THE PLOT

5 stars out of 5

In and of themselves, ideas cannot be copyrighted. So if you write a story or book with a plot that someone else simply claims to have thought of first, you're likely on pretty solid ground. But what if that someone shared his or her idea with you - even jotted down several pages of notes - and then unexpectedly died? You're positive it will be a best-seller if it's fleshed out, and in your heart of hearts, you know it's a story that begs to be told. If you do the telling, though, are you stealing? 

Such is the overarching question behind this mesmerizing book. It actually happened to Jacob Finch Bonner, who's had a couple of relatively nondescript books published but is hoping one day to hit the New York Times best-seller list. A student in one of his college writing seminars, a total jerk named Evan Parker, describes the book he's sure will be a winner, and Jake (secretly) agrees. Later, when Evan dies, Jake is faced with a decision: Publish, or let the story perish?

Rationalizing that, as previously mentioned, ideas cannot be copyrighted and this is a story that must be told, Jake chooses the first option. And by golly, he was right; in short order, he becomes a writing sensation, landing on that coveted list and and Oprah's book club choices. Although he now must deal with his publisher's expectations for a follow-up book - one he knows can't possibly live up to the wild success of this one - for now, he's relatively content to enjoy the fruits of his (and Evan's) labors. That is, until he gets an email that tells a different story: You are a thief.

Needless to say, he sees his now-stellar career in shreds, but on the other hand, he doesn't want to admit that he got the idea (and maybe more) from someone else. Now, he sets out to find who wrote that message - which in short order turns into many more, some even posted on social media. In the middle of it all, he marries Anna, his love from across the country (he's in New York, she's got a successful job directing podcasts in Seattle). Not wanting to worry her, he rationalizes, he keeps his so-far secret between himself and his publisher.

The rest of the book details his search to identify his accuser and learn more about Evan as well as his struggles to write another book and keep his new marriage on solid ground. Interspersed are chapters taken from the book he wrote - the one he "stole" from Evan - and reading these builds awareness of what the story behind the story really is. I must say the first third or so of the book is a little slow, but trust me, once it gets going you won't want to put it down. Although I did guess early on who might be behind the whole mess, I had absolutely no idea the hows or whys, making the ending one that quite literally made me gasp.

In short, if any book deserves to be on that NYT best-seller list, this is it. Many, many thanks to the publisher for sending me an advance copy to read and review. Wow!

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz (Celedon Books, May 2021); 317 pp.