You’re getting two books in one with The Plot, a story about a novelist who steals an idea from a student, becomes a bestselling author, and then is stalked by someone who wants to reveal “the truth” that the idea for his bestselling novel wasn’t his.
The majority of the The Plot follows fictional author Jacob Finch Bonner, the “idea stealer,” but we also see a fair bit of the story Bonner writes based on the “stolen idea.”
Yeah, you noticing all my quotation marks there? Please insert an exasperated eye-roll to accompany them. Because, despite liking The Plot, the premise of it kinda pissed me off.
Let’s get to that in a minute. First, let’s talk about The Plot in more general terms. 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 by Jean Hanff Korelitz 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, The Plot had me hooked (i.e., after more action sprang up), and soon I couldn’t wait to turn page after page to see what happened next.
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.
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 villian crying plagiarism. Ha.
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?
And, be sure to check back in for my book-inspired recipe: Parmesan Broccoli Soup.
