Hailed as breathtakingly suspenseful, Jean Hanff Korelitz's The Plot is a propulsive read about a story too good not to steal, and the writer who steals it.
Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he's teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what's left of his self-respect; he hasn't written--let alone published--anything decent in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn't need Jake's help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as typical amateur narcissism. But then . . . he hears the plot.
Jake returns to the downward trajectory of his own career and braces himself for the supernova publication of Evan Parker's first novel: but it never comes. When he discovers that his former student has died, presumably without ever completing his book, Jake does what any self-respecting writer would do with a story like that--a story that absolutely needs to be told.
In a few short years, all of Evan Parker's predictions have come true, but Jake is the author enjoying the wave. He is wealthy, famous, praised and read all over the world. But at the height of his glorious new life, an e-mail arrives, the first salvo in a terrifying, anonymous campaign: You are a thief, it says.
As Jake struggles to understand his antagonist and hide the truth from his readers and his publishers, he begins to learn more about his late student, and what he discovers both amazes and terrifies him. Who was Evan Parker, and how did he get the idea for his "sure thing" of a novel? What is the real story behind the plot, and who stole it from whom?
Review
Received an ARC from the publisher.
After finishing a two-year MFA writing program, Jake publishes his first novel The Invention of Wonder. But after many years and 4 different book manuscripts, every publisher he approaches refused to publish his books. He worked at a writing program and while teaching a class he stumbles across a student who just happens to have a plot that no one can mess up, it is an instant bestseller even if the person who wrote it had no talent. It kills Jake that this person has come up with this book after he has spent so many years trying. Then as time passed and this MFA program is no longer around Jake still things about that student and his plot. This is when Jake realizes the student died shortly after he was his teacher, without ever publishing this book. What a perfect opportunity and Jake does not let it pass. Jake writes his own story using this plot and just like predicted it becomes an instant hit. He is going to book tours interviewing with many tv stations, is on Oprah’s book club, and has a movie in the works. Then he begins to receive incriminating messages that contain his worse fear. Someone knows his secret.
The only thing I did not like was that it is sometimes hard to follow the wording, and I got lost because the story often interrupts sentences with side points before finishing the sentence. At some points I found myself forgetting how the sentence started and having to go back to figure out how the end of the sentence connected. So, the sentences are long-winded. In the beginning, it was a problem for me but as I got into the book, I no longer noticed it, so I think I got used to the writing style.
There were many things that made me get completely lost in the story. One is how realistic it all played out and the way Jake thought. It was so realistic I almost kind of feels like a lot of the character concerns and worries about writing and publishing a book come from the author's own fears or at least the fears most authors have. Like how Jake mentions he sent out manuscripts and hadn’t got one single review. Little things like this throughout the book made it so realistic that I could relate to the thinking and worries that Jake has. People who read a lot will enjoy the little things only people who read a lot will get like how when you say to people, “I have counted and I have read (a certain number of books)” What you really mean is that Goodreads told you the number of books you have read
In the book the plot that Jake stole is always being explained as being one that anyone could write because it is just so good, well this is half true with this book. The plot and the twist at the end were so epic I completely agree this will be a total hit, but I am not sure if anyone could write it because this author set the bar high. The way it played out had me strung along for the ride and man that ending had me gasp and think how clever. I read a lot of suspense and psychological thrillers so I don’t get surprised very much, but this has to be one of my favorite reveals and endings in all the books I have read.
I also think this is going to be a compelling read because we are hearing the story from the bad guy’s perspective. We know he has done something bad by stealing the plot of this story. So we want to like him but also hate him for doing it, so yeah this is definitely going to make this story interesting.
As the book continues, we spend the story watching as Jake travels and meets with anyone having anything to do with his former student, trying to find the person who is getting ready to ruin his life. At parts, it went a little slow, but it allowed for many different possible people to be the person who is emailing Jake. Then we not only get to hear from possible suspects but also get to learn about the sketchy history of Evan Parker's past and the deaths in the family. Let me just say there is more than just a plot to be revealed in this book.
Another thing I loved so much about this book was that we actually got to read parts of the book in this book. So, it was a book within a book, if you can get your mind wrapped around this wonderful insanity. There wasn’t a lot of the story in this book but just enough for us to understand what is happening in the book Jake wrote, so we get to skip the boring parts and jump to the exciting parts.
There is a lot of things I could say about this book, but I am so glad I got the chance to read this book, one of my favorites.