A great story, the original "plot" might not seem original, but the story as told by Jean Hanff Korelitz is definitely an original. Every story has more than one side, this one has several and each leads the reader on a different journey. A once successful writer who now finds himself teaching while he waits for his next great story, has a student, a young man with the potential to be a huge success. the young man dies too soon....yes we've seen this plot before, but stick with it, you will defnitely be surprised. I freaking loved this book, read it in one loooong sitting.

The Plot was one of this summers hottest books and I’m so glad I was able to read this! The Plot is a “book within a book” style and it really grabs you without being confusing.
A writer turned teacher starts getting threatening notes saying his new book plot is stolen and that’s all you need to know until this book grabs you! I was completely immersed in Jake’s story.
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!

The Plot, Jean Hanff Korelitz's literary thriller, is just a delight from start to finish. A clever, suspenseful plot and engagingly realistic characters are depicted through frankly ebullient, often tongue-in-cheek, prose, as the mystery is carefully but excitingly constructed, bit by bit, toward its dramatic conclusion. I gobbled this book up in just a couple of sittings, and enjoyed every minute of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book blew me away! I'll be honest, it started off slow and I was not a fan of the writing style, there were lots of thoughts in parentheses and exclamation points and I felt they really detracted from the story. However, once the true story actually began and Jake was enjoying success from his novel based on a former student's plot the writing style changed. At this point I could not put the book down. I just had to know who was threatening Jake. I also absolutely loved the excerpts from Jake's bestselling novel that were included throughout the book. Knowing what the story was that caused such an uproar made the whole story feel real.
I did not see the massive twist at all. Once that started to unfold I knew I wasn't putting the book down until I had read the last page. This is a book that will stick with me.
Read this book!!!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fantastic! Many twists and turns with one wild ending! It started out slow & was difficult to get into for me and I was worried it would be a long read. So for anyone who thinks the same, keep reading!! Excellent

DNF-no rating cuz it’s probably just me…

I'm going to put this one on the back burner for now.
I have been struggling with this one for awhile. Based on others reviews, this is a slow burn, and things don’t pick up until about 35% in. I’m ok with that. But the writing style is giving me pause as well. I have trouble connecting with sentences that are so wordy they end up as long as a paragraph.

The plot still intrigues me, so maybe I’ll give this another go, once my TBR pile gets shorter.

ARC provided by NetGalley

What I loved about this book was the premise that "art" imitates other artists. All the time. So when one is truly down and out in their profession, why not steal someone else's "art." Only a line is drawn. You get ideas from another writer's work because let's face it, that is where ideas come from. But when a writer goes overboard his world begins to terrorize him. Propelled by guilt? Or his own imagination? Or a haunting? Read on. A very good read!

This book was fantastic! Many twists and turns with one wild ending! It started out slow & was difficult to get into for me and I was worried it would be a long read. So for anyone who thinks the same, keep reading!! Excellent 😁

The Plot, by Jean Hanff Korelitz, does exactly what you want it to — provides you with an interesting mystery, a bit of a thrill, and an amusing, often tongue in cheek examination of teaching, writing, and the publishing industry. The story is twisty and exciting, but the real star is the prose, which is fresh and funny, and keeps you turning the page.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Jake Bonner wrote a really good, very popular book. But he was in danger of remaining a one-hit wonder when chance threw an opportunity in his way. Many years ago, when Jake was a teaching at a low-rent writer's workshop, a student told him about the plot of the book he was writing. Recognizing that the idea was sure to become a bestseller, Jake couldn't help but be jealous. Several years later, he comes to learn that the student has died, his book never written. So Jake takes the idea and runs with it.

Sure enough, the book is a hit, jumping onto the bestseller list, becoming an Oprah pick, everything Jake always thought he wanted. But he can't enjoy his fame and fortune, because he's just waiting for someone to expose him. And then one day, he gets a note: "You are a thief." Someone knows his secret, but who? And what do they want? As the threats of exposure intensify, Jake falls down the rabbit hall of his former student's life, where he unearths more secrets than might be quite healthy for him.

Like other reviewers, I too found the plot twist to be kind of predictable, but there was still plenty of suspense as I read to find out how Korelitz was going to pull it all off. On one level, this book is a disturbing, twisty story, with a somewhat pathetic main character you couldn't help but have some sympathy for. On another level, this book is a meditation on the ownership of ideas and the responsibility wrtiers have to one another. On either level, the book falls a little short, as characters and ideas aren't as fleshed out as one might like, but that doesn't prevent it from being an overall enjoyable read.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

Wowsers!!! I did not see the plot twist coming in this book!

Jake Finch Bonner is teaching in a MFA program when a student tells him a plot that will haunt him forever. A few years later, he finds out that the student has died without ever writing the book, so he decides to write it. Then one day, he receives a note - “You are a thief.”

I enjoyed the story within a story structure and appreciated the insider’s view of the writing and publishing industry.

A fiction novel, about a best selling fiction novel, that includes THE fiction novel? I was sold by the description alone. I mean who doesn’t like reading books about books, bookstores, or authors? A twist that was *fairly* predictable but still provided overall enjoyment, this was a fun and enjoyable read.

OMG! I absolutely LOVED The Plot. I mean what's not to love about a book within a book? The story is interesting and I found myself glued to the pages. It's been a while since I have been so delighted by a book, and so satisfied. It's a terrific book and one of my faves this year. I look forward to seeing what the author comes up with next. Thank you to Celadon books and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve read mixed reviews on this one, but I actually really enjoyed it. I have seen many references to the story being done before, but I can’t recall any I’ve read. I think the author’s writing style was fabulous and very well paced. The ending was a bit predictable; however, I do read a lot of mystery/thriller/suspense, so a lot of books are predictable to me. I would definitely recommend this to a fellow fans of those genres of books I previously mentioned.

Thank you for the review copy. :)

Terrific pacing and suspense, a real page-turner. The only issue I had with the book, which is about a professor of writing who steals a student's plot, is that the plot feels ripped off from a well-known book, later adapted for the big screen, about a professor who steals his student's plot. I mean, the plot of THE PLOT feels stolen! As the book poses the question of who owns stories, I kept expecting the author to acknowledge or make a nod to the book and film the plot was taken from, but that moment never came, which felt strange and disappointing.

I think the writing is strong, but the plot is weak and obvious. There was no big reveal or hold your breath moment. I was so excited to read this book and I was really disappointed.

Rating: 2/5 stars.

“The Plot“ is a mystery thriller by Jean Hanff Korelitz. The book is meta with a rather interesting premise that was sadly disappointing in its execution. Written partially as a book-within-a-book, the plot and main character are definitely meant to appeal to writers and writers-to-be.

The main character’s personality, trials and tribulations are fairly relatable for writers. The writing style, especially in the earlier chapters, is meant to match the pretentious style of the main character, Jacob. There are a lot of asides placed inside brackets, and a lot of rambling, so even though the book is written in third person perspective, it feels almost as if it has been written by the main character. The first half of the book is written in this way. This choice of writing style feels borderline satirical, and frankly made the book rather boring and hard to read. I almost gave up at about three chapters in and marked the book as “did not finish.” I decided to push through as the book had gotten many rave reviews. The pacing and readability of the novel did improve in the second half, but I found it was still not very enjoyable.

Another fault of the novel is that the main character was lacking in depth. It’s hard to put into words but when reading, it almost felt like there was a wall between the reader and the character, not allowing us to really get to know him or his true motivations, beyond the shallow, self-serving ones. Or perhaps there is just not much depth to him at all.

White the concept of the book was actually a really clever idea, the execution and twists left much to be desired. The plot was predictable, that is, both the plot of the novel, and the book-within-the book. For a book that’s supposed to be about the unpredictability of the book-within-the-book, the twists were overhyped. The main twists of both were fairly obvious and not original, so when they were revealed, it was disappointing.

Overall, marred by the writing style of the earlier chapters, and the predictable and overused plot twists of the later chapters, this book was unsatisfying and I was not a fan. That being said, I could definitely see how this book would appeal to aspiring writers, especially those who are somewhat critical of the industry.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book on NetGalley and have provided an honest review.*

*I received a digital review copy of this book from Celadon Books, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.*

Nearly midway through 2021, The Plot may stand to be my most disappointing read of the year. Not because it is an awful, terrible, no-good book, but because it had the potential to be a fantastic one. Korelitz’s concept is intriguing, and her inclusion of excerpts of a novel within the novel captivated my attention. Ultimately, however, the story’s predictability, due to a scarcity of characters and the repeated references to specific details, prevented it from being the “psychological thriller” it’s advertised as.

This book has gotten mixed reviews, and surely the plot of "The Plot" has been done before, and a few times just this past year or so. But I ate it up with a spoon. Loved it, loved it, loved it. (Although I didn't agree that the plot behind the plot was something that had never been done before, that was an automatic best-seller. But I digress.) If you can only read one "washed-up writer steals another writer's plot" book, make it this one!

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon books for giving me The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz in exchange for my honest review.
Much like its cover, The Plot is somewhat of a book within a book. While teaching an MFA program for writers, fellow writer Jacob Finch Bonner comes across a remarkable plot by an unremarkable student. A few years later, and Jacob still thinks of this plot from time to time; waiting for it to pop up on the NYT Bestseller list or Oprah’s Book Club. When he finds out his former student died and the book was never published, well, the choice was really already made for him. Alas, nothing is ever that simple, and trouble ensues.
I liked that this book switched between telling us the story of Jacob Finch Bonner and also, giving us little snippets of his bestseller. While a unique idea, I found that the plot of the real story to be lacking, while wanting more of the book within the book. A pretty solid read that keeps you going to the end.