Really enjoyed this long slow burn.

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Jacob Bonner Finch was once a promising young novelist who planned to be the next big thing. His first book was critically acclaimed and he had a high opinion of himself. After his second, third and fourth efforts went unnoticed, he was hit rock bottom. He took a position teaching at a third rate MFA program to pay the bills and spent a lot of time feeling sorry for himself. He had given up on his dreams. One of his mentioned to him the plot of a story that he planned to write - and it was magical. A sure hit. Jacob jealously braces himself for the publication of his student's book - he's pissed that Evan Parker will be the next big thing and not him. But it never happens. Eventually, he discovers that Evan Parker has died without ever publishing the great American novel that they discussed. Now what are the ethics on that story idea, left behind by a dead man?

I'm going to be honest with you, I read the first few chapters of this book on the website Bookish Firsts, and I didn't think I wanted to read the rest of it. Jacob Bonner Finch was not a likable character, in fact he was a self indulgent asshole. I didn't think I wanted to read a whole book of him whining about his poor luck. I read a lot of mixed reviews on the book, some very positive and some very negative, and that made me curious enough to give it a try. I was so wrong! I thought this was a fantastic book! I really enjoyed it! The narrative flipped back and forth between Jacob's life and the mysterious novel. I was so interested in that novel that I couldn't wait for the narrative to flip back to it, to give me another little tidbit of what this book was about. I thought the stories were masterfully blended, and I was in suspense trying to figure out exactly what was happening, and how the two stories related, until the very end. It was a long, slow burn. It really held me breathless.