A Simple Plan
by Scott Smith
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Book Reviews of A Simple Plan
Book Review: Exasperating people in a sleepy town
Summary: 3 Stars
I just finished reading Cormac McCarthy's book "No Country for Old Men," which was excellent - highly recommended. I was telling my friend about that book - which starts out similarly to the plot of "A Simple Plan" - someone stumbles upon a large sum of money and decides to run with it, so he recommended this book as well.
Well, this book is nothing like "No Country for Old Men," the characters in "A Simple Plan" are completely deplorable and just plain stupid. It's basically a story of one bad decision leading to the next bad decision all due to the character's stupidity. It's told from the perspective of Hank Mitchell, the main character - and although he appears to be very level headed in the beginning, his thought process only SOUNDS rational because he's trying to justify all the bad decisions he is making along the way. The only person Hank trusts and listens to is his wife Sarah - who by the way, I believe is even stupider and possibly the most annoying character of them all.
The plot starts out with Hank, his brother Jacob and their friend Lou stumbling into over 4 million dollars in a plane wreck. They decide to hide the money for 6 months before spending it in case someone looks for the money. So Hank brings all the money home to hide, and although he promised never to tell anyone, he tells his wife Sarah - who has the "brilliant" plan of returning $500,000 of the money back to the plane wreck in case anyone stumbles on the wreck and is looking for the money. Ok, stop right there... WHAT? Why would you go back to the scene of the crime to put back some money in case anyone was looking for it? Isn't going back to the scene of the crime always the worst possible thing you can do? But for some reason, Sarah though it was the right thing to do, and Hank thinking she is the smart logical one of the two of them, follows it. So of course, starting with that decision, many more bad decisions follow and each decision becomes deadlier and bloodier than the last.
Toward the end of the novel, it just sounded like Hank was a psychopathic killer on a killing spree in order to hide the money. Yet, he somehow manages to successfully cover every single murder he committs along the way. That being said, I didn't like the story too much because I usually have to at least empathize with the characters in order to enjoy a story. Most of the time, I just wanted to punch out the characters because they were just all so freaking stupid - they each annoyed the heck out of me.
But overall, the novel was decently written and the story was engaging enough for me to finish, so I gave it 3 stars. It's one of those books that you don't mind reading if you've got nothing else to do, but at the same time, you wouldn't be missing much if you didn't read it at all.
Book Review: A step above "The Ruins"
Summary: 3 Stars
I wish Scott Smith had kept the writing style of this book when he wrote "The Ruins" it might have been a better book and movie.
The story involves 2 brothers (1 smart and the other one a laid back bum)and a drunk bum of a friend to one of the brothers. While driving along one day they almost hit a fox stealing a hen from a neighbor's farm. After crashing into a snowbank and then the 2 drunk friends deciding to chase down the fox for payback. They talk the smart brother into going along by shaming him and teasing him.
While on the hunt for the fox they discover the wreakage of a plane. After much debate they gload the smart brother to go inside where he discovers the dead body of the pilot and a sack. After getting a minor wound from a crow (who gained entry into the plane via a hole in the roof) the smart brother takes the sack as a sort of "prize" to prove that he was in the plane.
Upon walking back to the truck and driving back they discover the money in the sack. While counting the money and having a close call with the local sheriff they discover they found close to 4.4 million dollars. After much debate and concern over what to do with it the smart brother hatches a plan where they can keep the money after waiting 6 months (NOT 1 year as some reviewers stated). Almost as soon as they get home the plan to keep quiet about the money goes down hill.
The drunk friend tells his girlfriend and after getting into a deep gambling debt tried to blackmail the smart brother into giving him his share of the cash 30 days later. The bum brother cant keep his mouth shut over a incident where both brothers end up killing the neighbor whose chicken the fox stole while attempting to return $500,000 back to the plane and tells his drunk friend (who ends up attempting to blackmail the smart brother later on).
The story moves along at a good pace and unlike 'the ruins' Scott Smith DOES answer a lot of questions and ties up the story line threads before the story ends. Its hard to imagine that one person can get away with killing 7 people and 1 dog and not get caught! (I'm not counting the sheriff who is killed by the fake FBI agent which the smart brother could have prevented but didnt).
IF you just want a good relaxing book to read at home or traveling by train or plane then I would recommend getting this book to past the time away. Its better written and moves at a faster pace then "The Ruins" and doesnt leave the reader wondering about the holes in the story (like "The Ruins" does)
Book Review: An amazing first novel!
Summary: 5 Stars
A simple plan. See how easy it is to say: A simple plan. What can go wrong if they follow this simple plan? Two brothers find four million dollars on a crashed airplane in a deserted field on a cold, snowy day. The pilot is dead. Who will know they have the money if they wait one year, divide the money, and go on their merry way?
One brother has the capacity to follow this plan--after all, they decide, the money is probably drug cartel money and will be sought. Openly possessing it would probably mean death. The following quotes give us clues what direction the other brother will take:
"It is greed to do all the talking but not to want to listen at all"--Democritus. The older brother is just a hint of mentally challenged, promises to follow the plan, but must buy something now, anything. His life has been one disaster after the other. Just a little something...
"All human suffering springs from unbridled desire. Unless one extricates oneself from the clutch of greed, one will not free himself from the fetters of sorrow."-- Vellupillai Pirapakaran. The other brother, younger, wiser, more attractive, more successful, creator of the one-year plan, must cover for his brother's blunders, one after the other.
"The lusts and greeds of the body scandalize the Soul; but it has to come to heel."--Logan Pearsall Smith. The older brother errs again, disregarding the plan. The younger brother must make older brother "heel."
"The greed is the unraveling. It's the unraveling and it undoes all the joy that could be."-~Joni Mitchell. Of course, "A Simple Plan" is all about this unraveling and joy undoing. That's about as much as I can tell without giving spoilers.
This is one of those books that falls into a special category: A read book easily remembered. It's been several years since I read this book or saw the movie, but I think about both from time to time for the greed theme, but, to me, even greater, lost opportunities. A theme I used in my high school teaching was "Actions have consequences, whether for good or bad." This thriller so vividly shows the results of greed, lost opportunities, and consequences.
This is a novel well worth reading! It's belongs in that top echelon along with classics in the thriller genre, such as "Silence of the Lambs" and "The Maltese Falcon." I have read so many novels that have no memory element at all. Not so with "A Simple Plan," by Scott Smith. This is one of the memorable ones!
Book Review: Great Writing, A Can't Put It Down Book!
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw the movie about two dozen times, a little movie no one went to see that's really, really entertaining, so I decided to get the book.
If you've seen the movie, the 2nd half of the story has been radically changed, but that's fine, becuase that leave surprises in store. Unlike the Da Vinci Code which was written as a screenplay and filmed as such with NO surprises in it,the book A Simple Plan has many new surprises in store, such as the character Sonny who also meets a very gruesome death to make sure Hank doesn't lose his precious cash.
THANK HEAVENS FOR STUPID/LAZY COPS! Hank and Jacob leave enough evidence at Lou's house to completely unravel the tale of what Hank told them happened: such as driving down to Sonny's place, bringing him back to murder him. There were tire tracks in the snow everywhere ,like the death of Dwight Pederson (Stevenson in the movie for some reason) who supposedly drove off a bridge to his death but if the cops had followed his tire tracks back to their origin, there'd have been signs of a huge physical struggle in the snows. This is the only plot hole, the forensic stupidity of the police.
Also in the book Jacob was blond and morbidly obese and not mentally simple. I pictured him being played by John Candy if he'd been alive in his first non-comedic role. Unfortunately Billy Bob Thornton got the role and I wasn't sure if he was simple or not. He couldn't figure out how to fake a flat tire, but he was real smart at faking a crime scene (??)
But all in all, I loved the writing and you just can't devour each page fast enough. I hope Mr. Smith writes more books.
Book Review: Uncompromising, disturbing, brilliant
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a brilliant novel; uncompromising, disturbing, and extraordinarily well written. That said: there is no doubt that some readers are not going to like this novel. It's dark and depressing and is filled with unlikeable characters.
The plot: Three men stumble upon a small plane crashed in a remote orchard on New Year's Eve. Inside they find a dead pilot and over $4 million. They devise a simple plan. They will hold onto the money until after the plane is discovered. Once the plane is found they will wait until its safe, and then split up the cash. If the authorities get too close, they`ll burn the money. Simple. But it doesn't take long for the plan to spiral out of control when distrust and greed lead to violence.
The first person narrative is chilling. Hank Mitchell, a seemingly normal man, rationalizes each act of violence, convincing himself again and again that he had no choice. Each horrifying step he takes, makes the next easier, until finally he is lost.
This is a powerful novel about the destructive nature of greed and how the corruption of seemingly normal people rarely happens all at once, but through a series of small compromises and rationalizations. This is crime fiction; elevated.
A Simple Plan is one of the best crime novels I've read, but it won't appeal to everyone. If you can live without a happy ending and you don't mind a protagonist who has completely lost his moral compass, you'll enjoy A Simple Plan. This is an exceptionally good (but very dark) novel.