The Plot: A Novel

Thank you to the publisher and BookishFirst for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz is a thriller disguised as a metafictional take on writers and the writing process. When I read the first few chapters of The Plot, I thought I understood what the book was trying to do. It makes fun of writers, MFA programs, bestselling authors in a dry, sarcastic way, in a way that can only be done by an author who has gone through the process enough times to be able to make fun of it. I was prepared for a funny send-up of the writing and publishing process, similar to Admission, another of the author's books. What I was not prepared for was that The Plot is actually a thriller! The plot of the Plot revolves around Jacob Finch Bonner, a one-hit-wonder author who is now teaching at a no-name, low-tier MFA program. He is dreading his days teaching writers who think they know it all already and wishing that he could write a best-selling book. Here is an excerpt from Chapter One that demonstrates the narrator's dry, humorous tone: "Worst of all were the ones who reminded Jake most of himself: “literary novelists,” utterly serious, burning with resentment toward anyone who’d gotten there first. The Clive Cusslers and mom bloggers might still be persuadable that Jake was a famous, or at least a “highly regarded” young (now “youngish”) novelist, but the would-be David Foster Wallaces and Donna Tartts who were certainly present in the pile of folders? Not so much. This group would be all too aware that Jacob Finch Bonner had fumbled his early shot, failed to produce a good enough second novel or any trace of a third novel, and been sent to the special purgatory for formerly promising writers, from which so few of them ever emerged." Here's another excerpt from Chapter Two that definitely made me chuckle: "Everything about the guy screamed FICTION WRITER, though the species itself broke down more or less evenly into the subcategories: 1. Great American Novelist 2. New York Times Bestselling Author Or that highly rare hybrid . . . 3. New York Times Bestselling Great American Novelist The triumphant savior of the abducted bottle opener might want to be Jonathan Franzen, in other words, or he might want to be James Patterson, but from a practical standpoint it made no difference." One day, a student named Evan Parker tells him the plot of an incredible story that Jacob knows will become a bestseller. Evan eventually dies, and Jacob decides to take the plot that Evan told him and use it to write a new book. This all sounds perfectly normal, right? That is, until Jacob starts getting notes and emails saying that he is a thief and that he plagiarized his book. But how could anyone know that he copied Evan's plot? Evan's dead, right? Who else would know about the plot? The plot just keeps increasing intensity from there until it turns into a full-blown thriller with plenty of twists and turns. What I thought was literary fiction is actually a thriller! Since I really enjoy reading thrillers, much more than literary fiction, The Plot turned out a pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I highly recommend it for all fans of thrillers or anyone looking for a humorous look at writers and the writing process. The only reason I'm taking off one star is because I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending. I was definitely surprised, but it requires some suspension of disbelief. Overall, if you're intrigued by anything in the synopsis, you won't regret checking out The Plot when it comes out in May!

Meet Jake Finch Bonner ... he's an author of a couple of books and while neither were greatly received, it was enough to land him a position of teaching in a small program. He's written a couple of others , but he still carries them around in his briefcase .. unseen by anyone else. In his classroom of maybe a dozen wanna-be authors is Evan Parker. Parker brags that he doesn't really need to be taught anything at all .... he has the greatest plot ever. Jake is prepared to dismiss his bragging .. until he hears the plot. Bonner accepts that his writing career is over, and he waits patiently for Parker's book to be published. 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. It's called plagiarism. And once Bonner receives accolades for "his" newest book, he receives an anonymous email .. someone knows his secret. It escalates .. emails, twitter, threats sent to his home, his publisher.... (BOOK BLURB) 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? With an intricate plot and deftly drawn characters, it's quite a journey to get the answers to the questions Bonner should have asked before he decided to steal another's words. The suspense starts at the very first and steadily holds until the unexpected conclusion. Many thanks to the author / Macmillan Publishers / Macmillan Reading Insiders Club / Netgalley for the digital copy of this excellent psychological fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I was so excited to win an early review copy of The Plot from BookishFirst. I was crossing my fingers so hard that I would win! As soon as I receive the book I drove right in. I knew I would enjoy it but I didn’t think I would have enjoyed it THIS much. I already am a huge fan of books that have to do with books, bookstores, booklovers, etc.. but this story took it to a whole new level. The story revolves around a college professor/failed novelist who has a student with a VERY good idea for a book.. possibly one of the BEST ideas to come across his desk in a long, long time. As a reader you are taken on a thrilling journey of the twist and turns of the publishing world, ownership and copyright. What does it mean to be successful? The suspense around the “theft” of a story idea had me up into the wee hours of the morning. BUY THIS BOOK! You will NOT regret it.