A Simple Plan of Scott Smith

Scott Smith (The author)

The Book

When is the time better than now approaching the new year to read 'A Simple Plan' written by the legendary Master of Thriller himself, Scott Smith?

I still remember when I first bought the book that I had flipped through a few pages and had some glimpses of the story. I vaguely remember that within the first chapter itself, it has mentioned something about an oath to visit the protagonist's parents' grave on the new year's eve. It struck me then, when I started seriously reading again that A Simple Plan was in fact the most appropriate book to read before kicking off a new year.

At some levels, A Simple Plan does resonate with me, besides reading it before the brand new year. I also have lost my beloved younger sister last year and my parents and I visit her grave almost every month. After a couple of visits, I think it has started to turn into a monthly ritual. Not that I really mind about that, but every visit just simply feels like ephemeral to me, however to the protagonist, Hank, and his brother, Jacob, on the contrary, looked untoward to it.

The author deliberately painted such a character on Hank Mitchell. He first appeared to be of a basic young educated typical good guy type against Jacob and Lou, Jacob's friend, who were, on the other hand, of the sloppy type that can be easily succumbs to immoral acts. However, upon stumbling the stacks of cash, the mask was slowly removed to reveal the true side of Hank. It was as if the sudden appearance of such a huge sum of money in his life had prompted the real character to surface from Hank.

In the early part of the novel, it is mentioned that Hank had quietly harbored an intention, just like everybody else, or I would say everybody else would act the same, to leave town to start a more exciting life in a new city. However, such a dream life will quickly dissipate as one is also quickly brought to face the reality from day to day life, once you play a role in the adult world. As such, Hank was more likely to go on an extra mile in his extreme ways than his counterparts (his wife included) to attain his buried-deep-inside goal of getting rich. In other words, Jacob and Lou were more shallow in comparison to Hank, as they did not harbor such an unrealistic greed dream deep within themselves like hank. Instead they harbored the on-the-surface occasional day dream of having a nicer car (or truck) or drink beers to their life's content. It is a really smart potrayal of the characters by the author.

I like that the author is able to tap into an average joe's mind where one is apt to ask the same thing before doing something awful, such as "would it hurt somebody?" and "whould we get caught?. Ingenius.

I have read many reviews in blogs, and I have found out that the book succeeds at keep raising the question, "what would you do if..?" as one read along the plot, and also at making the reader feel emphatic and guilty of Hank commiting into such crimes, as if the reader would do the same if faced such a situation. Not bad.

There are of course a few other credible questions that the book manages to raise, like "is it worthwhile to do it?", "will we go to jail if we don't do this?"

It is also a very good interplay of relationships among the characters on who's controlling who. Hank's wife, Sarah seems to have, in numerous times, used the possibility of going to jail as a leverage to control Hank to keep moving on the right direction for the very wrong reasons. Hank used the Pederson's murder to control Jacob to control Lou. That's why, in one of the pages, the dynamics among the characters and the cause and effect relations of the events are described by Hank. A leads to B, B leads to C, C leads to D, and the rest is history. Very interesting.

After a climax in the book, the book seems to have slowed down a bit. Hank's thoughts look as though to have come more the forefront. It seems that after an awful event, the narrator had come to a point to start to realize his surroundings more, and to reflect more of his past. As if the past came just to haunt him in his memories. Hank appeared as if he needed to explore within himself, and taking into account of his daughter and his wife, whether he should just feel guilty, i.e burn the money or just soldier on. Fortunately for him, his wife, Sarah, was always there for him when things seemed to have gotten stuck or when he needed his wife for guidance to navigate him back on the right tracks.

The final part of climax kind of appeared quite lame to me. You can pretty tell that the book should end where the FBI agents told Hank something about the money. It is as though the final part is just there to furnish the pages, or I should say to immediately tidy up the loose ends. However, one should view that the final part is only additional to the story to build up the climax, rather than as integral to the story. I can imagine, if without the ending, the book would fall flat, as if no climax higher than the early climaxes.  The final ending is therefore commendable. 

The theme of the story is just to tell us that if you have done something wrong, the consequences will get the better of you. It is just a matter of time. If you are smart, then you are just delaying your punishments. The mind will play trick on you if you are not careful.

In my opinion, the story in the book should be treated as a short story. The story can be easily written as a short story instead as a long one. However, I'm not saying that this story is not good or unsuitable as a long story. In fact, the author had successfully spun an amazing yarn of a story. If it is easy to write a short story to express the theme, then it is even harder to write a long book, as the long story will more likely to appear filmsy, as if the thickening of the plot will appear as if just to cover the plot holes.

I have seen quite lately that a few similar type of movies have sprung up from Hong Kong. Noticably, Overhead and the Accident. They played on the same arc of story. The train-wreck type of story, hehe.. Do check them out. : )

Lovely Bones

Although this book looks like a thin book (about 300 pages thick only), it has actually managed to take me about 1 month to finish it.

This has proved that this book is quite a tough book to finish in spite of its thinness. Lovely Bones is not quite a thriller, it is more 'melodrama' than 'a thriller'. If it is more of a melodrama thriller, than it should be easy to finish. However, it was not for me.

The book is full of heavy inspection of details. From the crime-related details to the familial affairs. All the portrayed characters seem to be connected to Susie. They are equally fully fleshed out for our observation. It appears as if we, the readers, are in the company of Susie, to observe all the minute details that were observed by Susie. Interesting?

If it is not for that this book had been claimed as the breakout fiction of 2002/2003, I don't think I will be reading it.

If I recall, I had noticed a few couple of years back that this book was quite heavily featured in various bookstores in town. However, I did not pick it up as I thought this book might be a girl's book but more in a sombre serious literary tone.

After now that I have actually picked and read this book, I think the book is just ok in terms of a fiction. The creation of a rape-murder victim who stayed in her own preferred heaven is quite fresh. This book, in my opinion, has appealed to the masses is because of its closeness to the Christian faith. The death and the heaven.

It is also quite good that the book started off with the death of Susie, how she was murdered, and then gradually progressed into the melodrama of her family, on how they had coped with the Susie's death. The most captivating parts of the book have to be the invention of Susie's heaven, and portrait of Susie's family and friends after Susie's death. These of course bring us to the rape issue.

It seems that the author, Alice Sebold, likes to delve on the issue of rape. After her first memoir-ish book, Lucky, she might have intended to write another different kind of book revolving the same issue. I kind of have noted that it may be the author's early intention to write a novel about someone who can feel died people, particularly of rape-murder victims, and their sorrows. so that she could continue writing the same topic. However, the character who can feel died people, ala Sixth Sense, like Ruth, would not turn up as a good but a mediocre story. Hence, she might have quicky written a book about a departed soul instead. The fascination of a heaven is more relating, more Christian feel.

Anyways, I intentionally picked up this book to read. Since my sister has departed, I thought it would be more appropriate to read a death-related story, just to know how does it feel to other people. A lot of books has also touched this topic too, but not to this elaborate extent. The other book that I have read is Looking For Alaska. :)