The Plot

A Novel

By: Jean Hanff Korelitz

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's Summary

"I think Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot is one of the best novels I’ve ever read about writers and writing. It’s also insanely readable and terrifying. The suspense quotient is through the roof...It’s remarkable." (Stephen King)

Hailed as "breathtakingly suspenseful", Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot is a propulsive audiobook about a story too good not to steal, and the writer who steals it.

Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he’s teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what’s left of his self-respect; he hasn’t written—let alone published—anything decent in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn’t need Jake’s help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as typical amateur narcissism. But then...he hears the plot.

Jake returns to the downward trajectory of his own career and braces himself for the supernova publication of Evan Parker’s first novel: But it never comes. When he discovers that his former student has died, presumably without ever completing his book, Jake does what any self-respecting writer would do with a story like that—a story that absolutely needs to be told.

In a few short years, all of Evan Parker’s predictions have come true, but Jake is the author enjoying the wave. He is wealthy, famous, praised, and read all over the world. But at the height of his glorious new life, an email arrives, the first salvo in a terrifying, anonymous campaign: You are a thief, it says.

As Jake struggles to understand his antagonist and hide the truth from his readers and his publishers, he begins to learn more about his late student, and what he discovers both amazes and terrifies him. Who was Evan Parker, and how did he get the idea for his “sure thing” of a novel? What is the real story behind the plot, and who stole it from whom?   

A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books

"Narrator Kirby Heyborne maintains the brisk pace and firm tension of what promises to be one of the summer's most talked about suspense novels." (AudioFile Magazine)

©2021 Jean Hanff Korelitz (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Critic Reviews

Amazon.com Best Books of the Year, 2021

New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year, 2021

Washington Post Best Books of the Year, 2021

Should be called "The Plod", not The Plot

This book is a tedious, painful slog. The narrator does a good job, but the story does not lend itself well to the audio format. There is too much exposition through inner monologues and descriptive passages about the writing process as opposed to dialogue and interaction between characters.

The plot twist is fairly easy to foresee about midway through the book. This makes the remainder of the book really drag on.

Writers may enjoy this book, but I don't recommend it.

Huge bore

That will teach me to try a title before there are reviews. This book is just awful. The review made it sound like a thriller and this is anything but. More like a sleep inducer. Save your credit

Why, Why, Why !?!?

Holy crap.
What was I thinking? I agree with the other reviewer and their point in purchasing a title before waiting to read reviews from other listeners. Like sending the canary into the coal mine, that’ll teach me not to jump in first.
I’d been eagerly awaiting this release for 3 months or better... 🤦🏼‍♀️ The narrator does a fair job with the material he was given, and that’s about the only compliment I can offer.
You absolutely will figure out where this is going by that halfway point. No suspense, no mystery, no real twists, and you’ll see the end coming a mile away.
I wasted a credit. You should save yours.

Fun. - but ...

Fun book but the narrator almost completely ruined it for me. Robotic voice and miss- pronouces Whidbey (island) at least five times. It's not Whud Bahy.

Narration

I preordered this book after reading a review in the New York Times. The narrator's voice sounds very automated to me.
Will order copy and read.

Interesting, but transparent

I’m not good at this, but I figured out whodunnit by midway through the book. While the plot is Interesting and the writing good enough to keep readers engaged, there is one central problem here. It’s almost impossible to give a damn about Jake, who is self centered, egotistical and doesn’t give a hoot about anyone else. He is one of the least engaging, most self-absorbed main characters I have come across. So it’s hard to care what happens to this jerk.

Who in god’s name hired this narrator???

The narrator is so bad that I could barely comprehend what was being said. AWFUL. And a shame-decent book, totally spoiled by the reading of it. Among the worst I’ve ever heard, and I listen to a lot of books. Worse than Scott Brick-who’d have thought it possible?

Oh Dear

Made the mistake of reading a review of this book title in The Washington Post, did not take the time to read reviews here, otherwise I would not have chosen this title. But I was listening to it while catching up on NBA games. Poorly written, and a very, very unsatisfying ending.

I thought the narrator was a text to voice app.

The narrator was so robotic I stopped 5 minutes in, pulled my car over, and tried to return it parked on the side of the road. Alas, the title was not returnable. First time I've ever experienced that. I tried to contact Audible, and couldn't find any customer support at all. Now I'm less likely to take a chance on a book in Audible because I dont know when Audible will randomly not let me return a clunker. Some of my favorite authors were discovered by taking a chance knowing, if I quickly realized it wasn't my cup of tea, I could return it. It's the beauty of Audible. Now I'm hesitant to pull the trigger on the extra credits if I think I'll be forced to keep something so bad. I can't comment on the book as I didn't read it. It was well reviewed in the NY Times. If you do want to read this book do yourself a favor, and buy a physical copy of the book. DO NOT BUY THE AUDIOBOOK.

Foreshadowing doesn’t help here

Foreshadowing is a popular way to write, but it killed the story for me. I figured out the ending very early in the book. Why can’t authors just hit you with the story rather than try to soften the hard parts. Maybe it’s a good technique in horror books.