A Simple Plan
by Scott Smith
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Book Reviews of A Simple Plan
Book Review: That's Entertainment!
Summary: 3 Stars
Scott Smith's A Simple Plan is the kind of book that begs to be turned into a movie. Not surprisingly, it was turned into a movie (starring Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, and Bridget Fonda). Mr. Smith also wrote the screenplay for the film, which in this case means he mailed a copy of his book to the producer, director, and actors. (After visiting the Post Office, he dusted off his hands, poured himself a stiff drink, and sat down to count his money.)
Like a direct-to-video movie, this is a direct-to-movie novel. In fact - brace yourself - the movie might actually be better than the book. Ye gods.
A Simple Plan is an easy, entertaining read. However, it lacks the certain je ne sais quoi that, presumably, live actors are paid to deliver.
The premise is (yes...) is... (YES...) is... (YES!?!?) simple. Basically, it's centered around the age-old question, "What would you do if you found a million dollars?" In this case, it's three men who stumble on the loot, and the plan - which is indeed simple - begins to unravel right from the start.
This 1st person thriller is a marvelous example of popular fiction. It is entertaining, dramatic, and well-written - but it is not literature. And thank goodness! A Simple Plan is the kind of page-turner that will save you $5 the next time a flight attendant asks, "Would you like to purchase headphones for our in-flight movie? We're showing "A Simple Plan," starring Billy Bob Thornton and Bridget Fonda."
Book Review: Not yet finished, but ...
Summary: 4 Stars
I have to come clean and say I'm only a fourth of the way in, but I'll go ahead and leave my impressions anyway.
The first few paragraphs were tremendous. With such a beginning, I wondered how the author could sustain the tension for a few hundred pages. But soon the novel turned into a tale of the two brothers (interesting) and then into something else.
I can see the structure of the novel and think it is graphically simple (Bad things will ensue, etc etc!) The thing that keeps me reading would have to be the characters. I find it fairly interesting that Hank has hidden layers (of malevolence), and that his wife is rather stoic. The one part where I *almost* did not continue was the part where Hank confesses something particularly heinous to his wife over a spaghetti dinner (Honestly, this has got to be the coolest 8-month-pregnant woman since Frances McDormand's character in "Fargo") and I just thought her reaction was way too accepting.
The parts that I like the best (so far) have to do with the crows. I love that the crows are aggressive and that they inhabit the interior of the plane, and I love that little hole that a crow makes right in the center of Hank's forehead, the one that bleeds and then forms a scab rather quickly (Holy Significant Metaphor!)
I'll keep reading.
Book Review: A Brilliant Idea
Summary: 3 Stars
The first chapter of this book was the best, all were well written. The author is a natural writer, talented, gifted. I'll look for his first book, Ruins, soon to see what it's about. My rating doesn't reflect the writing skills of this book but rather the way it made me feel. I'm a sucker for a happy ending most times, and this book kept heading into deeper, darker territory.
The idea is brilliant, I think I'd still like to see the movie, see how it was played out, especially since Billy Bob Thorton is in the movie, but it was hard for me to read what happened after two brothers and a friend found 4.3 million dollars and decided to keep it. The plan was to sit on it for six months and if no one was looking for the money, they'd split it and go their separate ways. It wasn't that easy however.
At first, I recommended it to my husband and he said not to tell him any more, than what I'd told him about the first chapter but I'm not so sure I'd recommend it after finishing it this early this morning. He decided to just watch the DVD version of A Simple Plan. The book was on the national bestseller list a few years back though, so a lot people have read it.
Book Review: Simple but not very nice...
Summary: 3 Stars
I enjoyed this book, but more for the concept than the execution. The moral implications of what happens when ordinary people stumble onto a treasure are enormous. Many novelists have explored the tragedies that inevitably follow; think of the Pearl, or the Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
Unfortunately this book isn't in the same league. This book is best when the narrator interrupts the plot to reflect on the horror of what has happened. But then he snaps back into the moment and commits one senseless murder after another, stating that each was an inevitable and destined result of what happened prior. He apparently has lost all free will. He even recites a crazed summary of all of his murders just before killing his last victim.
This is contrived, and what would be more interesting, examining what made the narrator turn from an ordinary, law-abiding citzien into a mass murderer in the first place, is not really explained other than it was 'fate,' with liberal goading from his Lady Macbeth-like wife.
This held my interest, but I would be more interested in seeing how other authors could handle this plot.
Book Review: Falls Short
Summary: 5 Stars
A Simple Plan grabbed me from the start and pulled me in. The writing was good, the story intriguing, and the characters were interesting. Then about 100 pages in everything unraveled.
As the plot moves along, characters begin taking actions which make no sense and seem to be backed by no motivation at all. I found myself saying, "There is no way he/she would do that." And that really is the main problem with the book. Hank Mitchell and his wife start as a respectable, believable couple, and quickly disintegrate into a couple of idiots (if you judge them simply by there actions).
Hank's brother Jacob, starts as an idiot, and just as the author is weaving sympathy and depth into Jacob's character, Jacob blasts away a friend and you put down the book frustrated by yet another "no way" moment.
In the end, despite the books positives, A Simple Plan falls flat like a corpse.
FYI, I rate this 3 stars but Amazon somehow lists my rating as 5.