You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
dark
fast-paced
I enjoyed the writing but the plot was a little far-fetched and predictable.
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
The Plot is a slight step outside of my usual reading habits because it's definitely got more of a literary fiction real to it, especially at the start where Jacob Finch Bonner's unfulfilled potential as a writer is almost exhaustingly detailed:
When the book begins, Jake is teaching at a poorly rated MFA programme, one that pretends that anyone can be a writer when Jake (from his own experiences) knows that this isn't the case. A new student, Evan Parker, irritates Jake with his surety that he has an amazing novel idea...at least until he reveals the plot that he has thought of to Jake. At this point, Jake is crushed because he realises that Evan is right - he has an award-winning plot on his hands; an idea that Jake is utterly jealous about.
Years pass but Jake doesn't hear of the book being published. When he looks up Evan, he realises that his student has passed away - without writing the plot that he mentioned. Jake then decides to bring the book to life, making minor changes to Evan's literary choices. This book, known as Crib becomes a bestseller, catapulting Jake to success beyond his dreams. But all the while, he lives in fear that someone will discover the truth about him. And then someone does:
The Plot unravels from that point onwards. I will admit that I found the first third of the book to be pretty slow-going because Jake's perspective isn't exactly the most pleasant place to be - he is convinced of his own talent but unable to deliver on it, until he steals Evan's idea. Now this is where things start to get really interesting because Jake starts to investigate who knew about Evan's idea and could be harassing him.
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.
When the book begins, Jake is teaching at a poorly rated MFA programme, one that pretends that anyone can be a writer when Jake (from his own experiences) knows that this isn't the case. A new student, Evan Parker, irritates Jake with his surety that he has an amazing novel idea...at least until he reveals the plot that he has thought of to Jake. At this point, Jake is crushed because he realises that Evan is right - he has an award-winning plot on his hands; an idea that Jake is utterly jealous about.
Years pass but Jake doesn't hear of the book being published. When he looks up Evan, he realises that his student has passed away - without writing the plot that he mentioned. Jake then decides to bring the book to life, making minor changes to Evan's literary choices. This book, known as Crib becomes a bestseller, catapulting Jake to success beyond his dreams. But all the while, he lives in fear that someone will discover the truth about him. And then someone does:
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 with a brutal, reverberating crack. Its horrifying email address was [email protected], and though the message was brevity itself at a mere four words, it still managed to get its point across.
You are a thief.
The Plot unravels from that point onwards. I will admit that I found the first third of the book to be pretty slow-going because Jake's perspective isn't exactly the most pleasant place to be - he is convinced of his own talent but unable to deliver on it, until he steals Evan's idea. Now this is where things start to get really interesting because Jake starts to investigate who knew about Evan's idea and could be harassing him.
Spoiler
I've read enough thrillers to pretty much figure out the twists that were coming - I had guessed that the idea was based on reality and also that Jake's life, Alice, was involved in the plot somehow. However, I'd thought that Alice was the daughter in the story and didn't figure out that in fact, the mother had killed the daughter and then took over her identity. In some ways, Crib felt like a more exciting book.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It took me more than half the book to get into it, but I'm glad I didn't give up on it.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was absolutely the right audience for this novel.
If there was a Venn diagram that combined MFA programs, fiction writers, teachers of writing, writers who teach and thriller lovers -- it would be a very complicated Venn Diagram, sure-- I'd be right there in the middle, sucking this story right up from the first page to the last.
(Also, I have met Evan Parker something like a dozen times now. Writers so smug and confident about their work - because that plot!--they simply can't do something as mundane and ordinary as talk about it. Even if he'd lived--we know this, don't we?--Evan Parker wasn't going to write that book. But that's beside the point. Maybe.)
If there was a Venn diagram that combined MFA programs, fiction writers, teachers of writing, writers who teach and thriller lovers -- it would be a very complicated Venn Diagram, sure-- I'd be right there in the middle, sucking this story right up from the first page to the last.
(Also, I have met Evan Parker something like a dozen times now. Writers so smug and confident about their work - because that plot!--they simply can't do something as mundane and ordinary as talk about it. Even if he'd lived--we know this, don't we?--Evan Parker wasn't going to write that book. But that's beside the point. Maybe.)
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was really curious and interested in this book based on the plot (see what I did there - ha) but unfortunately it fell quite flat for me. Immediately I was struck by the rambling and strange overly descriptive descriptions. The foreshadowing was IMMENSE and made then the “thriller” aspect of the book feel painfully slow. I also felt very little empathy for Jacob and felt weird disconnected. I wish I had been more invested and the thriller had been more thrilling. Ultimately I was pleased with the ending so I give it a little boost for that.