Friday, May 7, 2021

5.7.2021 - The Plot

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Many thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for gifting me a digital copy of the latest novel by Jean Haniff Korelitz - 4.5 stars rounded up for a fascinating look into the writer's world.

Jake Finch Bonner had his first book published to a promising beginning; his second went nowhere.  Trying to keep afloat financially, he is back at his summer job teaching a MFA course at a third-rate institution.  One of his students, Evan Parker, swears he has the perfect plot of a book he is writing that is guaranteed to be a publishing star; however, he isn't willing to share his writing with the other students.  Until their one meeting where Evan shares his plot.  After the course is over, life goes on with Jake being forced to leave NYC for upstate NY working at yet another teaching job and trying to write.  He stumbles upon news that Evan Parker died not long after their meeting and never published his book.  The perfect plot is just there waiting to be written.  So Jake writes it and becomes the famous writer he could only have dreamed about.  Until someone starts sending Jake messages saying he knows that Jake stole the book.

It took me a bit to get into this book but then I couldn't put it down.  Intermixed with Jake's story, we get to read parts of the novel that he wrote, Crib.  It's a great mystery book as Jake tries to figure out who is sending him these messages.  It's also a book about writing, writers and books!  Very well written - this one deserves the buzz it's getting.

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