Play Book Tag discussion

Jacob 'Finch' (guess what his favorite novel is) Bonner has not had the life he dreamed of - yet. As an author he was thrilled that his first novel was warmly received and reviewed. That second novel, not so much. His third didn't even cause a ripple. Now Jake is teaching a MFA class in tiny Ripley college supposedly helping other authors firm up their writing in the hopes of publication. One particular student, Evan Parker, is an egotistical young man who insists he needs no help from anyone as his novel has THE plot that will set the publishing world on end. He foresees fame, wealth, NY Times ranking of #1 and an eventual movie based on his book. Evan reluctantly shares the basic plot with Jake and even Jake can see that this young man has 'it'.

Several years later Jake is reminded of his former student and wonders what ever became of his sure thing novel. After some investigation, Jake learns that Evan Parker died shortly after his stay at Ripley and apparently never got around to writing the book. Jake does a bit of soul-searching but eventually convinces himself that he would write the novel himself and that it wouldn't hurt anyone since the original author is dead. All of the things Evan swore would happen now belong to Jake. Fame, fortune, bestseller status, a movie in production and a beautiful wife named Anna. Jake is ecstatic and grateful until the emails begin: "You are a thief". The letters from the unknown writer become more and more threatening and Jake realizes that he needs to find out just where Evan Parker came up with the idea for the story.

This is an intriguing idea; the theft of a story from a dead author. Jake cannot conceive of any problems making the story his own even though deep down he realizes he stole it. About 2/3 of the way through the book I had a feeling where the story would end up and I was right but it didn't take away from the well-plotted "Plot".

I liked this book also and the weird thing was that right around when I read it, an article came out about a real life example of this. A woman said the famous "Cat Person" New Yorker story was actually about her and had many details about her exact life and what happened. The man involved in the story must have told another person, a writer, about it and that writer published it with all the details. Most New Yorker stories don't get a big audience but this one went viral, as it set off a huge debate about what is a bad date vs sexual assault. In The Plot the issue is between the 2 authors, but it's also clear that the super great plot in this book is from someone's real life.

I actually own this book and it’s up really soon on my immediate list. I’m excited to join in the conversation.

How interesting, Robin! Thanks for sharing.

Love your review. I gave it a high rating, too but I did not catch on about the finale. I am a sucker and believe that the writing was so good that I just got roped in. At the end, I had to sit there and recall some of my feelings about him and his romance to get my own review ready. I loved the book - it was a real mystery even though I did not get it early on. Great review. A book for all folks - if you have not read it yet, you should. peace, janz