Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This book was cool. I liked the plot of the book itself and the plot that the book talks about. I'm giving this 3 stars because although the plot was a great plot, I had guessed "Whodunnit" a mile away... and was not completely thrilled when it was confirmed. I wished to be shocked and/or surprised to say the least but ended up being disappointedly accurate about my assumptions.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Jacob Finch Bonner is a once-promising writer stuck teaching at a third-rate MFA program when a student shares a blockbuster plot idea—and then unexpectedly dies. Years later, Jacob, desperate for success, steals the plot and publishes it as his own, launching him into literary fame. But just as he begins to enjoy his success, he receives an anonymous message: “You are a thief.” What follows is a tense, twisty unraveling of secrets, guilt, and the true cost of stealing a story.
This was May's book club read, and the consensus so far is that the first few chapters are tough to get through. While I agree, I was relieved to find that the writing lightens up and the story picks up pace. This was one of the rare thrillers where I actually predicted the twist (👏🏽), but even so, I missed a small but crucial detail that was right under my nose—and I so want to talk about it, but no spoilers here. Just know that this one rewards close readers!
If you enjoy literary thrillers with a slow burn, dark academia vibes, and a story-within-a-story format, The Plot might be for you. It’s especially satisfying for fans of books about writing and moral ambiguity.
I also just picked up The Sequel (yep, that’s the title!), and I’m excited to see where Jean Hanff Korelitz takes this next.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
This is a book that verrrry much had me in its grasp, and which I really wanted to give five stars. But right from the beginning I told myself I was only allowed to do that if the hook of this book delivered on its central promise. And I don't think it did, not as much as the author wanted it to, anyway. The premise here is that a writing teacher (a once promising author himself) takes the plot of a novel from a deceased student—a plot which the student told him would be a guaranteed bestseller and make him tons of money, a "sure thing"—because hey, he's not using it (being dead), and that premise *needs* to be written. Sure enough, two years later, our main character is a bestselling author, rich, with a movie adaptation on the way to be directed by Steven Spielberg. But he starts getting messages calling him a thief. Who is writing the messages if the student is dead?
plot /plät/
And we get to play with all of those by the time the story is done. In addition to the main plot of our main character Jake writing the book and then hoping not to get caught out, we also get excerpts from Jake's novel, which he calls Crib (a clever play on the double and/or triple meaning of the this book's title, as "crib" has multiple means as well). It is in this area that I felt the story didn't fully deliver, although to be clear what was there was great. But this guy (his name is Evan) makes the bold claim that no one has a plot like his, that it's a guaranteed hit, no one could mess it up, that it will make its author a millionaire, win him fame and critical acclaim. And he's right. So by the time we finally get around to seeing the "twist" that everyone is pooping their pants over, it has to live up to all that expectation. And I just don't think it does!
For one thing, there are several interconnected twists in this book, but I called one of them almost right away, which had me primed to try and figure out what else was going on. So by the time I had that suspicion confirmed, the "big twist" at that point felt inevitable. I just don't think this is a plot that is as good as Korelitz thinks it is (or, at the very least, almost every single character thinks it is, in the world she's created).
All that said, though, this was still great. I love the way that Korelitz writes about writing. I thought she navigated several complicated characters and fraught situations in a way that left me appreciative of their nuance, instead of being beaten over the head with a stick. The ending of the book is almost perfect, a hard enough thing to accomplish, but especially in a suspense novel. This book made me want to pick up writing again.
I'm not sure whether I will pick up anything else from this author. None of her other plots sound as interesting as this one (heh). Although I did have Admission on my TBR for a long time, I finally took it off a couple of years ago because it had been there for over a decade without my having read it. The Latecomer sounds interesting, but I'm rarely in the mood for family drama. I guess we'll see what she comes out with next.
[4.5 stars rounded down, coz of that plot, yo]
plot /plät/
a plan made in secret by a group of people to do something illegal or harmful
the main events of a play, novel, movie, or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence
a small piece of land that has been marked or measured for a particular purpose
And we get to play with all of those by the time the story is done. In addition to the main plot of our main character Jake writing the book and then hoping not to get caught out, we also get excerpts from Jake's novel, which he calls Crib (a clever play on the double and/or triple meaning of the this book's title, as "crib" has multiple means as well). It is in this area that I felt the story didn't fully deliver, although to be clear what was there was great. But this guy (his name is Evan) makes the bold claim that no one has a plot like his, that it's a guaranteed hit, no one could mess it up, that it will make its author a millionaire, win him fame and critical acclaim. And he's right. So by the time we finally get around to seeing the "twist" that everyone is pooping their pants over, it has to live up to all that expectation. And I just don't think it does!
For one thing, there are several interconnected twists in this book, but I called one of them almost right away, which had me primed to try and figure out what else was going on. So by the time I had that suspicion confirmed, the "big twist" at that point felt inevitable. I just don't think this is a plot that is as good as Korelitz thinks it is (or, at the very least, almost every single character thinks it is, in the world she's created).
All that said, though, this was still great. I love the way that Korelitz writes about writing. I thought she navigated several complicated characters and fraught situations in a way that left me appreciative of their nuance, instead of being beaten over the head with a stick. The ending of the book is almost perfect, a hard enough thing to accomplish, but especially in a suspense novel. This book made me want to pick up writing again.
I'm not sure whether I will pick up anything else from this author. None of her other plots sound as interesting as this one (heh). Although I did have Admission on my TBR for a long time, I finally took it off a couple of years ago because it had been there for over a decade without my having read it. The Latecomer sounds interesting, but I'm rarely in the mood for family drama. I guess we'll see what she comes out with next.
[4.5 stars rounded down, coz of that plot, yo]
Very unique book! Took me about 60 pages to get into it, but then I couldn't put it down. I did not enjoy the little I listened to of the audiobook, so I would suggest reading this rather than listening to it.