I like books-within-books and author main characters. And while Jake "Finch" Bonner really isn't that likable of a character - he's rather hypocritical, unprincipled and generally unsympathetic, this story remains a gripping one that I had a hard time putting down!

Jake's writing career flounders and he begins teaching a creative writing course to help pay the bills. When and arrogant and boorish student relays to him the titular storyline, Jake doesn't exactly steal it - at least not right away. Containing snippets of the novel, alongside Jake's own life and career, this is a compelling story. I must admit that I was expecting the plot's twist to be a bit more unpredictable - I had guessed it pretty early on. Though it's nice to be right, I suppose.

I also appreciated this look into the modern publishing world - plus I imagine that this title will be quite the discussion starter for its readers - and especially for those readers who are writers! I really couldn't put this one down though. It's well-written and despite the unlikable characters, I genuinely enjoyed the book and definitely want to check out more from this talented author!

Jacob (Jake) Finch Bonner is a frustrated writer. His first book enjoyed moderate success but subsequent efforts have fallen flat. Meanwhile, he teaches in a mediocre writing program and tries to revive his career. Then one of Jake’s students, arrogant and self-serving Evan Parker, reveals the plot of his unwritten novel that he thinks will catapult him to fame and fortune. Privately, Jake agrees with him and waits for it to happen. But, after a few years, when the long-awaited novel fails to materialize, Jake discovers that Parker has died and, apparently, his unfinished novel with him. At that point Jake makes a life-changing decision and uses Parker’s idea to write a novel of his own. Enough said without giving away too much.

But, wow! What a book! The Plot is a well-written story about the struggles of a writer. But The Plot is also suspenseful, unexpected, and clever. Well-crafted characters, unexpected twists, and a story-within-a-story makes The Plot difficult to put down. Even though I was able to figure out a few key points (somewhat unusual for me), I still found the story compelling and entertaining.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

This book has had a lot of hype so my expectations were pretty high. The beginning of the book moved rather slowly; but once it picked up speed, it never let up. The story brings up a lot of questions - like - is it really stealing if you just use someone else's idea if you've written everything yourself? Aren't all ideas 'out there somewhere'?

I liked how Jake's book was interspersed with what was going on in his life and it was interesting to see him try to unravel the nightmare of someone harassing him.

I have to admit, I guessed the final reveal way earlier in the book so that lost its punch for me. I hadn't guessed all the details, of course, so I enjoyed seeing everything laid out and watching the inevitable 'final chapter' for Jake.

Overall, an unusual and enjoyable mystery.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

THE PLOT by Jean Hanff Korelitz follows the once promising young writer, Jacob Finch Bonner, as he takes on a teaching position for creatives and meets Evan Parker, a proud student who claims to have written the best book ever. When Jacob later learns of his passing, he takes on his late student’s work as his own, and what follows seems oddly connected to “the plot.”

I was really excited for this book because, as a reader, I love books about books! Throw in a little mystery and I’m completely sold. However, this one didn’t fully do it for me.

Our main character, Jacob, is extremely unlikeable and, given the overall arc of the story, that didn’t help me connect with him in any way and also made it difficult for me to push through. The main twist was also very predictable and, as a book that focuses so much on plot, I expected more.

I will admit that the last several chapters were extremely fun - I just wish the build-up to them had more of an impact and didn’t feel so meandering.

Publication Date: May 11, 2021

*** special thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review ***

Posted to Goodreads and The StoryGraph: 05/17/21
Posted to Instagram (Bookstagram): 05/13/21

A clever meta idea for a book—where do you get your ideas from? I love the almost satire of the publishing industry and of writers but I felt like the “mystery” part was a little flat and frankly unneeded. That said; I did enjoy the book quite a bit.

The Plot is a slow burn that quickly takes a deep dive into an intense thriller!

Jacob Finch Bonner is an author, who although has had previous works published, hasn't had a book to take off like he had hoped. Jake is struggling to make ends meet and having a hard time trying to write the next great book, his publisher has dropped him and he is losing hope to ever becoming the great writer he aspired to be. Well, that is until he comes across a student, who proclaims he has the best plot and the next up and coming bestseller.

I was excited about this book after seeing rave reviews and I must say I have to agree with them! Although the first few chapters it was hard for me to get into this book, once the storyline takes off I did not want to put it down! I loved the author's engaging writing style and loved to see the intricate details of what it takes to become a publishing, bestselling author.

I was on the edge of my seat wondering where this book was going to take me and constantly trying to guess how this book was going to end. It's twisty, captivating, and the writing is superb. I will be adding more books by this author to my ever-growing TBR list. Fans of psychological thrillers like The Silent Patient will love this book!

***Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book!

One of my favorite thrillers of 2021!

I find it so hard to write a review for a thriller/suspense novel because I don’t want to give any spoilers! Here’s my attempt at a no-spoiler description: The Plot is about a washed-up fiction writer who comes across a great idea for a novel and ultimately “steals” it. I especially enjoyed the commentary on how artists get ideas for their art and how much inspiration an artist can take from something before it becomes plagiarism.

I read this during a time when my personal life was extremely hectic so I was expecting to take forever to finish it due to my lack of time and energy for reading. However, this story was so engaging that I found myself reaching for it again and again in the midst of my busy life. For me, this is a tell-tale sign of a good book!

Read if you:
-like books about books/the writing life
-want something that keeps you turning the page
-enjoyed We Wish You Luck by Caroline Zancan

My rating: 4 stars

Thank you to Celadon Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This story was a bit slow to start, but I thought it was such a unique read! The plot (quite literally) was like nothing I had seen before, and I was totally invested in it! It takes true talent to throw the publishing world into a thriller. The ending twist made this story even more delectable. The buzz and hype is worth it for this one.

Jacob Bonner was an author who is now teaching a MFA course. His student Evan Parker believes he had a plot for a bestselling novel that will be turned into a movie. Years later Jacob never hears from the student or his book. Jacob finds out that the student died. Jacob decides to steal the plot of the book and publish it himself.
The book is a hit. But soon after he gets a threatening email that says that he is a thief and he is going to expose him. Bonner sets out to fund out who is behind the threats.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for a copy of this book to review!

The Plot
by Jean Hanff Korelitz

What a good book ! Like the title, a great plot with skilled writing and strong characters made this an excellent read.

Without any spoilers, the story is about a novelist with some serious writers block who happens upon a very strong story that had a great chance of being a bestseller. Unfortunately, sometimes you must be careful what you wish for or think you want so bad because it can turn out quite differently then expected.

Great mystery, lots of twists and thrills. Strongly recommend this book. 5 stars !

This book wasn't at all what I was expecting, but it was so much more. It took a little bit of time to really get going, but I was hooked the entire time and loved the twists and turns the story took. There was a good amount of tension throughout and I wanted to keep reading to see how it would all end up. A great new thriller.

4.5 stars

Two years ago, I had read Jean Hanff Korelitz’s previous novel You Should Have Known (which is now famously known as the book that the HBO series “The Undoing” was adapted from) and while I liked the story overall, I remember how tedious of a read it was for me, mostly because the story meandered quite a bit and went off on various different tangents that didn’t seem to have a whole lot to do with the plot. And the book was long (400+ pages) — which normally wouldn’t matter, except that the story was written in such a convoluted way that, by the time I got to the end, I was just glad it was over.

Given the above experience, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I went into Korelitz’s newest book The Plot with a bit of trepidation, despite the fact that, as soon as I had read the book’s premise, I had immediately wanted to read it. My concerns didn’t go away even after starting the book, as the story progressed really slowly for the first 50 pages or so — not only that, I also started noticing some of the long, meandering, overly-descriptive passages that had irked me in her previous book. But I stuck with it and am so glad I did, as this ended up being such a wonderful read!

The story centers around a writer named Jacob Finch Bonner, a once successful author of a bestseller who hit a snag with his second book and is now struggling to move his career forward. While teaching at a low residency MFA program, Jake encounters a student, Evan Parker, who shares with him the plot of a story he plans on writing that he believes will be “a sure thing.” Several years later, as Jake still struggles with his writing and has just about given up all hopes of reviving his career, he inadvertently finds out that Evan Parker has died, supposedly without having finished the “sure thing” novel he had bragged about during the MFA session. At this point, Jake does what he feels any self-respecting writer would do — he takes the plot that Evan had told him about and turns it into a widely-read, bestselling novel. Jake instantly becomes famous and also wealthy beyond measure. One day, as he is riding the highs of success in both his personal and professional lives, he receives a mysterious message that contains four terrifying words: “You are a thief.” But it doesn’t stop there — as Jake receives more and more threatening messages, to the point that he can’t ignore them anymore, he sets off on a race against time to find out who his harasser is in the hopes of confronting them before they expose him.

As I mentioned earlier, I initially didn’t have very high expectations going into this book (despite all the hype it has gotten so far) because I thought it would be a convoluted, drawn-out story that would take me longer than preferred to read. But this book turned out to be opposite of what I was expecting — not only was it a quick read for me (I finished it in 2 sittings, with majority of the book completed in the second sitting because I just couldn’t bring myself to put it down), the story was also tightly-plotted and absolutely brilliantly written. Of course, there were still moments throughout the story where certain passages veered into the “overly-descriptive” category, but not to the extent as her previous book, in my opinion. Having said this, in researching the author and her other works, I’ve come to realize that this is actually her distinctive writing style, which is good to know.

In addition to a cleverly-crafted story however, one of the things that makes this book stand out is the way the characters are rendered, especially the main character Jake. As a character, Jake is entirely fictional, however the way his struggles as a writer and the angst he goes through both come across so realistically, it really made the character come alive for me — to the point that I found it difficult to figure out where I stood in terms of what he did. Here, Korelitz did a masterful job weaving in recent “discussions” about certain aspects of the publishing industry and literary community that have been concerns over the years: issues such as appropriation versus inspiration, who should get to tell what story, the writing process and the trials and tribulations of being a writer, and most interesting of all, an inside glimpse into the publishing world and the role of the writer in that world.

Another unique aspect of this book is the way Korelitz utilizes the “story within a story” method to tell Jake’s story by incorporating excerpts from his book (the one with the “stolen” plot) interspersed throughout the story, culminating in a fantastic coming together of the plot to create a “fiction vs reality” twist in the end. I don’t want to say too much so as not to give away the ending, but I will say that this was one of the most propulsive, surprising endings that I’ve read in awhile.

Lastly, I just wanted to comment on why I ended up rating this one 4.5 stars rather than the full 5 stars. The main reason for this is because I actually was able to figure out aspects of the ending early on, which made the “big reveal” (specifically as it pertained to the person sending the messages to Jake) less impactful — though with that said, the last couple scenes were definitely unexpected and very well-done.

This literary thriller is definitely a “must-read” in my book! It’s clever and creative and even though I did figure out parts of it early on, I still found much of the plot to be unpredictable in terms of the direction things ended up going. Already, this book is getting a lot of buzz, and deservedly so, in my opinion! And I wouldn’t be surprised if this one also gets optioned for a movie or TV series at some point — I would definitely be interested in watching if that were to be the case!

Received ARC from Celadon Books via NetGalley

3.5 STARS

The Plot is a propulsive read about a story too good not to steal, and the writer who steals it.

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First off - I know exactly why Stephen King loved this book. The slow (almost tortuous) burn of the first half was very "King' inspired. Thankfully I knew that THE PLOT took a while for the...well, plot, to get going. I am so glad that I toughed it out because the second half was amazing! Like, 5 stars amazing. Unfortunately, I couldn't give the whole book that rating because I honestly wanted to DNF it several times at the beginning.

I think that first chunk could have been whittled down to nearly half the amount of "woe is me" and i would have been able to boost the rating. Seriously though, if you choose to pick this one up I highly recommend pushing through until "Part 3" - it gets real juicy.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC. THE PLOT is out now!

Disclaimer: I was given an eARC of this book by Celadon Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

From the Publisher:
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?

Thoughts:

I found the beginning to be a bit slow but after the first few chapters the story really picked up. Jake is definitely not a likable main character in my opinion but in a thriller, that doesn't bother me in a thriller. I liked how throughout the book there were a couple of pages from Crib that helped to push the unraveling of the mystery forward. I did guess the main plot twist when the plot twist of the Crib was revealed but it didn't take anything away from the rest of the story. I totally didn't see the ending coming!

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that likes not your typical thriller.

This was a good mystery, however the twist at the end was fairly easy to guess which made it a little less enjoyable. I did sympathize with Jake as a character, and found his predicament horrifying. I found myself raving through the book to see how it ended but it was a bit of an anti climax. The plot of the book within the book was not what I was expecting either. It was hyped as something that would immediately be bestseller based on the story alone and I just don’t think that was realistic. It was a good story and a good book but I expected more.

This is a very good book, and I'm sure a lot of people will be giving it 5 stars because it is different and it is well written, but for me the shine came off of it when I figured out the ending about half way through the book.
I had the same experience with "Gone Girl", didn't hate it, but I had figured out the plot twist fairly early so the ending didn't have that big of an impact.

Wow what a ride!! The Plot had an incredibly engaging, interesting, twisty plot to it. I suspect it will be one of the hot books this summer. Both an exciting thriller and an exploration in telling stories; who does a story belong to? I finished this book in about 24 hours, I couldn’t put it down. It’s everything I could want in a summer read, and I suspect that much like the protagonist’s book, there will soon be meetings with A-list directors for the film adaptation.

This book will be much discussed this spring! It has unreliable characters and a plot that most will enjoy, with twists to keep your head spinning! There is a lot for readers to enjoy in this novel.
Jake Bonner is an author who has penned ONE big hit book. After his first hit, he found himself in a massive writer's slump. He decides to teach a writing class at the college level. One of his students is terribly arrogant and irritatingly brilliant. He tells Jake the summary of his big idea for a book plot and then he disappears from Jake's life. When Jake learns of the death of this former student, he publishes the plot idea as his own! He rises to fame but begins to get messages from an anonymous someone who knows what he did.
The beginning was a bit slow but I'm glad I pushed through because the story is really great! The second half was much faster paced and really fun to read. Thank you to Celadon and Netgalley for the ARC of this entertaining novel.

Being a person who has taught MFA classes, I enjoyed much of the snarky comments in "The Plot," Since so much of the novel was about how the novel's ending was so amazing, I am disappointed that early on I figured out The Who Done It twist, which left me rather deflated at the end. Korelitz's novel is a fun read with unexpected surprises here and there, but I do not want to give away spoiler alerts, so I shall say no more.

A thriller that manages to sneak up on you, The Plot lulls the reader into a sense of calm. Only to tear it away in due time, as the story progresses. For anyone dreaming of becoming a famous writer, this book is a cautionary tale.