The Plot
The gripping New York Times bestselling page-turner that is perfect for fans of Lianne Moriarty and Lisa Jewell
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3.9 • 40 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
From the author of The Undoing
'Remarkable.' Stephen King
'Breathtakingly suspenseful.' Megan Abbott
'Smart, surprising and stealthily unsettling.' The Times
When a young writer dies before completing his first novel, his teacher, Jake, (himself a failed novelist) helps himself to its plot. The resulting book is a phenomenal success. But what if somebody out there knows?
Somebody does. And if Jake can't figure out who he's dealing with, he risks something far worse than the loss of his career.
What readers are saying
'It builds to a legitimately great ending that I may never forget. Highly recommended.'
'This book is thrilling, exciting and totally nerve-racking! It definitely had me on the edge of my seat and reading well past my bedtime.'
'Addictive . . . I read it quickly without coming up much for air.'
'Wow! This book blew me away- I read it so fast and the ending is so good! No spoilers- just read it.'
'I was pleasantly surprised to find that the best plot ever really is THAT good.'
The Plot was a NYT bestseller for w/c 6th June
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Jacob Finch Bonner, the hapless protagonist of this ingeniously twisty novel from Korelitz (The Devil and Webster), teaches creative writing in a low-residency MFA program at Ripley College in Vermont. Since his first novel came out to critical acclaim years before, Jake has published virtually nothing. One of Jake's students is cocky Evan Parker, who announces the first day of class that he's considering using "Parker Evan" as a pen name and is well along in his novel, which he asserts has the perfect plot. Soon after leaving the residency, Evan dies, leaving the "sure thing" to gather dust. When Jake learns of Evan's death, he uses Evan's plot for what turns out to be a phenomenally successful bestseller. But as Jake is in the midst of a whirlwind book tour, he's contacted by someone who knows exactly what he did and is vowing to out his literary transgression to the world. Deep character development, an impressively thick tapestry of intertwining story lines, and a candid glimpse into the publishing business make this a page-turner of the highest order. Korelitz deserves acclaim for her own perfect plot.
Customer Reviews
Well written to keep you engaged, but…
The plot was obvious half way so the end was a let down. But enjoyable read nevertheless.
The inside story
3.5 stars
Author
American. Author of six previous novels, the best known of which, You Should Have Known (2014), was adapted into the HBO series The Undoing (starring Nicole Kidman and Huge Grants, I mean Hugh Grant). As the author is at pains to point out, considerable adaptation was involved (and not for the better in my opinion).
In brief
Jacob Finch Bonner was a young male author who scored a big hit with his debut novel, but couldn't follow-up. He's now closing in on 40. He doesn't have writer's block or anything. It's just that nobody wants to read or publish his subsequent work. He gets a gig teaching at a third rate writers' workshop in upstate New York, which he hates but a guy's got to eat, right? An arrogant student refuses Jake's help because he's got the perfect plot. Our boy thinks the dude's up himself until he sees his plot outline. The program ends and our boy's career continues to decline until he reads that the above mentioned student with the super plot idea has died without ever completing his great American novel. Jake appropriates the story, and scores big until an e mail arrives one day that reads "You are a thief." There follows an anonymous campaign against our boy, who uncovers mucho disturbing secrets bout the dude he stole the story from. Murder turns out to be a bigger deal than plagiarism. Or is it?
Writing
Third person narrative. Slow buildup to the one-third mark then away we go as the protagonist's narrative alternates with chapters of the book in question. Good plot development and satisfactory denouement.
Bottom line
Writers writing about writers writing can get tedious for certain readers. Me, for instance. Books within books are particularly tricky to pull off. Ms K does it well here. Unfortunately for her, Anthony Horowitz did it even better in Moonflower Murders (2020) IMHO. If we extend the trope to plays within plays, Ira Levin's screenplay for Deathrap (Sidney Lumet, 1982) was pretty good too.