The Plot
2021 • 336 pages

Ratings99

Average rating3.5

15

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?

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Series

Series

1 primary book

The Book Series

The Book Series is a 1-book series first released in 2021 with contributions by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

The Plot

Reviews

Popular Reviews

Reviews with the most likes.

Everybody said to read it for the ending, but even the ending didn't save it. I'm sorry, this was a slog.

August 23, 2023

I have to admit that the first part got me engaged. But then it became predictable, and the actions of the main character weren't keeping me interested. Even though the ending was easy to guess, I liked the prologue.

November 20, 2021

Pairs excellently with “Who Is the Bad Art Friend?”

October 7, 2021

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