Let’s Talk About the Sequel-ness of The Sequel
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I have read and enjoyed a variety of Jean Hanff Korelitz’s books. I particularly liked the one that came out in 2022. It is called The Plot. Since the newest book takes off where the first one finished, it is a sequel and indeed is called The Sequel.
I heard an interview with the author on The New York Times Book Review Podcast. In it she indicates how important it is to read The Plot before The Sequel hence I made sure to read it again – well, to listen to it on tape. I’m glad I did. Whereas the first book is mostly a thriller with a bit of a mystery thrown in. The second book is all mystery with multiple plot twists and a dead body delivered up with just about each one. It was great NOT to be puzzling to remember the first story as I tried to untangle the second one.
So here is the scoop on the books. The Plot is about a creative writing teacher who appropriates the amazing plot of a student (Evan Parker) who has died. The teacher, Jacob Finch Bonner, had never been given the student’s manuscript to read. He only knew the specifics of the huge twist that would make the book unique. So years later, when he learns that Evan Parker died without publishing the book, he borrowed that twist. It was not exactly plagiarism, but it wasn’t exactly ethical either. After the book’s publication and HUGE success, Jake starts to receive ominous messages. Someone knows the truth about his book! How can that be since Evan Parker is dead?
I don’t want to give away more of the book than that. But suffice it to say by book’s end there is complete resolution. The reader – and Jake – know the source of the ominous messages and all loose ends are tied up – every last one!
But then, there is The Sequel. Not wanting to spoil it, I can tell even less about it than about The Plot! Suffice it to say that all the loose ends had not been tied up in book one and more ominous messages are soon on their way. This time, Jake is deceased, and they go to Jake’s widow, Anna, who is also an author. And guess what? She has a new and very successful book in print. Her book is called The Afterword. It tells a fictionalized version of what happened to Jake in the aftermath of his success. Namely, there had been some form of harassment over his book that was so relentless, he ultimately took his own life. Oh my! Look out, Anna!
Since I am not going to talk more about The Sequel, let me talk about its sequel-ness, as this will probably be a topic that readers and book clubs think about. In fact, here is an entire outline to lead a discussion…
The author gives us five tidbits to chew:
- The quote that starts the book is from Michael Chabon. He said, “All novels are sequels.”
- In the second chapter, Anna’s editor Matilda is suggesting she write a sequel to Jake’s book sayings, “Sequels can be very enticing when the initial book has done well. Readers want to know what happens to a character they’ve connected with.” Anna replies, “But they are never as good as the first book, are they?” Matilda defends her opinion by saying, “I’m sure some are. Or at least…as good.”
- At the end of the book, after the Acknowledgments, there is a section called Chapter Titles. Here Jean Hanff Korelitz shows that each chapter in the book is named after a book that is a sequel. Chapter one is called It Starts with Us, which is the sequel to It Ends with Us, both by Colleen Hoover. Chapter two is called Ready Player Two, which is the sequel to Ready Player One, both by Ernest Cline. And on it goes for thirty-one chapters.
- In the previously mentioned interview, the author says that she herself rarely reads sequels, that she is more of a stand-alone-book reader. However, she felt her character was “too delicious to let go of” and so she wrote what came next.
- When asked if she was going to write a third book in the series, she replied: “I would not say no.”
So, what do you think?
- Are all novels sequels? What does that even mean?
- Are sequels as good as the initial book? (And what about movie adaptations?)
- Would you have picked up on the significance of the chapter titles? And what do these thirty-one sequels tell us about the genre?
- Are you a reader of sequels or a stand-alone-book reader and why?
- Where do you think the author will take her very “delicious” character when she writes the next book in the series? And where would you take this story next?
I must confess that I had a very good theory of where the author was going to go with The Sequel. But she didn’t go in that direction at all! Maybe she will go there the next time. Frankly, I can’t wait to see. These two books are very un-put-downable. I’m sure the next one will be too.
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Here are other reviews I have written for Jean Hanff Korelitz novels:
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