THE SEQUEL

5 stars out of 5

Two observations right up front: I will happily read any book this talented author writes (so far, I've read three others). And although this book technically is the (ahem!) sequel to her book, The Plot, it stands on its own quite well -  although I highly recommend reading that one just because it's so doggone good. 

As this one begins, Jacob Finch Bonner, the primary subject of the previous book, is dead and gone - leaving behind his wife Anna Williams-Bonner. His novel - the one he stole from one of his college students, is hugely successful. Accusations of plagairism that cropped up earlier are a thing of the past, and Anna is looking at a good life thanks to his royalty checks. When she was casually asked what she'll do next, though, she joked about plans to write a novel of her own titled The Afterword. 

Encouraged by her editor - and her own belief, after watching her husband's efforts, that she's more than up to the task - that joke turns into reality. After very little effort, she's got a best-seller of her own - and a whole lot of new problems. They come in the form of an excerpt from a not-so-different novel - one that doesn't exist, as far as she's concerned. But apparently, she's wrong; and with the pages come threats of exposure of not only her husband's past transgressions, but (gasp!) of her own.

What to do, what to do? Start following a trail that will lead to the someone who knows too much and seems intent on bringing her down - what else? The rest of the story follows Anna as she sets out on a path - one with plenty of twists, turns and surprises - to right what she considers to be an egregious wrong and get back to the life she believes she deserves. All told, it's a delicious tale and a book I found hard to put down (put another way, wowser!). I heartily thank the publisher for making a pre-release copy available to me to read and review.

The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz (Celadon Books, October 2024); 304 pp.

THE LATECOMER

5 stars out of 5

At not far from 500 pages, this book isn't a quick read. But if you choose to read it - and I highly recommend that you do - set aside even more time because you don't want to skim over a single word of the exquisitely woven story and amazingly detailed character development. The author blew me away last year with the first of her books I've read - The Plot - and this one is no less impressive.

Born thru in vitro fertilization back when the procedure was relatively in its infancy, the story focuses on triplets - Harrison, Lewyn and Sally - and Phoebe, who arrived via the same means by way of a single leftover unused but still viable egg 20 years or so later (making them all, in scientific fact, quadruplets). Needless to say, the first three have a tough time wrapping their heads around that - as did I - but therein lies the intriguing story of the "latecomer" and what happens in and to the rest of the family thereafter.

I'd describe it as a coming of age tale, except to me, the initial three, at least, seemed to behave (or misbehave) like old souls pretty much from the beginning. Whether or not that can be attributed to their acknowledged but rarely practiced Jewish heritage, parents who may or may not actually have loved them, or their Petri dish origins, I'm not sure. All I know is that from the beginning, the triplets were at loggerheads with each other; even on their once-a-year birthday when their mother, Joanna, insisted that they pretend to coexist peaceably, they (as my late mother was fond of saying) held hands to keep from fighting.

Phoebe's birth, obviously, throws a bit of a monkey wrench into their disdain for each other and Phoebe (do we like her? Hate her? Refuse to acknowledge her existence?) That said, the story weaves into and out of each character's thoughts, behaviors and interactions with the others (to the extent that there were any), mostly leading up to Phoebe's rather untimely birth - with an explanation, of course, as to why she happened when she happened. It touches on infidelity, deception, wealth, religion (or the lack thereof) and, perhaps most importantly, Phoebe's efforts to bring them all back to some semblance of a real family. You'll have to read it to find out the extent of her success - which comes with some unexpected twists and turns that made me shake my head in awe of how anyone could possibly come up with such an intricate plot. In short, this is a winner in my book - and I thank the publisher for the privilege of reading a pre-release copy. Outstanding!

The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz (Celadon Books, May 2022); 368 pp.

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.