You’re getting two books in one with The Plot, Tartlets, with the newest fiction release from Jean Hanff Korelitz.
What’s The Plot about?
The Plot is about fictional novelist Jacob Finch Bonner, who steals an idea from one of his writing course students and uses it to become a bestselling author. Later in his career, Bonner’s stalked by someone who wants to reveal “the truth” about the idea behind his life-changing novel.
The majority of The Plot follows Bonner, the “idea stealer.” However, Korelitz also shows us a fair bit of the story that Bonner created based on the “stolen idea.”
It’s a thriller, though not in the fast-paced, short-sentenced, punchy-dialogued kinda way that we usually think about with this genre. This novel is a slow burn, folks. Which, as you might have already guessed, I was less than enthralled about when I started reading.
However, I’ve read Korelitz before and know how good her work can be, so I stayed the course. Around page 100 (i.e., after more action sprang up), The Plot had me hooked. From there on, I couldn’t wait to turn page after page to see what happened next.
What I liked about The Plot
The Plot addresses a lot of moral dilemmas that the creative community faces: How much do we take from other stories to craft our own? How much should we take? How does what we take affect others? Aren’t all ideas just floating around there in the ether, waiting to be grabbed? If you’re a writer, The Plot forces you to consider what you would do in Bonner’s situation, as well as where the ideas for your own stories come from.
Obviously, as a writer, this aspect of The Plot really appealed to me, though I think it’s intriguing enough for the masses. The parts of this novel that really struck me — in both good and bad ways — relate to me being in the publishing industry. Specifically, as someone with copyright and intellectual property law knowledge.
Yay for understanding intellectual property rights!
Did anyone notice all my quotation marks up in the first section? Please insert an exasperated eye roll to accompany them. I was happy to see Korelitz properly address the bone I have to pick with Bonner’s stalker: it’s not copyright infringement or plagiarism to “steal” the idea, or the general “plot” of a story.
Yeah, it’s frowned upon if you do that, particularly without someone’s permission. It’s certainly in poor taste and makes you look like a real douchebag.
But… it’s not illegal. At least, not in the way that Bonner does it in The Plot.
I won’t go into more details about this because 1) you’re probably dozing off (IP law is for special, special nerds), and 2) I don’t want to give away too much of The Plot. Let’s just leave it at that I thought the issue of copyright infringement was well-handled, and I especially loved Bonner’s agent’s and editor’s take on the villain crying plagiarism. Ha.
Should you read The Plot?
Overall, The Plot was a good read, albeit a little predictable. You got drama, suspense, a little bit of romance, and a peek into the author/publishing world (yayyy!). I think you can see the ending coming a mile away, but I enjoyed the road to get there.
Bonner’s book-within-a-book is pretty good, too. I don’t know if I’m as shocked by “the plot” as the rest of Bonner’s world seems to be. After all, truth is stranger than fiction. But, what’s offered up is definitely an intriguing premise.
Have you read The Plot? What did you think? And, if you’re a writer, how did this book affect how you look at creativity?
What’s the book-inspired recipe for The Plot?
Be sure to check back in for my book-inspired recipe: Parmesan Broccoli Soup.
