Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

7 reviews

atamano's review

dark mysterious 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

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Child death, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, and Sexism

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

soft_plush's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I have this book a 4 because it was better than I was expecting. Yes I kind of guessed the twist, but even before I got to the twist I was second guessing myself if I was correct. Turns out I had guessed correctly but still was kind of shocked by the end. Better than expected in my opinion. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Drug use, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Cursing, Grief, Murder, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcohol, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Alcohol and Cursing

in my opinion Anna was wrong about Jake stealing in a sense she said that he stole Evans story which in turn Evan stole her story from the beginning. I personally don’t see how jake could have known because he only barely remembered Evans original plot to begin with but I could have just read it wrong or differently who knows.

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

---

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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

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

Minor: Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Pregnancy

literarylion's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Pros:

• Jake's character is fleshed-out and feels realistic; his development is extreme but logical
• It is well-paced and I can tell Korelitz planned each scene carefully to build toward the twist
• I loved the meta aspect -- a plot within a plot within a plot, the trials of being an author/writer, the multiple meanings of plot, etc. 

Cons:

• The reveal felt trope-y and a bit contrived
• Anna's character and motivations don't feel believable to me

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual assault

Minor: Abortion and Vomit

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

---

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

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"

!

---

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