The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was granted an AUDIOBOOK ARC of Jean Hanff Korelitz’s latest novel, The Sequel, ably narrated by the extremely talented Julia Whelan. Whelan did an excellent job with this rambling, introspective, downright “wordy” novel. There was so much internal dialogue happening at any given time that the action in the story often felt like it was happening in slow motion.
But apart from Korelitz’s tendency to over explain or belabour her prose, this was a gripping story: I had to find out whether Anna aka Diane Parker, was literally going to get away with murder.
I was by turns mesmerized by the many plot twists and turns, and then exhausted by the author’s verbosity. Did I really want to know each and every thought that passed through Anna’s psychopathic mind? Apparently, I was going to hear them whether I wanted to or not.
I will grant that the author did an excellent job of describing the entire publishing and book promotion process – but, hello! – this is a murder/thriller, not a “How To” manual!
Loved the sections focusing on the poor Wannabe’s who thought they could beat the slush pile odds and get their books published. A writer’s life and the tedious chore of book signings and promoting their book after publication was well documented. This section of the novel almost made me forget that there was a mystery still to be solved!
I have to admit that I had a hard time believing that Evan Parker was even capable of writing a grocery list, much less an 18 chapter tell-all novel. I also have to admit that I did feel some compassion for young Diane Parker. Did Diane Parker’s parents’ neglect and childhood traumas create the psychopath Anna Williams-Bonner, or was she born this way – as her brother’s novel suggested?
Luckily, the final few chapters made up for the slow grind of the first two-thirds of the story. There was so much action going on at this point that I ended up cancelling on my gym workout so that I could listen to the last hour of this audiobook. It had suddenly caught fire and I just had to know how it would end!
I’m rating this a 3.75 out of 5, rounded up to a 4 because, despite the occasional brain freeze that I endured during the many, many wordy passages, I felt compelled to keep listening – who on earth was behind the accusatory emails, claiming plagiarism of Evan Parker’s original manuscript?!!
My thanks to the author, narrator, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
View all my reviews
Crossing the Pond Reviews 