Reviews with content warning for Abortion - The Plot

Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

20 reviews

apeck's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

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bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

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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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mlthomas234's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense 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

4.0

I enjoyed this book. The main character Jake is not particularly likable but he is understandable. I also liked the “story within the story” device and how we watched the plot unfold. A pretty solid thriller. I’m not giving it five stars for two reasons: for one, the first act is extremely slow. What the book summary shows as the premise (man steals plot, gets weird message) takes up the first THIRD of the book. This really didn’t feel necessary and ultimately I don’t think that long build up was consequential to the story. Secondly, the twist was fairly predictable— very shortly after that 30% mark. I don’t think a plot twist being predictable makes it a bad book— just didn’t blow me away.

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sfbookgirl's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The Plot is two books for the price of one! I enjoyed The Plot for its quick pace and its focus on the literary world. Jacob Finch Boner was once a famous author whose first book was an instant bestseller. Now working as an instructor for an MFA program, Jacob encounters a student named Evan Parker who arrogantly proclaims that he doesn’t need Jacob’s assistance because he has the best idea for a plot.

When Jacob later learns that Evan died, Jacob does what any writer would do…he writes the book Evan never got the chance to write. While riding the high of his new success, Jacob receives a startling email with the note, “You are a thief.” I enjoyed reading snippets of Jacob’s aka Evan’s book throughout The Plot, but I suggest not going in with high expectations for Evan's "best plot ever." That said, The Plot was still a thrilling read that is set in a world avid readers will enjoy.

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beauty_andbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense 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

3.0

I went into this book blind and the beginning was slow. I didn't mind the time jumps (I actually enjoyed them), but by a quarter through the book, I had an idea of the twist at the end. It was quite obvious which characters were the 'villains' and I was expecting more of a shock factor from the twist. The author built the twist up as something dark and brutal but it was pretty normal for a thriller.

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katrinasherise's review against another edition

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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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kbergsten's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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soobooksalot's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

"Fiction invites us into outrageous scenarios. That's one of the things we ask it to do."
Who is the keeper of an idea, a storyline? Have we, as readers, read anything like The Plot before?
Thank you to Celadon Book for the group read opportunity and gifted copy for review!
Jacob Finch Bonner is a struggling author and sometime writing teacher, in search of his next novel. A great one; a bestseller.
Along comes his big break with the publication of Crib, the unconventional story of a mother and daughter. And with that, he receives anonymous messages on social media accusing that his story is not his.
Who owns the intellectual rights to written work, to ideas? The author, the inspiration, or one who has lived it?
Chapters alternate between Jacob's story and chapters from his book, Crib.
The Plot starts off slowly, but as we read through both the book's events and Crib, a whole set of reveals opens up to us.
Author Jean Hanff Korelitz has crafted a unique and smartly-crafted work and I especially enjoyed a look at the inner workings of the literary world and publishing industry.
For those looking for something a little different in a thriller - recommended!
Released on May 11.

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juliafaye's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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leahsbooks's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective sad medium-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

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. I am offering my honest opinion voluntarily.

The premise of this story intrigued me, and I’m glad that I got the opportunity to read it. There were some things that I enjoyed, and a few things that I didn’t, but overall, it was a good read that held my attention as I flew through it.

The things I liked: It didn’t glamorize writing as an occupation. Jacob had his ups and downs (mostly downs), and I could empathize with the pressure that he was facing internally and externally. He was a complex character, and extremely flawed, which made him feel more real to me. I was hooked early on, even though the story developed rather slowly over the first half of the book. There’s an exploration into the ethics and morality of taking a plot idea from someone who isn’t using it (since they’re deceased), and the way guilt affected Jake even before he received the first message. Once the messages come in, the tension ratchets up until the conclusion. There were multiple storylines involved, which kept my attention held. In addition to Jake’s professional and personal arc, there were excerpts from Jake’s book itself, as well as the background of where the story idea came from. The way the story unfolded was interesting, even though this felt like more of a literary mystery than a thriller.

The things I didn’t like as much: I’m just going to say it — I knew who was sending the messages well in advance, so I wasn’t surprised by the big plot twist at all. It felt kind of disappointing after reading this whole book and knowing the reveal so early on. The ending wasn’t my favorite part of the book, and it felt so anti-climactic to me. It was also difficult to really get too attached to the characters, since they weren’t generally likable people. Evan was probably the biggest jerk I’ve read in a book recently, and if I met him in real life, he’s the kind of guy you’d just want to punch right in the face on principle alone. But Jake wasn’t a great guy either. I totally understand feeling down when you’re at the lowest point in your career and life, but he never seemed to feel positive at any point, and ended up dwelling on the negative at all times. It felt like this tendency to perseverate kept him from seeing things that were right in front of him. Finally, at times the writing style felt a little clunky, with run-on sentences that I’d have to reread once or twice to make sense of.

Even though the “like” paragraph is shorter than the “didn’t like” paragraph, I did enjoy the book. It was a good story, even if I don’t think that the worst writing can’t ruin an amazing plot. The phrase “anyone can be a writer” is repeated multiple times throughout the book, but I think it needs to be amended. Yes, anyone can be a writer, but not anyone can be a good writer, which I think is truly the key to success. This one is definitely worth the read, and clearly written by a good writer.

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