Jean Hanff Korelitz's newest book, The Plot, is a solid read and well worth a look for those readers who enjoy a slow burn mystery.
Jacob "Finch" Bonner is a writer whose professional career has petered out. After a successful debut novel, he was never able to recapture the magic and is teaching at a second rate writing program in Vermont as the story begins. There, he meets a student (Evan Parker) who reveals a plot so magnificent, Evan is sure he will win the writer's pot of gold: critical acclaim, film deals, wide-reaching fame, etc.
Jake knows it's true and waits out the years of his continued waning career expecting to see Evan's name lighting up the publishing world. But it never happens. Because Evan Parker is dead. And Jake hatches his own plot. You see, Evan's story just has to be told. And Jake is just the author to do it.
Soon after, Jake is riding the wave of Evan's predicted success. But not everyone is happy about. When Jake receives an email simply stating "you are a thief," his life begins to unravel. And as he works to discover the identity of his newest antagonist, all while hiding the truth about his newest books from his colleagues and family, he learns terrifying details of Evan's life. After all, how did Evan himself come up with this plot?
There are many things to like about this book. The writing flows beautifully and the reader is sucked into the prose immediately. I also loved the novel-within-a-novel approach as Korelitz reveals small snippets of the book that captured glory for Jacob. The plot is clever and, being on the edges of the writing community myself, I loved her commentary on authors. The villain, although fairly predictable, is satisfying.
Where I did feel a little let down is in Jacob. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I felt a disconnect with him, as though I were never fully immersed in the story or his POV. It felt more distant than I normally like. I think I was also looking for more menace. Even with the terrifying conclusion, I never really had that edge-of-the-seat experience that makes a thriller so satisfying. And seeing how heated writing topics can get on social media, the threats against Jacob feel kind of mundane. But these things are fairly subjective, and as I said, this was a solid book that eclipses a lot of what I have read.
A very special thanks to Celadon Books and their Celadon Readers program for sending a copy of this book in exchange for this review.
Jacob "Finch" Bonner is a writer whose professional career has petered out. After a successful debut novel, he was never able to recapture the magic and is teaching at a second rate writing program in Vermont as the story begins. There, he meets a student (Evan Parker) who reveals a plot so magnificent, Evan is sure he will win the writer's pot of gold: critical acclaim, film deals, wide-reaching fame, etc.
Jake knows it's true and waits out the years of his continued waning career expecting to see Evan's name lighting up the publishing world. But it never happens. Because Evan Parker is dead. And Jake hatches his own plot. You see, Evan's story just has to be told. And Jake is just the author to do it.
Soon after, Jake is riding the wave of Evan's predicted success. But not everyone is happy about. When Jake receives an email simply stating "you are a thief," his life begins to unravel. And as he works to discover the identity of his newest antagonist, all while hiding the truth about his newest books from his colleagues and family, he learns terrifying details of Evan's life. After all, how did Evan himself come up with this plot?
There are many things to like about this book. The writing flows beautifully and the reader is sucked into the prose immediately. I also loved the novel-within-a-novel approach as Korelitz reveals small snippets of the book that captured glory for Jacob. The plot is clever and, being on the edges of the writing community myself, I loved her commentary on authors. The villain, although fairly predictable, is satisfying.
Where I did feel a little let down is in Jacob. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I felt a disconnect with him, as though I were never fully immersed in the story or his POV. It felt more distant than I normally like. I think I was also looking for more menace. Even with the terrifying conclusion, I never really had that edge-of-the-seat experience that makes a thriller so satisfying. And seeing how heated writing topics can get on social media, the threats against Jacob feel kind of mundane. But these things are fairly subjective, and as I said, this was a solid book that eclipses a lot of what I have read.
A very special thanks to Celadon Books and their Celadon Readers program for sending a copy of this book in exchange for this review.