The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

A robbery within a robbery. I mean, I don't want to say that Jean Hanff Korelitz stole from Joel dicker part of its narrative essence of that Harry Quebert who precisely also stole our hearts. But the thematic coincidence has that nice point of coincidence between reality and fiction because both plots take us between thresholds about misuse of works conceived by others, blacks included...

The Harry Quebert in question is called this time Jake. Only that his narrative future points more to a Markus longing for the glory of the world-renowned writer. But of course, there is no success without invoices when one is the entire owner of the work presented. And Jake is not even remotely…

But…., and this is where the good part comes in, just like when a new narrative genre opens up thanks to the imagination of some genius, Korelitz is capable of germinating new branches, fresher ideas, more unexpected novelties. Like one of those conjurers who trick us, this author doesn't leave Dicker-like clues with her recurring flashbacks. In the case of Korelitz, everything is concentrating towards an intuited implosion but never calibrated in all its final magnitude.

When a young writer dies before completing his first novel, his teacher, a failed novelist, decides to continue the plot. The resulting book is a phenomenal success. But what if someone else knows? And if the impostor can't figure out who he's dealing with, he risks something far worse than losing his career.

Jacob Finch Bonner was a promising young writer whose first novel was a respectable success. Today, he is teaching at a third-rate writing program and struggling to maintain what little dignity he has left; he hasn't written, let alone published anything decent in years.

When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, tells Jake that he doesn't need his help to continue his novel because he thinks the plot of his book-in-progress is great, Jake dismisses him as the typical amateur narcissist. But then . . . he listens to the plot.

Jake returns to the downward trajectory of his own career and prepares for the publication of Evan Parker's first novel: but that never happens. Jake discovers that his former student has died, presumably without completing his book, and he does what any writer worth his salt would do with a story like that: a story that absolutely needs to be told.

In just a few short years, all of Evan Parker's predictions have come true, but Jake is the author enjoying the success. He is rich, famous, praised and read all over the world. But at the height of his glorious new life, he receives an email, the first threat in a terrifying anonymous campaign: You are a thief, the email says.

As Jake struggles to understand his antagonist and hide the truth from his readers and publishers, he begins to learn more about his late student, and what he discovers amazes and terrifies him. Who was Evan Parker and how did he come up with the idea for his "sure bet" novel? What is the true story behind the plot and who stole it from whom?

The plot, Korelitz
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