“Sequels can be very tempting when the first book has been successful,” a literary agent states early on in Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Sequel. The novel’s anti-heroine, Anna Williams-Bonner, responds with her characteristic pragmatism: “But they’re never as good as the first book, are they?” They both pause for a moment, trying and failing to think of a successful sequel; it’s typical of Korelitz’s dry humor that the only one they can come up with is the ultimate disaster sequel – that of Harper Lee.
The Sequel is the continuation of Korelitz’s popular literary thriller, The Plot, which focused on a struggling writer, Jacob Finch Bonner, who stole the plot of one of his students’ unfinished works and turned it into a bestseller. He soon becomes the target of anonymous online attacks from someone who seems to know about his crime. The Sequel follows the story of his wife, Anna, who is now a writer herself and is facing similar threats of exposure. With plenty of secrets she wants to keep hidden, Anna becomes determined to uncover her tormentor and silence them.
The author’s exploration of the conflicts and resentments in the publishing industry is highly entertaining
Like its predecessor, The Sequel is a tale about stories; a satirical look at the ruthless publishing world, and a complex puzzle of books within books and intentional literary references for those in the know. It’s no coincidence that Jake’s former school is named Ripley College (echoing Highsmith’s Tom Ripley in Anna), and the media’s portrayal of Anna as the wife of a famous writer rather than a talented writer in her own right is portrayed with sharp humor (Korelitz is married to Pulitzer prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon).
Naturally, there is a twist, executed in a satisfying manner, and the author’s examination of the conflicts and grudges within the publishing world is highly entertaining, though perhaps more amusing for industry insiders than general readers. Those diving into this novel without having read The Plot may initially feel overwhelmed by the intricate plotlines and numerous identities, but in this cleverly crafted and tightly plotted sequel, Korelitz has successfully proven her protagonist wrong about sequels.
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