The Plot
3 journalers for this copy...
I really enjoyed this literary thriller. A creative writing teacher, Jake Bonner, steals a plot from a former dead pupil. It sounds like a victimless crime, right? But Jake's novel is a huge hit and stuff starts happening. A few twists I didn't see coming made this an enjoyable book for me.
Released to GoryDetails as part of the 2022 USA & Canada Wishlist Tag Game . Happy reading!
The wishlist book made it safely on this chilly day; thanks so much! And I was able to use the QR code on the bookplate to make this journal entry - fun with technology {grin}. This one sounds like an intriguing thriller - and it's been optioned for a mini-series as well.
Later: I enjoyed this story about a not-very-successful author who filches the impressively twisty plot told him by a student at a writing workshop after learning that the student had died, and becomes wildly successful – until he starts getting messages calling him a plagiarist and thief. (There's a delightful stealth-nod to Patricia Highsmith's character Tom Ripley, which tickled me.)
The book includes excerpts from the in-story novel, spaced out through the main narrative, and while I had some quibbles about style I did find it an entertaining thriller. (Among the quibbles: the writing style of the main narrative was not distinguishable from the writing-style of Jake's novel-within-the-novel, or from the original snippet from the workshop student. I know it's tricky to fiddle with writing style, but it irked me.)
Jake was initially a sympathetic character, but I admit that his choices throughout the story tended to annoy me. As for the main character in the original workshop plot - well, she was fascinating, if dark; a young woman, almost a girl, taken advantage of by an older married man, restricted in her options by her parents, turned again and again into a life she didn't want... Can't really say more about that without getting into major-spoiler territory, but I dearly wish she could have had some good therapy early on!
[There's a short TV Tropes page on the book, though nearly all of it is spoiler-blanked out, suggesting that I should save it until I've read the book!]
Later: I enjoyed this story about a not-very-successful author who filches the impressively twisty plot told him by a student at a writing workshop after learning that the student had died, and becomes wildly successful – until he starts getting messages calling him a plagiarist and thief. (There's a delightful stealth-nod to Patricia Highsmith's character Tom Ripley, which tickled me.)
The book includes excerpts from the in-story novel, spaced out through the main narrative, and while I had some quibbles about style I did find it an entertaining thriller. (Among the quibbles: the writing style of the main narrative was not distinguishable from the writing-style of Jake's novel-within-the-novel, or from the original snippet from the workshop student. I know it's tricky to fiddle with writing style, but it irked me.)
Jake was initially a sympathetic character, but I admit that his choices throughout the story tended to annoy me. As for the main character in the original workshop plot - well, she was fascinating, if dark; a young woman, almost a girl, taken advantage of by an older married man, restricted in her options by her parents, turned again and again into a life she didn't want... Can't really say more about that without getting into major-spoiler territory, but I dearly wish she could have had some good therapy early on!
[There's a short TV Tropes page on the book, though nearly all of it is spoiler-blanked out, suggesting that I should save it until I've read the book!]
I'm sending this to BCer djf1968 to fill a wish, for the US/Canada wishlist-tag game. Enjoy!
** Released for the 2023 Keep Them Moving challenge. **
** Released for the 2023 Keep Them Moving challenge. **
A wish granted…thank you so much!
John chose this one to read on his trip to Atlanta this week. I'll read it when he gets back.
