Unfortunately, once I got into the book, it drove me crazy. It is not illegal, or even immoral, to create your own expression of someone else's idea. That's how art gets made. So when the writer is wasting his life worried about discovery, it just didn't ring true to me.

The Plot was an enjoyable, suspenseful novel within a novel about writing and all of the downs associated with it. Until the main character comes across a plot he'd heard and waited to read about. When that never happened he did his research and took it for his own, but was it really his to take? With the perilously unrealistic ups come the threats of exposure. I won't get into the twists and turns, but I will say the ending was bittersweet. I wanted something more. I can only imagine the story coming full circle, but perhaps that's another book.

"In my world, the migration of a story is something we recognize, and we respect. Works of art can overlap, or they can sort of chime in with one another. Right now, with some of the anxieties we have around appropriation, it's become downright combustible, but I've always thought there was a kind of beauty to it, the way narratives get told and retold. It's how stories survive through the ages. You can follow an idea from one author's work to another, and to me that's something I find powerful and exciting." ~ Jean Hanff Korelitz, The Plot

When I first read a synopsis of The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz, it sounded a lot like one of the stories from Woody Allen's 2010 film, You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger. Korelitz is in my opinion one of our best living authors, so I wondered, "Did she steal a plot about a writer stealing a plot?" In her acknowledgements Korelitz writes about writers:

"...we are the lucky ones...because we love stories and we get to frolic in them. Begged, borrowed, adapted, embroidered...perhaps even stolen: it's all part of a grand conversation."

I later learned from a friend that there is also a film called Death Trap about a desperate playwright who steals a manuscript of a play. So this writer-stealing-a-plot-theme is clearly not new. Doubtless there are many older iterations I'm unaware of. However Korelitz develops plot-appropriation into a psychological thriller that will knock your socks off, and make you have to fight to stop reading when it's way past time for you to go to bed. I'm not always a great lover of mysteries, but Korelitz does an exquisite job of developing her characters, and drawing you into the protagonist's dilemma, making your heart race and your stomach drop right along with his.

Jean Korelitz is best known for her books Admission and You Should Have Known, both which were adapted as films that bear little resemblance to the literary excellence of her books. She a masterful storyteller, enticing you into a world about which you formerly knew only a few scant details. Admission is about the high stakes world of Ivy League college admissions, The Devil and Webster is about a college president's struggle to maintain control in the face of a student uprising, You Should Have Known explores the perilous life of a therapist treating a manipulative and violent patient, A Jury of Her Peers exposes shocking corruption in the American justice system, and The Plot is about the painstaking process of making a life as a writer. Reading a Korelitz novel is like reading a New Yorker article, where the big picture unfolds slowly as the delicate details are revealed. Stephen King is quoted as saying: "The Plot is one of the best novels I’ve ever read about writers and writing. It’s also insanely readable and the suspense quotient is through the roof."

Thank you #NetGalley for an advanced copy of #ThePlotBook for an unbiased review. I can't wait for Korelitz to write her next novel!



Hardcover 336 pages, Audiobook 10 hours, 43 minutes. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 on GoodReads: Check out our Ripe Reads Group!
Available for pre-order on Amazon, but better yet, order it from your local bookstore!

I have been waiting to read this book for months! I was not disappointed, it is a brilliant novel. I am a huge fan of Jean Hanff Korelitz, and I leave this book as an even bigger fan! It a novel of a plot within a plot, the story of an author duped into writing a magnum opus whose astounding success produces unexpected results.

The main character, is Jacob Finch Bonnner, an author of no note, who I liked very much. I empathized with his neuroses and I understood his complicated feelings. I was happy for him when he finally achieved professional and emotional success.

This book is so clever and so intricately woven that I was fooled and kept in a state of thrall for all the glorious hours I spent reading this. I refuse to be a spoiler, so let it suffice that I believe this will be one of the big reads this summer

Thank you Netgalley for this opportunity to read, review and enjoy this novel.

I figured this out pretty quickly but still found it to be a delicious, twisty thriller. Having read more about the author, I see she has written other books I’ve enjoyed (Admission) and a book, You Should Have Known, that was made into an HBO series I loved (Undoing). She’s great at building suspense and at showing the dark side of human nature. Highly recommend The Plot especially if you enjoy thrillers and books about authors. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review an advanced reader copy.

This was everything I hoped it would be. The premise of this story is a favorite storyline of mine (reminded me of The Words in basic premise) and I went into this with high expectations. The beginning was compelling and I became immediately invested in the story. I loved the exposition throughout of what it is to be a writer. I will say, some things in the story I completely predicted or saw coming...but the storyline and reveals unfolded in such a beautiful and successful way that by correct predictions didn't ruin anything for me at all.

Sure the beginning of this novel was a little slow,,all the better to savor the snarky,,cynical look at MFA programs, writing retreats and the slippery ladder to literary success, Who but the mega bestselling author can ever feel secure?
Jake Bonner had a highly praised first novel, but finds himself laboring at the margins of the literary establishment. He latches on to a promising plot which was shared with him by his student at an MFA program. When he learns that this student has died without have any work at all having been published, well he isn’t one to deprive the public of this surefire story. What this plot actually consists of is revealed over the course of our novel. Meanwhile tasty morsels about the publishing business are interspersed, including commentary on who has a right to tell which stories.
Complications ensue when a charge of plagiarism is made and Jake feels the need to investigate. The final plot twist will be apparent to most readers several chapters before the end, but I for one enjoyed seeing it play out until the not so bitter end. After all weren’t we all a little envious of Jake?

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon for providing this e ARC.

With a clever premise and a dark exploration of the publishing world, this literary thriller is unputdownable. Jacob Finch Bonner was once a young writing talent on the rise, but now he’s totally blocked—he hasn’t written a word in years. After overhearing one of his MFA students share his guaranteed-to-be-a-bestseller plot for the story he wants to write, Jake steals the brilliant idea, writes the book, and zooms to the top of the bestseller list. Nine months later, he gets an ominous note that says “You are a thief.” If you need likable characters, this isn't for you—but I sure enjoyed the ride. Heads up for graphic, but present, trigger warnings for suicide and harm done to children.

Wow. I can honestly say this book was so different than any thriller I have read. It follows Jake a has been author who resorts to teaching at a third rate college after failing to write a successful follow up to his first novel. While teaching an arrogant student presents a plot for a novel destined for greatness. Several years later, jake discovers his student has died never writing his book. Jake write the novel using his plot and is a huge success. But he soon starts receiving threats and the real story begins. Great characters, great plot, and will make a great movie.Bravo! Thank you for the advanced copy in return for an honest review. #NetGalley #theplot #Celadon @celadon

Jake Bonner is a one-hit wonder novelist. Riding out a long slump, he takes a position as instructor in a Writer’s Workshop where he is assigned an unlikeable, arrogant student Evan Parker. Evan believes his potential manuscript is an unbeatable future best seller. When Jake hears the plot twist he must agree. Time passes and no such work is published; Jake researches and finds an obituary instead. His reaction? Write it, twist included. Later, while traveling on a book tour for his global bestseller, he receives the acclaim he has always sought. He even meets his wife. All seems good until he receives his first ominous message accusing him of being a thief. Seeking answers, his life spirals. The importance of a plot twist remains throughout reading Jean Hanff Korelitz’s work. The reader is eager to discover it in Jake’s/Evan’s novel and anticipates the same from the author. She does not disappoint.

Jacob Fitch Bonner is a writer teaching at an MFA program, years after the success of his first novel. Unfortunately for him, his follow up attempts at literary success are much less successful and he becomes bitter and resentful of the success of others. Until he meets an arrogant student who shares his plot idea for a best selling novel. Years later, Jake looks up his former student to see that he has died and he immediately takes the plot idea. The book is a bestseller and Jake finally feels like a success— until he starts receiving threatening messages. Someone out there knows he stole the plot and they’re threatening to expose him.

This is one of the most unique plots I’ve read in a while. One minor criticism is that the stakes never feel too dire: how does someone threatening to expose a writer for stealing a plot based on the crime that they committed have any power over the writer at all? At the height of his literary success, Jake meets and marries a woman fairly quickly and you can tell that his new bride is not all she seems. As Jake delves into the mystery of who’s threatening him (though it was always a bit obvious) there are a lot of people conveniently willing to talk to him, freely sharing information. Although the ending is predictable and a little silly, I enjoyed reading this. The story unfolds slowly and although it’s relatively predictable, it’s entertaining until the end.

An interesting tale of an author who uses a students idea for a novel and becomes wildly successful.
Jacob Bonner found some success with his first novel but never really made it with his second. Now teaching writing at a small college, he has a student who shares his storyline with him. Jacob appropriates the ideas after the death of the student and has a bestseller. However, someone knows what he did.

The Plot is filled with background and information on writing and the publishing industry. I did figure it out about halfway through but it was interesting to watch Jacob put the pieces together. The ending seemed a little rushed. All in all a good read.

#netgalley #theplot 4.5⭐️s. One of the best i have read in a while!!! Story within a story!! Only reason half star gone is it takes a little for it to gain momentum but when it did i didnt want to stop reading.
Is it theft if you write a book from anothers “idea”....... it may not be is its just an “idea” but what if.....(im not going to tell you as i dont want to ruin it!!) Releases on MAy 11, 2021!!

The Plot promises a lot. It delivers on some of those promises. The writing is above average and the structure perfectly designed to ramp up the tension. When your novel centers on the idea of a can't miss plot, said plot has to meet expectations. I'm note sure this one does, though I buy the conceit that a book with that plot would be a hit. And there is a twist here but it is not a surprising one -- it is easily guessed even halfway through. But I don't think it makes the read any less satisfying. Overall, this is an entertaining suspense thriller, one that deserves to occupy the above-average shelf for prolific readers and a must-read for the occasional fan.

Jean Hanff Korelitz stories are hit or miss for me. First few I read I loved them so much that I bought other remaining books by her. But new ones that I bought didn't do it for me. But this one brought me back to the days when I first met Jean Hanff Korelitz books.

Jake was a somewhat successful writer before he decided to work as a workshop teacher on this low residency MFA program. He met a cocky guy who thought that he was the best thing ever happened to writing world and his plot was fool proof to get him all the money and credentials in the world. Jake could not say anything for that plot other than agreeing with arrogant Evan Parker. Jake left it there. He continued with his miserable writing career waiting for Parker to shine, but that never happened. Jake saw an opportunity and decided to grab it...

When he was enjoying the hot shot author life with Oprah stickers and auditorium full of people dying to listen to him, he got a message he never wanted to get. After that things started to go south. He decided to get the bottom of issue as soon as possible while managing other big things happening in his life like his marriage to Anna. It took Jake a bit of time to figure out his career might not be the only thing he should fear for, but was he too late? You need to read this story for that and for your jaw to drop...

The Plot, by Jean Hanff Korelitz, tells the story of a dark plot for a bestseller, and an even darker plot around writing it.

After a promising debut novel, an almost forgotten second novel, and no shot at publishing his third book, Jacob Finch Bonner finds himself teaching in a pay-to-play MFA program. One of his students, Evan Parker, is completely sure he's writing a winner. Evan is the worst Guy In Your MFA, convinced that he's writing the Great American Novel and that it'll be a huge commercial success, and he's not convinced that anyone could teach writing, so basically everyone around him is wasting his time. He's got a plot idea that's so good the writing won't even matter, but of course he can't tell anyone what makes it so good, and ugh, I already hate him.  Evan does tell his plot, or at least, enough of an outline with the shocking twist to Jacob, but not to the reader. We just have Jacob's reaction to go on, and Jacob is thoroughly impressed. Ugh, even worse, insufferable Evan actually has an extremely good plot.

We readers are really far into The Plot before we get to see what that twist is, and by that time I was just dying to know. I often complain that not-gonna-tell-you is probably my least favorite way to build tension, but it works here, probably because there's a whole secondary storyline and so much going on. I didn't feel like I was getting heavy hints at the Big Secret and abrupt subject changes. We discover just as much of the plot as Jacob has on his mind. And I have to tell you, I was so curious about that plot. What could possibly be so stunning and still be something that bro Evan could have made up?

As Jacob falls further and further from his literature dreams, he googles and discovers that Evan died without ever completing or publishing his book. (Evan was not stabbed to death by his MFA classmates, but I wouldn't have blamed them.) With Evan gone, there's no one else who knows about the plot idea... and it's such an amazing story... sure to be a hit... and Jacob writes it without copying a single word from the couple of pages he read years ago.

There's so much tension here, as Jacob knows he's stolen his best book, and it really is a great book. All the things Evan predicted for his own success start to come true for Jacob. I mean, I didn't exactly want Jacob to be rewarded with a bestseller for being such a half-hearted writing teacher and plot-thief, but I also didn't quite want him to get caught when someone else, somewhere, knows he didn't come up with his own plot, and begins to let Jacob know in strange, unsettling ways.

You guys, there are about a hundred twists, and basically everything I noticed in the beginning of the novel and wondered about became a plot point later. How did Evan catch lightning in a bottle with that great idea? I don't want to spoil anything, because the unfolding discovery is so tense, but basically every time I noticed a detail in the description as odd or particularly memorable, that odd thing came back later.  Such a twisty plot!

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

This was well-written, and (apart from a sluggish second quarter) a page-turner. The author managed to make the reader feel for Jacob as he waited for the axe to fall. It was frequently funny in a dry way and, although I worked out the twist long before the end, it was thoroughly enjoyable.

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
Rating: 5 stars

Summary: A published author that sold a book that really did not sell is teaching in a small remote college in Vermont. While starting a new class he runs across a student who wrote the next big seller. Oprah huge! Spielberg huge! Several years later the book is not published and he takes the general story idea and rewrites it. The book becomes a giant world wide success. With so much fame the original story is recognized and he begins receiving threats to come clean over the plagiarism he committed, or didn’t.

Comments. If you start the book set aside sometime because you won’t be doing much else. Totally absorbing original plot. Many aspects of novel writing and publishing are told. Really really finely written. A twisted ending you may not see coming. Oprah huge? Maybe

3.5 stars.

I swallowed this book in a gulp.

I knew the beginning was going to actually be slow as opposed to what the blurb says so I patiently made my way through it and then I was hooked and wanted to know what was going to happen. When it was time to sleep, I read in the dark on my phone so as to not wake my husband. I kept reading and reading because I wanted to know what happened next. It felt compulsive.

And then the book turned for me. Suddenly I could guess all the twists, one after the other.

At that point, I am not sure it mattered because I basically finished the whole thing in a blur. I really enjoyed the ride this book gave me and I could see the whole thing becoming a movie.

with gratitude to Celadon Books and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Yes yes yes! LOVED this. I was totally into the main story and then also the story within the story and I totally loved how it all wrapped up.