The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz (2021) We've pointed out this golden rule many times in books we reviewed on this blog, but once again, it bears repeating.....in caps.
DO NOT PAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO OTHER AUTHORS' BLURBS!!!!
And what really saddens us to say here as well.......SORRY, BUT THAT INCLUDES STEPHEN KING'S BLURBS TOO.
Uncle Stevie and a whole slew of fellow novelists fell all over themselves praising "The Plot" as some kind riveting suspense thriller.
Bullshit. It's nothing of the kind......99 per cent of it is a deadly slow, tortuous slog through the endless angst of struggling novelist who lifted a surefire story idea from a deceased jerk he briefly encountered when attempting to advise him at a college creative writing workshop.
The presumed 'thriller' part of the book, such as it is, finally shows up in its final chapter and the darkly witty epilogue that follows.
While we'll admit to thoroughly enjoying that satisfying, nasty finale, we're still not sure it was worth dredging through 300 plus pages of dense literary fiction devoted to writers and writing. (We're guessing that's what kept Stephen King turning the pages.....)
So unless you're as obsessed with the struggles of writing and publishing as Uncle Stevie, proceed with caution. This book will NOT keep you up all night.....quite the opposite, it helped us fall asleep faster every time we made it through a chapter.
Our scribbling, down-on-his-luck scribe, Jacob Finch Bonner, looks over a few pages penned by obnoxious, arrogant would-be writer Evan Parker, who claims his story contains an outrageous twist that'll win him fame, fortune, multiple printings and a movie deal.
Parker's tale concerns the unhappy, unsettled lives of a young mother and her academically gifted teen daughter, who's the result of an unexpected pregnancy when the mom herself was 16 years old.
When Jake reads of Parker's passing away, he feels free to help himself to the preening prick's two characters and their jaw-dropping twist. (Which when revealed, sounds suitably startling, worthy of Patricia Highsmith) And by crafting his new novel around it, Jake does indeed reap fame, fortune, multiple printings and Steven Spielberg as director of the film version.
On one of his many book tours, Jake even acquires Anna, a lovely TV talk show producer whom he romances and marries.
A fabulously successful, perfect life seems assured, until Jake starts receiving e-mails and letters from someone who knows where he got the story from......and threatens to expose him as a fraudulent plagiarist, bringing his career and life to a crashing end.....(almost certain to involve a public shaming by Oprah and Reese Witherspoon and the purging of his novel from book clubs everywhere....)
Consumed with worry, Jake launches an amateur investigation to uncover the identity of his tormentor......and encounters evil and psychosis far beyond anything imagined in either his version of the story or Evan Parker's.
We did appreciate the intricate cleverness on display here......in which the differences between the cold hard truth and its fictionalized version run parallel to each other until they collide. But it's a slow, slow road to reach that final blood-freezing chapter......when 'The Plot' finally starts pumpin' out the chills.
Since it's being heavily promoted as some kind of thrill ride by Stephen King and other authors, we can't come up with anything beyond an honest truth-telling 2 stars (**). Sorry, but that gang's just not coming clean with you.....as a thriller, it doesn't deliver the goods till the very end.
If you really love stories about writers, their processes and troubles, no doubt you'll want to dive in right away.......
Everyone else should beware what they're getting into here.......and don't waste time reading the blurbs. They're nonsense.....written by authors as an easy-peasy way to see their names in print without having to write anything. Shame on 'em.
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