Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

11 reviews

davinmotion's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed this overall- it was a quick and fun read. The discussion about plagiarism that this book stirs up, whether you read it on your own or with a group of people, is very insightful. There’s no “right” answer and it brings to mind, for me, the controversy with art and AI. Plagiarism and what falls under its umbrella will continue to be debated for years to come, so it’ll never not be present. This book also though, really tries to sell you that the plot Jake may or may not have plagiarized is a brand new literary device. The build up to it is so great you’re nearly furious to know what it is, so that when you finally hear it…you’ll have opinions. I admire what this author did and how they pieced together this story, but I think I’ll always prefer Stephen King’s novella with the same question of plagiarism since I prefer the character of Morton Rainey more. That said, I still think the story that Jean Hanff Korelitz spins is worth the read if you want a fun and fast mystery.  

Also, the passing reference to Josh Kilmer-Purcell and his husband was not lost on me and was incredibly unexpected. I highly recommend his books if you haven’t already, for his voice is a unique look into a life many of us have likely never experienced firsthand, and his humor despite some of the circumstances he finds himself in, is fantastic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse

Moderate: Stalking

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Murder, and Death of parent

I think “Anna” is supposed to feel like a more mature manic pixie girl in her introduction, but I found her suspicious fairly quickly. I really wonder if we were intended to pick up that something was off about her and consistently question her arrival as the story progressed, or if we were to focus on instead on Talented Tom being Martin or someone we were yet to meet. This is the weakest part for me, as well as the question of plagiarism in the first place, since some in my book club felt he never plagiarized at all. So to people that see little wrong in taking Evan’s plot, the whole novel becomes more of a character study of Jake and why he is so distraught, which loses some of the appeal.

londonsetterby's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Murder, Stalking, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, and Pregnancy

Minor: Vomit

Death from anaphylactic food allergy

kcelena's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Death, Murder, Stalking, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, and Suicide

sibertooth's review against another edition

funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Welp. I just stayed up till the middle of the night to finish this, which isn't something I generally do these days.

What's so fun about this book is that it starts out as a bog-standard MFA Dramedy – you know, with the stalled next novel and the awful student stories and all that – and then turns into a thriller while, to all appearances, keeping the MFA Dramedy scope and stakes. It is genuinely tense and gripping to read about this guy worrying that he's bargained away his self-respect and is about to lose his career.

It gets more conventional later on, and I guessed both big twists (the one in the main story and the one in the within-a-story) somewhat in advance, but that's an expected part of the thriller-reading experience, right?

Tone-wise (as opposed to plot-wise), the ending did seem to come out of left field, and that soured things a tiny bit for me. But this is still a heck of a ride.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Stalking, Vomit, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, and Suicide

Minor: Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Pregnancy

jaynovara's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Cancer, Cursing, Drug use, Vomit, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, and Murder

apeck's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Drug abuse, Suicide, Child death, Death, Stalking, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, and Pregnancy

Minor: Abortion

bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Gosh, I love a thriller -- and bonus points to this one for the meta factor. None of it was particularly surprising, but Korelitz's writing is so captivating that I didn't really care. And for those that have read it too,

the ending had me think of "Only Murders in the Building"

!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Stalking, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Child death, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Car accident, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Abortion

liz_not_bennet's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

The beginning was slow but then it became more and more WTF??! until I almost couldn't handle it anymore.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse and Murder

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Stalking, Death, Drug abuse, and Murder

jvd's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Stalking, Murder, Mental illness, and Drug use

katrinasherise's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abortion, Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Murder, Pregnancy, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Adult/minor relationship