The Plot
Author: Jean Hanff Korelitz
Published by: Faber
Pages: 322
Format: Paperback
My Rating ★★★★
Published by: Faber
Pages: 322
Format: Paperback
My Rating ★★★★
When a young writer dies before completing his first novel, his teacher, Jake (himself a failed novelist), helps himself to its plot. The resulting book is a phenomenal success, but Jake worries: what if somebody out there knows?
Somebody does. And if Jake can’t figure out who he’s dealing with, he risks something far worse than the loss of his career.
My thoughts:
The Plot is a very clever book about the world of writing and whether stealing a plot really constitutes plagiarism. It is a darkly witty and extremely compelling novel.
Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he's teaching in an MFA program and struggling to maintain what's left of his self-respect. He hasn't written - let alone published - anything decent in years. Most of his pupils come to him with ideas that are neither new or noteworthy. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces that 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 a typical amateur arrogance. But then... he hears the plot.
Even the weary Jake is impressed by this unique idea. When he later learns that Parker has died, apparently without committing his plot to print, he steals his former pupil’s story, turning it into a novel named Crib.
The story is wonderfully written, and the dark murder mystery elements kept me transfixed. Though it initially took some time to build, it was certainly worth the wait. Once the story took off, I couldn't stop reading to see what was going to happen next. And as the book comes to its conclusion, readers are thrown another curveball, and even though I partly guessed the ending, the reveal is so well-executed that it remains deeply satisfying.
I especially really enjoyed reading from Jacob's point of view. Whilst he wasn’t necessarily the most likeable person, I still found him to be engaging and interesting, and I love reading books about writers.
The Plot also includes some fascinating chapters from the actual book Jacob was writing so we get to see the plot unravel ourselves, and it's a great story within a story. The format felt highly original and unlike anything I’ve read before. I enjoyed this literary psychological thriller very much, and the constant suspense kept me on the edge of my seat for much of the book. Even without the various Ripley references, The Plot has all the exciting twists and mounting dread of a Patricia Highsmith novel.
The Plot is a propulsive read full of sly bookish references, about a story too good not to steal, and the writer who steals it.
Overall reaction:
The Plot is a very clever book about the world of writing and whether stealing a plot really constitutes plagiarism. It is a darkly witty and extremely compelling novel.
Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he's teaching in an MFA program and struggling to maintain what's left of his self-respect. He hasn't written - let alone published - anything decent in years. Most of his pupils come to him with ideas that are neither new or noteworthy. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces that 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 a typical amateur arrogance. But then... he hears the plot.
Even the weary Jake is impressed by this unique idea. When he later learns that Parker has died, apparently without committing his plot to print, he steals his former pupil’s story, turning it into a novel named Crib.
The story is wonderfully written, and the dark murder mystery elements kept me transfixed. Though it initially took some time to build, it was certainly worth the wait. Once the story took off, I couldn't stop reading to see what was going to happen next. And as the book comes to its conclusion, readers are thrown another curveball, and even though I partly guessed the ending, the reveal is so well-executed that it remains deeply satisfying.
I especially really enjoyed reading from Jacob's point of view. Whilst he wasn’t necessarily the most likeable person, I still found him to be engaging and interesting, and I love reading books about writers.
The Plot also includes some fascinating chapters from the actual book Jacob was writing so we get to see the plot unravel ourselves, and it's a great story within a story. The format felt highly original and unlike anything I’ve read before. I enjoyed this literary psychological thriller very much, and the constant suspense kept me on the edge of my seat for much of the book. Even without the various Ripley references, The Plot has all the exciting twists and mounting dread of a Patricia Highsmith novel.
The Plot is a propulsive read full of sly bookish references, about a story too good not to steal, and the writer who steals it.
Overall reaction: