An Intense Page-Turner with an Electrifying Plot Twist
Written by Jean Hanff Korelitz, this is the story of frustrated novelist Jacob Finch Bonner. Jake published his first book to critical acclaim, although that didn’t translate into significant book sales. His second book was a total flop. Now he is heading to Ripley College, a small little-known college in Northern Vermont near the fabled “Northeast Kingdom,” where he will teach a low-residency symposium to wannabe novelists. Jake is miserable. Almost all his students are forgettable—except for one. Haughty, arrogant, and conceited Evan Parker thinks he has conceived a plot that is so exceptional, so explosive, so much of a pager-turner that it will not only be a No. 1 bestseller, but also a hit movie. And Evan will be world-famous. All he has to do is write it. Evan is guardedly evasive and highly secretive about this sure-thing winner, sharing only a few of the opening pages and telling no one the plot. At some point, Evan shares with Jake the gist of the plot, and Jake realizes that all the braggadocio is warranted. There has never been a novel like the one Evan has conceived. That sends Jake into a tailspin of gloom.
Fast forward a few years. Jake learns quite by accident that his former student has died. And he never wrote the novel. That amazing plot is still out there in the universe, waiting for an author to turn it into a book. Feeling only a little remorse and a few twinges of guilt about stealing his student’s brilliant idea, Jake writes the book. It’s titled “Crib,” and it is indeed a runaway bestseller with Steven Spielberg signing on to make the movie of the book. Oprah chooses it for her book club. Jake’s life is now everything he ever hoped it would be. And then it gets better. He’s a guest on a radio show in Seattle, and the woman who booked him on it is gorgeous and is flirting with him! Jake and Anna hit it off quickly, and she moves to New York City where they happily live together and soon marry.
Life is perfect, right? No. Because while he was Seattle, Jake received the first (of what would be many) threatening emails. It said: “You are a thief.” It was signed [email protected]. And so it begins. Someone out there knows that Jake stole the story idea, and that someone wants him to pay for his blatant, unabashed thievery. Jake is terrified. His only way out, in his mind, is to lie about what he did.
Korelitz gives lots of clues all along the way. Even I—who rarely figure out whodunit—could figure out this one, but the big plot twist at the end I didn’t see coming until right before it happened. Many of the clues are literary, which is so much fun for avid readers. Pay attention in particular to the novels “Housekeeping,” by Marilynne Robinson and “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” by Patricia Highsmith. (Even if you haven’t read these books, Korelitz eventually explains the clues from the these acclaimed novels, but if you have read them, you are more likely to figure out things sooner.)
“The Plot” is also two novels in one. Interposed with Jake’s story of writing “Crib” is the novel “Crib,” excerpted in several-page increments throughout the book. (And it IS a genius plot!)
This is an intense page-turner with an electrifying plot twist and a horrifying ending. But wait! There’s more! The story continues in “The Sequel.”
What a plot it is!
Great read, twists all thru the story and the story within the story. Truly was a book I couldn’t put down. Excellent writing keep the flow going the entire time.
Are there any new plots to be written?
My disclaimer: I have met Jean Hanff Korelitz many times and have attended many of her Pop-up book groups in NYC through her venture, Book the Writer.
I received an ARC of The Plot for Celadon and I was thrilled. I am not a thriller person in general, but The Plot hooked me from the beginning. I felt it was a slow burn. It starts at a bottom of the barrel MFA program, where Jacob Bonner Finch has arrived to teach fiction to his low residency students. After learning of an incredible plot his student is going to write about, Jake is even more depressed as his career is inert at the moment. Randomly, Jake learns of the student’s death and having few if any moral scruples, appropriates The Plot. Korelitz’s deft writing keeps you turning the pages as Jake becomes the novelist and gets his amazing career. But is Jake destined for happily ever after or does someone realize The Plot might not be his creation?
The Plot
It’s very good book.
Boring, boring, boring
Jake has written a highly successful novel that he based on a plot written by one of his students. The student is now dead, and Jake has rewritten the story. Jake did not really steal it from anyone, but he feels that he did. So does someone else who is badgering him online about it. Who is this? That’s what Jake sets out to learn.
I read several good reviews of this book before I decided to read it. I feel cheated. Although most reviews warn that the book has a slow beginning, they also assure the reader that it gets suspenseful, thrilling. Believe me when I tell you that, yes, THE PLOT does have a slow beginning; BUT it continues to drag right up to page 300.
If you can delay your gratification that long, go for it. I don’t know any people who can do that. No one should have to.
Even after page 300, you’re bound to be disappointed. The whole mystery is solved in the end, and I could see it coming long before I got that far.
