Had to DNF this book. Very slow burn and didn’t read like a thriller to me. However I will not be giving up on the author!

Sometimes you’re just in the mood for a slow burn mystery thriller and this fits right into that mood for me. After not having much success as a writer Jacob takes a job teaching an MFA program . There he meets an aroogabtbsstudentbwho shows him his perfect plot for a book. A few years later Jacob remembers that he’s not heard of this book being published and after some digging finds out that the student Evan has passed away. Well as you would imagine Hake publishes the book and it’s a sensation until well you are going to have to read the book to find out. I loved it.

DNF. I have tried numerous times to get passed the first few chapters of this book, and I just simply cannot. This is the slowest of slow burns, and there is not much that pulls you into this story.

🛁 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 🛁
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
“Stories, of course, are common as dirt. Everyone has one, if not an infinity of them, and they surround us at all time whether we acknowledge them or not.”

Synopsis: Jacob Bonner Finch is a less than successful author working at an MFA program for fiction writers when he meets Evan Parker. Evan Parker is a cocky SOB who just happens to have a plot for a sure-thing best selling novel. As time goes by, and Jake never sees the book published, he finds out that Evan Parker had died before finishing his book. Jake takes the opportunity to finish the story himself, garnering critical acclaim. But when he starts to get emails accusing him of stealing the story, he needs to find out there they’re coming from and make them stop before it’s too late.

I had been putting off reading The Plot forever and when I got a print copy I was like, “well, here goes nothing!” And it did not disappoint. I do think it took me a while to get into it at the beginning, the author is prone to long detailed paragraphs, but once the ball got rolling on the story it sucks you right in!

You definitely don’t know while reading the book if you sympathize with Jake or if you think he’s getting exactly what he deserves. It’s a distinction each reader needs to decide for themselves, I think. I also loved the chapters that were excerpts from the book Jake wrote/stole. They really added to the story beautifully.

If you like a good mystery, be sure to pick up The Plot when it’s released on May 11th, 2021. Thank you to @celadonbooks and Jean Hanf Korelitz for an early copy in exchange for an honest review! I give The Plot a 9/10 bubble baths!📚🛁

Meet Jake Finch Bonner ... he's an author of a couple of books and while neither were greatly received, it was enough to land him a position of teaching in a small program. He's written a couple of others , but he still carries them around in his briefcase .. unseen by anyone else.

In his classroom of maybe a dozen wanna-be authors is Evan Parker. Parker brags that he doesn't really need to be taught anything at all .... he has the greatest plot ever. Jake is prepared to dismiss his bragging .. until he hears the plot.

Bonner accepts that his writing career is over, and he waits patiently for Parker's book to be published. 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.

It's called plagiarism.

And once Bonner receives accolades for "his" newest book, he receives an anonymous email .. someone knows his secret. It escalates .. emails, twitter, threats sent to his home, his publisher....

(BOOK BLURB) 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?

With an intricate plot and deftly drawn characters, it's quite a journey to get the answers to the questions Bonner should have asked before he decided to steal another's words. The suspense starts at the very first and steadily holds until the unexpected conclusion.

Many thanks to the author / Macmillan Publishers / Macmillan Reading Insiders Club / Netgalley for the digital copy of this excellent psychological fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Is is plagiarism if an author uses an idea for a plot of a book which was never written? That's the charge coming down on Jacob Finch Bonner- Jake- now that his book "Crib" has become a super best seller. He'd struggle for years after his first novel, gradually sliding down the pole til the day he learned that Evan Parker, a student in a writing seminar he taught at Ripley College had died. Parker had been convinced that he had the plot of all plots- the book that would conquer the world. And what was that plot? Well, no spoilers from me as bit of "Crib" are interspersed with the narrative. Jake's life is just starting to come together- he's met and married Anna- when the emails accusing him start. His quest for the truth, well, it gets wild. Korelitz is a brave writer to take on the various themes- she skewers writers, publishing, academia, and so on- and she does it with style. This is a compulsively readable thriller and if it's a little confusing near the end, that's what she meant it to be because all will be clear. Jake's a great character as is Anna. Thanks to Netgalley for the AEC. Two thumbs up.

I really enjoyed this one! I did feel like it started out a bit slow and kind of wordy, but once it picked up, I flew right through it and didn’t guess the twist until closer to the end.

This book is a story of a writer, Jake, who was also a writing teacher. He was a NYT Best Seller for his first novel and his subsequent books have fell short. In comes a cocky student, Parker, exclaiming he has an idea of a book that will be read by all. Jake is rather dismayed and doesn’t give it much thought especially only given the first few chapters of the book, Parker thought would make World status. Parker then explains the plot to Jake, which is untold to the reader, and Jake knew without a doubt that this plot would indeed reach best seller status and everyone in the world would be talking about it. Forward a couple years, Jake found an obituary notice for Parker, and realized his book was never published.

Jake went on to write the book with the plot that was given from his student and it did indeed reach people far and wide. The only problem is that someone on the internet has began spreading rumors that Jake’s book was plagiarized and it wasn’t his story to tell. Who is doing it and what happens when Jake discovers the truth?

For me, this was a really slow burn. The twist at the end wasn’t as nearly shocking as I was hoping it would be. I did enjoy reading more about the publishing world, but all in all only 2.5 stars for me.

Thank you to Celadon books for the gifted copy.

Jacob (Jake) Finch Bonner is a writer and published novelist whose first book reached critical acclaim but not the commercial success he’d dreamed about. His second book didn’t reach the level of the first and so he began teaching in an MFA program at Vermont’s Ripley College that even he knew wasn’t highly regarded. Jake was also struggling the past few years to find inspiration for his next book when one of his students, an arrogant and narcissistic young man named Evan Parker, declares he doesn’t need his or anyone’s help because the plot of his book is so compelling, it will become an immediate bestseller on its own. Evan won’t share more than a couple of pages with Jake but it’s enough that he becomes highly intrigued with the beginnings of the plot.

A few years later, another student with Evan’s personality traits triggers Jake’s memory and he searches to see if that much touted story ever got published. When he discovers that Evan died a few weeks after he left Ripley, Jake ultimately convinces himself that he can pursue writing the story himself. It does become that predicted commercial and financial success and Jake's name is right up there with the well known authors of the day. But as he’s enjoying all that comes with fame and critical acclaim, he receives the first of many messages to come from an anonymous sender called “Talented Tom” who simply states, “you are a thief.” Jake’s private search sends him on a journey into Evan Parker’s past that produces astonishing results.

Let me first warn you that this story requires your patience as it takes some time to develop but there is a payoff for your efforts. When it finally takes a turn to the point where it’s hard to stop reading (or in my case, listening), the foundation that was created provides that insight into the characters you’ll need to keep up. To make matters more interesting, the story transitions between Jake’s present day movements and excerpts of his book. Those transitions were well crafted as they become more meaningful as Jake delves deeper into Evan’s life. But the most compelling aspect of the story is the question it raises about the ownership of an idea. Jake had only a fragment of Evan’s story premise but was it enough to be considered a theft of someone else’s story? You’ll be left to decide that for yourself.

I listened to the story and it took me a moment to adjust to the narrator because he was so low key. But, after a bit I realized he was just being Jake who consumes most of the beginning of the book and he did that very well. When other characters emerged, there was quite a distinction. I’m really glad I chose to listen versus read because he helped build the excitement and intrigue, especially that twisty ending. I also have to admit to having guessed the surprise revelation but not the ending. I enjoyed this slow burn novel with the provocative proposition about what constitutes theft in the writing arena. You’ll have to consider decide for yourself. And, the journey to get there was delicious.

Jacob Finch Bonner, the once promising author of the debut novel The Invention of Wonder, is now a struggling writer teaching at Ripley College in Vermont. At Ripley, basically anyone can attend to receive a MFA. This includes Evan Parker, a pompous jerk who declares he doesn't need Jake--or anyone's--help to make his novel a success. But when Evan actually deigns to share his plot with Jake, Jake can't help but agree. He waits for Evan's inevitable success, but it never comes. When he learns that Evan has died--without having published his book--Jake feels that his story must be told. So Jake writes it, and he is soon basking in the success he was so sure Evan would have. He's rich, famous, and touring the country on a book tour. But then he receives the first email: "You are a thief." Jake feels everything he has about to slip away. As the threats increase, Jake begins to dig into Evan's past. What he finds is horrifying--he may not be the only one who stole this story--and the consequences could be deadly.

"All Jacob Finch Bonnner had ever wanted to be was a writer."

THE PLOT starts off slowly, but then takes off, becoming a compulsively readable thriller. It's incredibly ominous and creepy and peppered with reading and writer references. If you love to read, or write, there's a whole meta layer to this book. (Not to mention, we get pieces of Jake's "stolen" novel within our novel as well.) Slowly everything untangles: Jacob's plot, Evan's life, and more.

"Evan Parker had been entirely correct: the worst writer on the planet could not mess up a plot like this."

The book builds on, year by year, as Jacob moves from his struggling writer days to a successful and famous novelist. I had an inkling of some of what happened, but enjoyed reading to see if I was right. Jake isn't exactly a sympathetic character, but he's fascinating, and the book certainly makes you think.

It's best to go into THE PLOT blind, so I don't want to reveal too much. But I stayed up late to finish it, because it's quite captivating--and different. I certainly recommend it.

Jacob has wanted nothing more in his life than to be a celebrated and successful author. He has enjoyed the moderate success of one book but since has watched his career slowly nose dive over the years.
When Jacob meets Evan Parker at a summer writing program that he teaches every year, he discovers that Evan has ‘The Plot’ that is guaranteed to be a winner. When he first meets Evan, he calls him for what he is, a boastful rude narcissistic ass but …. He does have that ‘Plot’. A few years of tedious life go by for Jacob when he finds out that Evan passed away shortly after the writing program, and alas! He never wrote his book. What’s Jacob to do? He writes a book with Evan’s perfect plot but of course! At first, it’s all amazing, book signings and movie options, everything Jacob has worked for his whole life but It isn’t going to be all wine and roses because someone out there knows that isn’t Jacob’s plot and begins to threaten him with exposure of plagiarism. Thus begins Jacob’s plight to find out just who knows what he did before he gets outted to his adoring public and publisher.

This is one of those ‘plots’ (ha) that I had a good idea of who the antagonist was and I was right but this is where any sense of rightness I had stops. There are so many well-plotted twists in this story, most I didn’t see coming. Throughout The Plot, there is an actual ‘story within a story’ and it was fun to try and figure out just who’s story is being told. Little tidbits are revealed slowly and the tension amps up as Jacob’s stalker takes their time tormenting him, leading to the ultimate game of cat and mouse.

I really enjoyed this thriller, at first, I didn’t like Jacob, I found him to be a bit whiney and pretentious but his growth through the book is remarkable and I found myself rooting for him. The antagonist is so shrewd and so cleverly done! Even though there’s an idea of who it could be, the actual story behind it is mind-blowing and shocking, a delicious puzzle that I had fun decoding right to the very end.

My thanks to Macmillan Reading Insiders Club for #gifting me a copy of The Plot.

Review also published on blog: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...

What happens When You Borrow or Rather-A-Hem Steal Something You So Desperately Want?

In the case of Jacob Finch Bonner, his decision to steal “The Plot” becomes quite dangerous.

If only he looked before he leaped! Then again, no one ever does.

Jacob Finch Bonner is an instructor at an MFA program. Once a somewhat successful novelist, now he’s kind of a has-been. To make matters worse, one of the students in his class is an arrogant jerk who claims to be writing what will become a bestseller. Though he’s only been given a few of the details, Jacob waits with bated breath for its release. Years go by and it never materializes. Then one day Jacob researches Evan Parker, his former student, and discovers that and realizes that the book won’t be published after all, and he decides to write the book himself.

Upon doing so, Jacob and his new book “Crib” are a huge success and all seems swell until he receives threats from someone who knows the truth. Someone who threatens to destroy everything Jacob has worked for. Something Jacob has no intention of letting happen.

Though the first half of this novel starts off extremely slow and therefore took a lot for me to get into, the pace and the storyline picks up around the halfway point. All of a sudden, the novel becomes crazy twisty and turny and the storyline ratchets up. Though I guessed the culprit fairly early on and knew what was going to happen, I still enjoyed the ending and think everyone else will too.

3.35 Stars

I received a free Galley of The Plot from Celadon Books and a free ARC of THE PLOT from Macmillan in exchange for an honest review.

Published on Goodreads, Twitter, and Insta.

Jacob Finch Bonner was once an aspiring author. Today he is teaching in a third rate MFA program. One of his students, Evan Parker, announces that he doesn't need any of Jacob's help, and that he has a plot of a book that will be on the best seller's list. He then tells Jacob of the plot of his new book.

When Jacob finds out that Evan is deceased he then steals the plot since Evan's book was never completed. The book then turns into a success. Jacob enjoys all the publicity. He is now famous and his book is now known all around the world.

But then he receives an anonymous threatening email and the email says You are a thief! He then discovers more about his student and it terrifies him. He then tries to find the person that is threatening him.

This book in the beginning is a slow burn. It took me awhile to get into it but once I did I couldn't put it down. The book gets better and better.
I also learned more about the world of book publishing.
I thought the book was written very well.
Close to the ending there is a twist and another twist that I didn't see coming at the end of the book. The twists were just clever and brilliant!

This was a buddy read with Jayme, DeAnn, and Dorie.

I received a free ARC of The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz from Macmillan in exchange for an honest review. I also want to thank Celadon Books for the physical copy of the book.

We meet Jacob Finch Bonner languishing as a teacher in a struggling writing program. He had a breakout successful book years ago and can’t seem to capture the magic with anything else new that he’s written.

In this particular class, there’s an arrogant student who doesn’t think he can learn anything from the program and he’s already got the perfect plot for a blockbuster book. During a private session, he shares his plot with Jacob. It does sound like a great plot and years later Jacob decides to track down the student to see if the book was published. It never was and Jacob’s own writing is still suffering, so he decides he will write this blockbuster book!

I always enjoy a book about writing and the publishing world and this one gives us an insider’s view to just that! It’s always interesting to read author interviews and have them share where ideas came from. It might be an overheard conversation on the train or at a restaurant or maybe you hear an idea from someone. Is it stealing if that person never writes about it? Make no mistake, if you take something someone else has written and try to pass it off as your own, that is plagiarism. But, can you steal a plot? Are there original ideas left in the world?

The first half of this book was a bit slow going, but once Jacob starts getting messages claiming he is a thief, the pace and intensity pick up. We get to read a few sections from the blockbuster book itself and that was a fun element of the book. There were definitely some great twists in this one, a few I guessed, and a few that were surprises. The ending boosted my overall enjoyment of the book!

Once a New and Noteworthy author on the New York Times bestseller list, Jacob Finch Bonner’s novel is all but forgotten and he is teaching a writing course for a third-rate MFA program.

So, it is ALMOST comical, when student Evan Parker, attends his first session boasting that he has a PLOT so original that he is convinced that his story will not only get published, but will become a bestseller, an Oprah pick and will be optioned by an A-List producer who will make it into a movie.

He is so protective of it, that he will only share a few pages with his instructor or his classmates.

He has even selected a pseudonym, Parker Evan-to protect his anonymity.

Years later, Jacob wonders whatever became of this story.
He certainly doesn’t recall seeing Evan Parker’s name on a bookshelf or movie marquee.

A little research reveals that Evan died tragically before he could publish giving Jacob the idea that maybe HE should flesh out this PLOT. And, when he does, all of Evan’s predictions for it come true for author JACOB FINCH BONNER.

Until a troll threatens to expose him as a thief of someone else’s work!
But, can you steal a PLOT?

After all he didn’t publish someone else’s written words as his own.

The book started a bit slowly for me, and I didn’t find excerpts of Jacob’s book, called #Crib, all that remarkable.
The PLOT a is really NOT that scintillating!
AND, I guessed the troll!

So where could the book go from here?

The pace of the story picks up when Jacob begins to investigate to figure out who is accusing him of plagiarism in attempt to stop his troll -before they stop him and ruin his now promising career.

The book ALSO explores appropriation in the Publishing World, and how combustible it has become.
Narratives get told and retold all the time.
Can you own a PLOT?

The ENDING makes this book worth reading, whether or not you agree with WHO comes out on top!
And, it raised my rating to 4⭐️

I received a free ARC of The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz in exchange for an honest review!
Pre-order now for a May 11, publication date!

I received a free ARC of The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz from Macmillan in an exchange for an honest review.

All Jacob Finch Bonner wanted to be was a writer. He paid his dues, and when his first novel made a modest splash in the literary fiction market, he thought he was on his way. But then his second novel tanked. And he couldn’t even find a publisher for his third or fourth novels. Which is how he found himself teaching at “a third-rate MFA program that nobody—not even its own faculty—took seriously.”

Evan Parker doesn’t have any particular respect for writing or writers. “I just care about the story. Either it’s a good plot or it isn’t. And if it’s not a good plot, the best writing isn’t going to help. And if it is, the worst writing isn’t going to hurt it.” But what he has is a bulletproof plot for a novel that will be the next mega-hit, one of those that come along once or twice a decade and explode: Presumed Innocent, The Firm, The Da Vinci Code, Gone Girl. As much as Jake detests Evan, when he hears the plot, he knows Evan is right.

But the novel never gets published, and when Jake finally digs into why, he learns that Evan died just a few months after they met. And Jake decides that the plot is simply to extraordinary not to be written. So he takes the plot, writes his own novel (he had only seen a few pages of Evan’s first draft), and it becomes the Oprah-loved, Spielberg-movie, multi-million copy selling smash that he could have only dreamed of. And his life is pretty perfect, until the first e-mail arrives accusing him of being a thief... because maybe there was more to Evan’s plot than Jake ever realized.

I had a lot of thoughts as I read The Plot. Jake rationalizes using Evan’s plot, yet upon being accused of being a thief, he feels and acts guilty. But is he? Certainly you can steal the text of a novel, but that didn’t happen here. Can you steal an idea or a plot? And if he was really worried, why didn’t he just dedicate the novel to Evan, and say that he’d done his best to honor the idea that Evan had told him? Maybe I just don’t know enough about plagiarism. But I’m 100% sure that Evan is 100% wrong that that a good plot can’t be ruined by bad writing. Let 1,000 people read one of those books I listed above, then give them a year to write their own version of that book from memory, and I’ll bet you couldn’t get through the first three chapters of at least 90% of the copies. Writing is hard, and a successful book works because of the marriage between the story, the writing, and the times.

But I eventually stopped thinking so much about those ideas, and became absorbed with the story itself. Jake is a well-developed character, and his insights into the the world of being a writer were entertaining. The book-within-a-book technique—almost required given the story—is very effective. As Jake begins to learn more about Evan’s past, we get snippets from Crib, and each unsurprisingly sheds new light on the other. In fact, my only real critique of the book is that, given that he already knew the plot of his own book, Jake probably should have figured out what was going on faster than he did.

So could the The Plot be the next mega-hit? It has all of the ingredients. It’s got a good plot with some nice twists, is well-written, has some interesting ideas going on, and seems primed to appeal to those in the grip of the current obsession for mystery thrillers. Perhaps most of all, the book builds to a legitimately great ending that I may never forget. Highly recommended.

"…a few minutes later in the car, he found the first of the messages. It had been forwarded from the contact form on his own author website (Thanks for visiting my page! Have a question or a comment about my work? Please use the form!) just around the time as he was about to go on the air with local Seattle institution Randy Johnson, and it had already been sitting there in his own email in-box for about ninety radioactive minutes. Reading it now made every good thing of that morning, not to speak of the last year of Jake’s life, instantly fall from him and land in a horrible, reverberating crack. Its horrifying email address was TalentedTom@gmail.com, and though the message was brevity itself at a mere four words, it still managed to get its point across. You are a thief, it said."

Buckle up. Jacob Finch Bonner (Jake) had some early success as a writer. His novel, The Invention of Wonder, received critical acclaim, the New York Times including it in its list of New and Noteworthy books. But it has been a while since that critical (if not commercial) triumph. A story collection was largely ignored and then there was, well, nada. Jake teaches at Ripley University in northern Vermont. It is not writer’s block Jake suffers, it is more like Writer’s-Great-Wall-of-China. He teaches creative writing, endures the continual delights of academia politics, and lives, literally, on Poverty Lane. But then Evan Parker happens.\

An incoming student, Evan is convinced that he has a perfect plot for a novel. He is insufferable, arrogant, condescending, and clearly thinks that Jake cannot really teach him anything. He does not want to tell anyone the specifics of his work, just get a degree, educational cred, and some connections, figuring that is all he will need. But a time comes when he does share with Jake the arc and some detail of his novel. Turns out Evan was right. A few years later Ripley has down-sized, and Jake is working at a proprietary artist colony.

"All he had ever wanted was to tell—in the best possible words, arranged in the best possible order—the stories inside him. He had been more than willing to do the apprenticeship and the work. He had been humble with his teachers and respectful of his peers. He had acceded to the editorial notes of his agent (when he’d had one) and bowed to the red pencil of his editor (when he’d had one) without complaint. He had supported the other writers he’d known and admired (even the ones he hadn’t particularly admired) by attending their readings and actually purchasing their books (in hardcover! at independent bookstores!) and he had acquitted himself as the best teacher, mentor, cheerleader, and editor that he’d known how to be, despite the (to be frank) utter hopelessness of most of the writing he was given to work with. And where had he arrived, for all of that? He was a deck attendant on the Titanic, moving the chairs around with fifteen ungifted prose writers while somehow persuading them that additional work would help them improve."

But when Jake learns that Evan Parker has died, and that his magnum opus appears to have never been published, he makes a decision, backing it up with large volumes of excuse-making and a cyclotronic level of self-justifying spin. Three years later he is on his long-dreamed-of book tour, promoting his hugely successful novel, Crib. He still carries guilt and paranoia about being found out. The guilt he manages (Mr. Bonner, when it pops up, take two excuses in a large glass of entitlement and call me in the morning), but I guess you can’t be too paranoid. Then the message.

This is where the book kicks into high gear. Who is #Talented Tom, how much does he know, what can he prove, what does he want, and what will he do? Is this blackmail? I was reminded of a classic story of guilt and crime.

."..at length, I found that the noise was not within my ears. No doubt I now grew very pale; --but I talked more fluently, and with a heightened voice. Yet the sound increased --and what could I do? It was a low, dull, quick sound –much such a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I gasped for breath --and yet the officers heard it not. I talked more quickly --more vehemently; but the noise steadily increased." - from Edgar Allen Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart

An e-mailed threat was not the only thing he left Seattle with. Anna Williams, a fan, the producer at the Randy Johnson show at WBIK, who had arranged for Jake to do the interview, chats him up afterwards. They have a coffee, stay in touch even when he returns to New York, and their connection soon become a thing. The messages do not stop.

" but the noise steadily increased. Oh God! what could I do? I foamed --I raved --I swore!"- EAP

We ride along as Jake deals with his publisher, his agent, his fans, and his peers. There is a lot of support for him in the community, as most presume it is just a nutter harassing him in search of a lawyer-enhanced payday. But Jake knows this is no gold-digging faker. Yet he still feels it necessary to keep this from Anna for a long time, even after they are living together. Just how dangerous is TalentedTom?

"I seem to be attracted to sociopathic male antagonists. I also appear to like college campuses." - from the Scoundrel Time interview

The engine shifts into overdrive when Jake decides to stop playing defense and begins doing some serious research to identify his tormentor, and learns that his may not be the only theft related to Evan’s plot.

"It grew louder --louder --louder! And still the men chatted pleasantly, and smiled. Was it possible they heard not? Almighty God! --no, no! They heard! --they suspected! --they knew!" - EAP

In addition to Poe, I was reminded of another book-stealing novel of recent vintage, A Ladder to the Sky, with a much more flagrant, and feckless thief. In this one Korelitz drives us through Jake’s excuses and makes us consider just where fair use ends and theft begins.

As one might expect there is a lot in here about writing. Where do you get your ideas? an eternal question, the struggle to create. Coping with a book tour, difficult questions, redundant questions, ignorant interviewers. As this is Korelitz’s seventh published novel, and I am sure she has motored the book tour circuit a time or six, I expect this is the product of experience. As is her take on campus life, coping with students, and the horrors of faculty politics. Not to mention a writer’s inner turmoil.

"The Plot may seem a little hard on writers, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone; we’re hard on ourselves. In fact, you couldn’t hope to meet a more self-flagellating bunch of creatives anywhere. At the end of the day, though, we are the lucky ones. First, because we get to work with language, and language is thrilling. Second, because we love stories and we get to frolic in them. Begged, borrowed, adapted, embroidered … perhaps even stolen: it’s all a part of a grand conversation." - from Acknowledgements

The only place I had issues was with the baddie’s final explanations. I cannot really go into details as it would require significant spoilage, but the motivation for what comes at the end seems thin. A name change might have raised questions at an institution. And one might have expected a greater bit of interest on the part of the authorities after one death, particularly in tracing back a specific person’s real-world movements, and someone else’s on-line activity.

That said, keep your BP meds handy. This is a tension-filled journey, page-turning wonderfulness, leaving you panting to know what happens next, and unable to turn out the light and go to sleep before you get through some serious white-knuckle twists and turns to arrive at The Plot’s destination.

"I felt that I must scream or die! and now --again! --hark! louder! louder! louder! louder!" - EAP


Review posted – January 15, 2021

Publication date – May 11, 2021


I received an early e-look through MacMillan's Reading Insiders Club. While reluctant at first, they came around after I used a pitch written by a friend.

Jake Finch Bonner is a published author who has received some critical acclaim for a past novel, but has never achieved the kind of success and financial reward that he craves. After teaching at a “low-residency” writer’s workshop, he makes a decision that will alter the course of his life and career. It also prompts a moral question about his integrity, especially when a Twitter comment threatens to expose what he did.

Korelitz made some style and structure choices that hooked me in immediately—the novel within a novel format, although with a carefully navigated twist. It’s not the first novel to concentrate on stealing another writer’s work, but this one focuses on hijacking the plot. The prose and story conflicts are the work of the writer and protagonist, Jake, who “borrowed” the plot from his former student, Evan Parker. Familiar tropes are used, although Korelitz made this her own story. However, for me, it had mixed results.

Jake’s successful novel, CRIB, centers around a mother and daughter that
dislike each other so entirely that their interactions are merely transactional. Jake is a competent writer with a talent for producing a suspenseful narrative, but lacked the imagination to create a brilliant plot. When Parker reveals his own story line, Jake is jealous and aware that Parker could produce a winner, and later finds an opportunity to make it his own. Korelitz adds intensity by not revealing Parker’s prized plot to the reader until close to the end, but I figured it out pretty quickly, anyway.

In the meantime, Jake has been consumed with his success, his new girlfriend, and a movie version of his book, directed by Spielberg. He struggles with doubt elicited by the anonymous tweeter, and attempts to convince himself that he was scrupulous. What is the outcome, and what are the implications, when a writer covertly lifts a plot from another writer? What are the boundaries and ethics of a writer, especially when he cherry-picks the meaning of T.S. Eliot’s, “Good writers borrow, great writers steal.”

I’ve read several Korelitz novels, and noted her talent for insights and characters. Perhaps it is my familiarity with her arcs, but I was able to figure out 90% of the late revelation before I finished the first third of the novel. Parker’s winning plot did not win me over, as I surmised the bombshell “steal.” If that was the only idea that Jake “stole,” it lacked the gravitas he made of it, or that Korelitz presented.

Even though it was part of Korelitz’s aim for us to question whether Jake’s actions were libelous, dubious, a transgression of his craft, it felt a bit feeble as the breathless disclosure. The actual “plot” idea is available from the vapor, the place where writers’ ideas collect and swirl; it’s not the kind of plot that calls out ownership.

There was also an expository info dump at the finale, which was unnecessary, since most of the facts had formerly and slowly been signaled or revealed. And Korelitz regularly overexplained how Jake’s thoughts turned, such as writing that “He didn’t really believe that” or “He didn’t really think that,” not giving enough credit to the reader for tacitly understanding it without requiring her parentheticals.

THE PLOT, despite its flaws, is still a dark, engaging book. It will appeal to escapist readers who want something deeper than Dan Brown and more literary than Liane Moriarty. If they make a series, I hope they do a better job than they did with YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN, which was made into the HBO prestige domestic thriller, THE UNDOING, which was a complete mess. But I can’t blame the plot changes on Korelitz. :)

Thank you to Macmillan First Reads and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy.

Read this for the ending!

The Plot is about a struggling author who steals a masterful “plot” for his next novel. A game of cat and mouse ensues between the author and a reader who knows too much, resulting in a dramatic and chilling conclusion.

Jake, a writer down on his luck, steals a plot to a novel that brings him fame, fortune, and success, but someone knows his secret and threatens exposure. In an effort to keep his secret, Jake tries to hunt down his adversary, but will they get to him first?

This book pulled me in from the beginning. Jake’s voice had me captivated, which was interesting since I found him bland and ordinary (but I think that’s the point). He is relatable, and even though he did steal the plot for his novel, I was still rooting for him. For the most part, this was unputdownable, minus the middle (it slows down a bit).

I loved Hanff Korelitz’s commentary on the literary world, which reminded me a bit of A Ladder to the Sky, but Jake is no Maurice Swift. The plot which Jake’s steals is supposed to be the “it” plot leading to movie offers, fame, fortune, etc., but it is a bit of a letdown once revealed. However, the villain is masterful, and they made this book! The final sentences, which should have left me cringing, left me smiling. This is all one twisted and fascinating game that I had great fun reading!

I received an ARC of The Plot from Macmillan in exchange for an honest review.

In this addictive psychological thriller—I read it quickly without coming up much for air—Jean Hanff Korelitz sets a high bar for herself.

Imagine, she postulates, if an ambitious novelist is struggling to write a follow-up to a reasonably promising debut. And then his narcissistic student at a low-residency MFA program arrogantly shares his own plot, which is a surefire best seller. And then circumstances change and the novelist—Jake Finch Bonner—is able to take the framework of the plot and turn it into a success beyond his wildest imagination. And then something happens, and his veracity is about to be exposed.

To write a novel like that, you have to deliver the goods. What would this surefire plot be about? For what feels like the longest time, the author withholds it. But when the story comes into focus, it all starts to make sense. And there’s that a plot twist that I never saw coming (and I think I’m pretty good at ferreting those plot twists out).

But behind the mechanisms of the storyline, Jean Hanff Korelitz’s theme is appropriation. Who gets to tell a story? Is any plot just an idea until an enterprising novelist grabs hold of it and gives it wings? Are there indeed original plots and if so, doesn’t it fall upon the writer’s talent to bring it into the spotlight? Can anyone simply lay claim to an idea?

It’s fun reading—the character of Jake, as well as the author, share Macmillan as a publisher and the reader is treated to some behind-the-scenes looks at the writer’s world and interactions. I’m giving this a 5-star, not in comparison to all books (that’s impossible to do) but in comparison to other books of this genre. It really had me going. I received a free ARC of The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz from Macmilllan an exchange for an honest review.