3.5

Setting: New York
Rep: n/a

This is a sloowwww book; it took me a LONG time to get into this one (not helped by the fact that the audio narrator sounds like a robot; I checked multiple times thinking he was AI) but once I did, I enjoyed the plot and will look out for the author's next book.

Well, I finally got around to reading this one and I'm sorry that it took me so long.

This was a good read and I can see why it was quite buzzy when it came out.

I actually don't think that Jake did anything wrong - I agree with him that the work of writing the story is the most important thing not where the idea comes from. However, the guilt he feels indicates that maybe he actually feels otherwise?

I thought it all came together really well and that despite a small section in the middle where things dipped a bit it managed to mainly keep up a good pace and while I had guessed a lot of things seeing them discovered in the story was still enjoyable.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Story within a story psychological suspense.

Jacob had encountered minor success as an author, but more recently finds himself desperately trying to write while teaching mediocre students at a mediocre college.

His most obnoxious and downright rude student turns out to have what Jacob must grudgingly admit is an amazing idea for a story. Even though the student lacks any talent, the plot surely can't fail to be a huge success in print and on film.

When several years later there is still no sign of the book having been written, Jacob digs around and finds the student had died not long after taking Jacob's course. He's sure the student can't have had time to write the story and decides there is no harm if he writes it himself.

The novel becomes a huge success and #1 bestseller, and this is when Jacob's problems begin in earnest. As he starts to receive threats accusing him of plagiarism, he tries to find out who is sending them, and makes shocking discoveries which threaten more than just his professional reputation.

A good read despite the plot being predictable and dragging a little at times as a result.

EXCERPT: All Jacob Finch Bonner had ever wanted to be was a writer. Ever, ever, ever, all the way back to suburban Long Island, which was the last place on earth a serious artist of any kind ought to come from but where he, nonetheless, had been cursed to grow up, the only child of a tax attorney and a high school guidance counselor. Why he’d affixed his star to the forlorn little shelf in his local library marked authors from long island! was anyone’s guess, but it did not pass unnoticed in the young writer’s home. His father (the tax attorney) had been forceful in his objections (Writers didn’t make money! Except Sidney Sheldon. Was Jake claiming he was the next Sidney Sheldon?) and his mother (the guidance counselor) had seen fit to remind him, constantly, of his mediocre-at-best PSAT score on the verbal side. (It was greatly embarrassing to Jake that he’d managed to do better on the math than the verbal.) These had been grievous challenges to overcome, but what artist was without challenges to overcome? He’d read stubbornly (and, it should be noted, already competitively, and with envy) throughout his childhood, departing the mandatory curriculum, leapfrogging the usual adolescent dross to vet the emerging field of his future rivals. Then off he had gone to Wesleyan to study creative writing, falling in with a tight group of fellow proto-novelists and short story writers who were just as insanely competitive as he was.

Many were the dreams of young Jacob Finch Bonner when it came to the fiction he would one day write. (The “Bonner,” in point of fact, wasn’t entirely authentic—Jake’s paternal great-grandfather had substituted Bonner for Bernstein a solid century before—but neither was the “Finch,” which Jake himself had added in high school as an homage to the novel that awakened his love of fiction.) Sometimes, with books he especially loved, he imagined that he had actually written them himself, and was giving interviews about them to critics or reviewers (always humble in his deflection of the interviewer’s praise) or reading from them to large, avid audiences in a bookstore or some hall full of occupied seats. He imagined his own photograph on the back jacket flap of a hardcover (taking as his templates the already outdated writer-leaning-over- manual-typewriter or writer-with-pipe) and thought far too often about sitting at a table, signing copies for a long, coiling line of readers. Thank you, he would intone graciously to each woman or man. That’s so kind of you to say. Yes, that’s one of my favorites, too.

It wasn’t precisely true that Jake never thought about the actual writing of his future fictions. He understood that books did not write themselves, and that real work—work of imagination, work of tenacity, work of skill—would be required to bring his own eventual books into the world. He also understood that the field was not uncrowded: a lot of young people just like himself felt the way he did about books and wanted to write them one day, and it was even possible that some of these other young people might conceivably have even more natural talent than he did, or possibly a more robust imagination, or just a greater will to get the job done. These were not ideas that gave him much pleasure, but, in his favor, he did know his own mind. He knew that he would not be getting certified to teach English in public schools (“if the writing thing doesn’t work out”) or taking the LSATs (“why not?”). He knew that he had chosen his lane and begun swimming, and he would not stop swimming until he held his own book in his own hands, at which point the world would surely have learned the thing he himself had known for so many years:

He was a writer.

A great writer.

That had been the intention, anyway.

ABOUT 'THE PLOT': 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?

MY THOUGHTS: Twenty-four hours after finishing a combined read/listen of The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz, I am no clearer in my own mind on my feelings about it. It is very much a book of two halves. The first 50% is very much a slow burn. Very little happens except that we wallow in Jake Finch Bonner's misery at being a failed writer. At one point, I actually considered ditching this read, but by 60% things have taken an interesting turn, full of suspense and intrigue, and I was hooked.

There is, of course, a book within a book. Once Jake has written Crib and begun to receive the accusatory messages, we get to read chapters of Crib interspersed with chapters of The Plot, detailing Jake's frantic search for the person behind the messages. Even though I caught on early on who was behind the messages, it did not affect my newly found enjoyment or the tension and suspense because I wanted to know what this person was going to do about it. I wasn't disappointed.

⭐⭐⭐.7

#ThePlot #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: Jean Hanff Korelitz was born to Jewish parents and raised in New York City. While living in England, Korelitz met irish poet, Paul Muldoon. They married, have two children and reside in Korelitz's native New York City.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Faber and Faber Ltd via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

POSTSCRIPT: The sequel to The Plot is due for publication October 2024. It is titled THE SEQUEL. Will I be reading it? Hell, yes!

Unfortunately it’s taken me a while to read this and I don’t think it’s for me. I’ve seen so many people enjoy it but unpopular opinion I don’t rate it.
I read the blurb and thought what an exciting and fun premise. I was utterly intrigued right from the short blurb.

I'm a love a good book with a twists, turns and this was good but flopped at times for me. It occasionally dragged out for me, like it went on and on, kept going off and I didn’t really get thriller feel from it. I just wanted it to get to the action and keep my interest instead I struggled to want to pick it up.

A needed an easy read due to not feeling great and having read some heavy books. I could have appreciated the cleverness I kept hearing about if it weren’t the fact I kept getting bored.

The only reason I’ve given it 3* is because I enjoyed the last 30% of the book it was fast and really intrigued me, but getting there was tricky and I nearly DNF.

I don’t think I’ll be reading the sequel “The Sequel”

Really enjoyed this book, Well written looking forward to reading more from the author in the future.

Hard to rate this one so erring on the side of generosity. The plot was very predictable but I did find it an engaging page-turner.

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

What an engaging concept and wonderfully crafted prose! I thoroughly enjoyed how it skillfully transported readers into the captivating realm of writers and the publishing industry, exploring essential elements like reviewers, book tours, interviews, and the devoted fan base. This riveting tale weaves murder, deception, lies, and family dynamics, delving into the ethical dilemma of drawing inspiration from other writers' plots, a practice embraced by even the most esteemed authors. My only minor critique would be that the identity of the individual threatening Jake might have been somewhat evident, yet overall, I wholeheartedly endorse this book and encourage others to read it.

I cannot count the number of people I’ve recommended this book to. So clever! So compelling! Absolutely brilliant.

Absolute page turner, this is an excellent story very well crafted and told, with believable (if not always likeable) characters. Wonderful.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one sounded great. Exciting plot. But sadly it just didn’t live up to the description . It was slow paced. Dragged on to much for me. Had so much potential

This book wasn’t great but it wasn’t terrible it was a interesting premise but wasn’t executed as well is it could have been

This was a cleverly written thriller and had quite a unique premise. The plot was engaging and interesting and I definitely enjoyed this

What an exciting and fun premise for a book! I found this story to be utterly intruiging just from the short blurb alone.

I'm a sucker for a book with a twist and this 'plot' sure does deliver.

A clever but easy to read kind of thriller that will keep the pages turning well past the candle burning down.

I look forward to more twists and turns from this author.

The Plot is a phenomenal thriller from start to finish. Filled to the brim with twists and a captivating plot, this one is sure to keep readers hooked. The characters are well-developed. The story is incredibly fast-paced. This is one not to be missed! Highly recommended! Be sure to check out The Plot today.

Typical who dunnit, these sorts of books are always lovable. Unfortunately the pacing wasn't quick enough for me and find myself losing interest.

I was looking for a change in my usual literary fiction/tending towards romance novel and I picked this up out of the DRC TBR as I’ve heard some great things. I’m glad I did, it was perfect for a weekend in the garden and definitely kept me hooked up to the end!

Jake ‘Finch’ Bonner is a writing professor at a fading school, where he resentfully teaches students who want to write novels. Once hailed as something akin to the next great American novelist, he now finds himself struggling with the sink back into nonentity status. Arguably this is worse than not having a novel published, as he knows what it’s like to taste that celebrity and popularity, and he continues to chase it knowing it’s only getting farther away.

In one of his classes he meets an obnoxious, arrogant student who declares that you can’t teach writing and that he has the best plot ever, one which will bring thousands of people out to talk about it, it’ll be a New York Times bestseller on Oprah and with an A list director for the film adaptation. Irritated and interested, Jake is wrestling with the dual roles of teacher and writer, as well as a personal dislike of this unlikeable person. A few years pass and he finds out that this student died not long after their class, and before the most amazing book was published. He spots an opportunity, and the rest of the narrative unfolds from there.

I think the best stories of this kind stem from a moral question. Similar to The School for Good Mothers, as the reader you follow the main character whether or not you agree with them, and explore their motives and justifications alongside. Jake’s reasoning covers all sorts of areas, such as the idea that a good writer would be duty bound to liberate the best story, or that he wrote the book anyway and all he had was the plot.

The clever thing about this is that the best plot ever appears in the book itself, as a kind of ouroboros, meta-textual book in book. This is a bold move, and reminded me of the Tenacious D song about the best song in the world: "Tribute". I actually wanted to read the other book, called ‘Crib’, which is a testament to a good writer in my opinion.

Both book titles - The Plot and Crib, have more than one meaning, and that was an interesting thing to think about as you read through the novel(s).The Plot is the plot of a novel, the plot against Jake as someone knows that he stole the story. Crib is about children, about plagiarising.

One of the fun parts is figuring out the twists and discovering if your theories are right or not, and although some of them were not subtle, I think that wrongfoots you into believing other things - I was definitely surprised by a couple of the reveals.
This is one of the few books I read without mentally recasting it for a film, although I think it would make a great one. It reminded me tonally of something like Gone Girl or Girl on a Train, where what you think is true turns out not to be. In fact, iMDB is currently showing that it’s a mini series in the works where Jake is played by the incredible Mahershala Ali - one to look out for!

Definitely the best book I read last month. Its unfair but I absolutely love books about writers and the book industry and adding a thriller to that was a perfect mix. Its about a writer whose best selling book is actually based on a plot and story his student told him before he died. https://fashionandfrappes.com/everything-i-read-in-may-2022/

This novel is intelligently written, intriguing and utterly compelling.

I loved the characters and was engrossed from page one.