What I'm Reading Wednesday: The Plot

I have read a lot of good books this year.  I guess perhaps a year of quarantine was good for authors and for getting the creative juices flowing.  But, I am going to say that in my opinion, The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz is one of the best of the entire bunch.  

"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?" (description via goodreads.com)

I enjoyed this novel so much!!  

It was unique and refreshing.  It brought up a lot of thoughtful internal debates with myself about intellectual property, the theft of ideas, and plagiarism.  I loved the characters.  And maybe I also sort of hated them.  But those are some of my favorite kinds of characters, the ones you love and hate all at the same time. 

Maybe I was slow to get on the train, but I did NOT see the twist coming in this one.  Which, usually I have at least some sort of an idea or at least a guess.

This story kept me awake late into the night while reading it.  And stayed in my thoughts for days after.  I still find myself thinking about parts of it.  I am quick to name it if anyone is brave enough to ask me for a book recommendation.  And it has me adding more of the author's works to my To Be Read list.