After that novel's success, there was a noticeable upsurge in novels that shared a number of features and styles and themes. I suspect that it was something of a Pulp Fiction effect; reading it again now makes it seem almost derivative, much as Pulp Fiction now looks like a homage to itself.

Granted, this is of importance to the publishing industry and the novel reading public rather than, say, the economy or politics.

Whatever the influence of “Gone Girl” on the decade is, it certainly can’t be bigger than “50 shades of Grey” from 2011/2012.

There were like 100 major-publisher books that clearly modeled their title, if nothing else, on Gone Girl in the years after it came out. Didn't see that with 50 Shades. Both got a movie. Gone Girl seemed to have wider and more lasting cultural impact outside its immediate readership, as more than a joke or rapidly-fading reference.

For the record I haven't read either nor seen their movies, but I see the influence of Gone Girl around way more than I see 50 Shades.

That's interesting; I genuinely haven't noticed that impact. I don't read much bondage-light (or whatever genre 50 Shades was). Was there a sea change in that section of the industry? The book itself was, from what reviews I read, pretty badly written (although this review alone made it worth it! - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/340987215 ), so I guess the impact can only be mainstreaming bondage-light; is there a new thriving sector of the industry providing that to people?

I don't know what it's effect on books is but it generated a lot of interest in bdsm and normalised it some IRL. I'm too young to speak for the before times from personal experience, but in the non-fiction bdsm books I've read they've talked about finding partners or opening up about it to be scary and risky. Whereas I'm just finding normal girls through normal methods (tinder) and "I'm in to bdsm" or "I'm a dom" has been met with either enthusiasm and interest because they're in to it themselves, or simply because they're open to giving it a go and don't have anything against it. Much like if I'd said I'm really in to cowgirl or some other mundane thing like a preferred position. Not at all the experience I've read about.