The Plot

Author: Jean Hanff Korelitz
Genre: Psychological Thriller
320 pages
Publisher: Flatiron, 2023

Synopsis
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
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz is a psychological thriller with a clever setup. When I heard it had a story-within-a-story framework, I was immediately intrigued. I’d seen so many great reviews and was excited to dive in over the weekend. While the concept is fascinating, I found the first part a bit slow to get into. Once the story gained momentum, it was engaging, but I did find some of the twists fairly easy to predict.

Korelitz does a good job developing her characters, though I didn’t find any of them particularly likable. In the context of this novel, that actually worked. I did enjoy getting inside Jake’s head as he spirals after being accused of plagiarism, and his obsession with tracking down the person making the accusations added an interesting layer to the story. That said, Jacob felt a bit one-note. He’s the kind of character who fades into the background—someone you might meet once and forget the moment they’re out of sight. He seems stuck in his own inertia, frustrated by his lack of success but never really doing much to change it.

The Plot has a fantastic premise, but for me, the execution didn’t quite live up to its potential. The storyline is cleverly constructed, and it makes for a quick, engaging escape, but the combination of a somewhat predictable plot and characters I didn’t connect with left me feeling a bit underwhelmed in the end.

My recommendation: an OK read but there are better stories available!