Review: The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
The Plot
by Jean Hanff Korelitz
Narrated by Kirby Heyborne
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publish Date: May 11, 2021
Audiobook
10 min 43 min
Standalone
Genres: Thriller, Psychological Suspense
Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he’s teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what’s left of his self-respect; he hasn’t written—let alone published—anything decent in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn’t need Jake’s help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as typical amateur narcissism. But then . . . he hears the plot.
Jake returns to the downward trajectory of his own career and braces himself for the supernova publication of Evan Parker’s first novel: but it never comes. When he discovers that his former student has died, presumably without ever completing his book, Jake does what any self-respecting writer would do with a story like that - a story that absolutely needs to be told.
In a few short years, all of Evan Parker’s predictions have come true, but Jake is the author enjoying the wave. He is wealthy, famous, praised and read all over the world. But at the height of his glorious new life, an e-mail arrives, the first salvo in a terrifying, anonymous campaign: You are a thief, it says.
As Jake struggles to understand his antagonist and hide the truth from his readers and his publishers, he begins to learn more about his late student, and what he discovers both amazes and terrifies him. Who was Evan Parker, and how did he get the idea for his “sure thing” of a novel? What is the real story behind the plot, and who stole it from whom?
My Review:
Slurp slurp... oh excuse me. This soup is delicious but erm....
Haha - omg y'all.. I LOOOOVED this book so dang much. Jake is... something. But I get him in a weird way. Who doesn't want to be successful. Who, after a taste of success and subsequent downfall, doesn't want it again.. isn't jealous of those around who are making it? Who then stumbles along something that while might not be the best idea, surely couldn't really hurt anyone? I mean, his asshole student is dead now so it's not reaalllllly stealing.
AHHHHHHHH - ok, I just loved the way this whole story unfolded. Screw Evan, GO JAKE. But also Jake was sometimes so damned annoying. I almost welcomed these harassing messages he was getting. I was here for the journey he had to go on to figure out what the hell was actually going on and why. At a certain point, I was like, "maybe.... this this and that"... and BOOM - my neighbors probably wondered why I was like "I KNEW IT!!" - especially loud since I had my ear plugs in. Oh happy smile. I loved the ending. Like a lot.
The narrator was fun. And I think one of my favorite characters was Mike - although a tertiary character, he made an impression and I needed that giggle. Why haven't I read this author before?? Kicking myself a little for waiting so long on this one.
★★★★★
No comments
Leave a Comment