Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising author but now teaches in a third-rate MFA program. When one of his students declares that the plot of his book in progress is certain to be a success, Jake is skeptical until he hears the plot. Years later, when Jake discovers that the student has died without ever finishing and publishing the book, Jake decides to take the plot for himself and writes the book. The novel is an instant bestseller, propelling Jake to celebrity. But then, at the height of his fame, Jake gets a message saying that he is a thief.
I was definitely underwhelmed by this book. The book was good but I guess I thought it would be amazing. The book is told from Jake’s point of view and has the format of a story within a story as we slowly get snippets of the novel that Jake wrote.
My main letdown was the “spectacular” plot of the fictional novel. The book goes on and on about how great the plot is and how it’s so original and how no one has ever read a plot like that. I felt like the book built up so much expectation about the plot and then after it is revealed in the story within the story, I thought “that’s it?” I didn’t find it to be anything exceptional. I thought for sure that if someone was accusing Jake of stealing the plot, that it would be this shocking and sensational plot and in my opinion, it wasn’t.
Plus, I didn’t think Jake was all too savvy. Someone is accusing him of stealing the plot from his student and what does he do? He starts investigating the student and goes to the student’s hometown and asks a lot of questions. And of course, everyone knows who he is because he is a famous author.
There is a twist at the end of the book that crept up on me and I barely figured it out before the reveal. I wasn’t looking for another twist after the reveal of the plot of Jake’s book so I was a bit surprised. The ending did shock me and I give kudos to the author for that twist.
I did enjoy the questions the novel asks – Who owns a plot? Can a plot be stolen? What if the author is deceased? Where do you draw the line? Where do morals come into play?
Another good, but not great, read for me.
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