your perfect companion when you are stuck inside a musty metro, waiting for your train (don’t be too engrossed to miss it!), a rainy day when you aren’t happy, or on the day you want to relax in your precious hours before Monday arrives. What more, this novel is actually a great start to fall in love with reading again (I am talking about my fellow readers who are hibernating)

The writing is clear and precise which would make your imagination running. The author doesn’t bore you with unnecessary details. Gillian Flynn has given the plot that the book needs and the twists that may leave you in cliff-hanger. You could in fact finish this novel in an hour or two. But I guarantee you, you won’t be disappointed. If you ask me to count by five stars, I will rate this piece a four.

I stumbled on this novel on Amazon. I didn’t know Gillian Flynn had written something surprising, way before her hit novel, The Gone Girl. Not too late, but if you haven’t read it yet, make sure you check it out and get your copy now!

Priyanka Patra is a self-published writer of 'Upon Me'. She lives in Odisha with her family in a small town. She has done her Marketing & HR from Birla Global University in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. She is aiming to write more books, especially in fiction genre.