Introduction

I recently read a remarkable book called 'The Plot', written by Jean Hanff Korelitz and published in 2021. She has written seven other books, and one 'You should have Known' inspired the mini-series 'The Undoing' on HBO/ MAX (streaming platform). She is originally from New York, but has lived in other places, including Princeton New Jersey and the United Kingdom. She met Paul Muldoon for the first time in London. She met him again the following year in Yorkshire, when he attended a poetry course taught by Muldoon. Muldoon is a famous poet, originally from Co. Armagh. Muldoon is often compared to Séamus Heaney, a fellow poet from Northern Ireland, and Muldoon's friend and mentor.

The Plot

Jake was a writer whose first book was just a flash in the pan. He tried time after time to write another book that would be as successful as his first book, but he failed. Then he did the next thing he could think of – he taught a writing class.

One student in his class claimed that he had the best plot ever and that anyone could write a great book based on that plot. Once, that man – named Evan Parker – shared what he had in mind as a plot. Unfortunately, Evan didn't write that book. When Jake later researched Evan, he found out that he was dead.

So, Jake decided to write the book and he did. An incredible thing happened then – the book he wrote called 'The Crib' was in great demand. Steven Spielberg would be the director of the film based on the book. Then, Jake met a woman named Anna, they fell in love and after a while they got married. Undoubtedly, Jake was now on the pig's back with life giong his way. But the house of cards began to shake when Jake received an unknown e-mail saying: you are a thief! The e-mail worried Jake, and he feared that he would be branded a fraud who had stolen the plot of the book - one of the worst crimes an author could commit. What should Jake do? At first, he hoped he wouldn't get any more messages – but he was dreaming. The messages never stopped, and after a while things got worse and eventually Jake needed to get his publisher's lawyers involved.

There is another thread in this story in the form of chapters from the imaginary book written by Jake ('The Crib'), interwoven with chapters of 'The Plot'. There are two parallel realities moving forward together, with you getting more information from both all the time. That's a very effective literary device, which adds to the tension and the plot a lot. Anyway, Jake realized he had no other choice but to find out who sent him the messages, and why. It didn't take much time for Jake, working as a detective and going from place to place, to discover strange things. The strangest thing he discovered was that Evan had not imagined the plot at all. I won't reveal anything else for fear of spoiling the story, but I can say that there are still a few more twists and turns left for you in the story.

Recommendations

'The Plot' is not like a James Patterson or Lee Child book. The story moves more slowly and the chapters are longer. But there is more than a thriller involved here too. The author discusses themes that are important today. For example, is it possible to steal a plot at all – what are the rules for that? It is not easy to answer that question in the age of the internet and social media, let alone Artificial Intelligence.

It was very interesting how the author weaved passages from the imaginary book 'The Crib' through this book as well, sharing the plot that Evan had in the beginning.

I would recommend you read 'The Plot', not only as a thriller, although it is a good thriller, but also as a piece of literature, which goes deeper than a detective novel in terms of character development and deals with important themes of this time.

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Long, long ago in the Stone Age, in the golden age of rock music, when the great guitarists were at their peak, there were many superhuman heroes. It is impossible to mention them all, but among them were: Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eddie Van Halen, Eric Clapton, Jimi Page, Rory Gallagher, Eric Bell, Gary Moore and Johnny Fean. Another guitarist named Peter Frampton, who is from England, was also doing well up to the mid-seventies, but he had not yet achieved international fame. Everything changed for him in 1975. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

Early Days

Peter Frampton attended the same secondary school as David Bowie, and Bowie was three years his senior. They both had bands, and often played together between classes. In 1966 at the age of 16, Frampton started as guitarist and singer for the band 'The Herd', and three of their songs topped the charts in the UK. In 1969, he left 'The Herd' and joined another band called 'Humble Pie'. After a few years and four albums, he left that band to go out on his own.

Frampton Comes Alive!

His first efforts, with the albums 'Wind of Change', 'Frampton's Camel' and Somethin's Happening', had little success. His next album, 'Frampton', released in 1975, went up the charts to number 32. In June 1975, Frampton performed a concert at the 'Winterland Arena' in San Fransisco, and it was recorded. That was the basis for the double album 'Frampton Comes Alive', released in 1976. That album was in the 'Billboard 200' charts for two years, and then spent ten weeks at the top of the charts. Three songs from the album also did very well as singles - Show Me the Way', 'Baby, I Love Your Way' and 'Do You Feel Like We Do'.

Frampton released his next album 'I'm in You' in 1977, and although it did quite well, it was not on par with 'Frampton Comes Alive'. Just two years after the release of his 'Frampton Comes Alive' album, he was seriously injured in a car accident. After that, he struggled with drug abuse. Although Frampton continued to play music up to the present day, his era was over and he gradually fell into oblivion.

Resurrection

When I recently heard that Frampton would be performing in San Diego, I immediately bought a couple of tickets. Although I remembered 'Frampton Comes Alive' well, like almost everyone else my age, I had no clue what happened to it in the interim. Then, my wife read an article about Frampton in the local newspaper. He was diagnosed with a rare degenerative disease in 2019, which would gradually weaken the muscles in his hands. Although you'd imagine that would be the death knell for Frampton, you'd be wrong. He refused to succumb to that disease, and almost as an act of defiance, he announced some new dates for his world tour. He had to make changes in the way he used his fingers because they weren't as strong as they used to be, and he also had to do a lot of practice. After completing that tour, he organized another tour - 'Never Ever Say Never Tour', because his fingers were still pretty good.

Concert

My wife and I had great seats at the 'Rady Shell' in San Diego. The concert started at 7:30 p.m. and the music stopped until almost 10 p.m. All members of the band were seated, as Frampton had to be seated due to illness. But once we got used to that, we soon forgot about it – the music was that good. They played all the big songs, and they were great. Frampton still has a great voice, as the disease has not damaged his voice. His son, Julian Frampton, came on stage to sing 'Rebel Rebel', David Bowie's famous song, and he was outstanding as a singer. He praised his father saying that he is an inspiring man and a courageous fighter, of whom he is very proud. I completely agree with that point of view, and Peter Frampton is an indomitable spirit, who lifts up our hearts, not only as a great musician, but as a role model for us all!

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The film 'American Fiction' received an Oscar award in the category of 'Best Adapted Screenplay.' It's a bit ironic, because the film itself is a film about a writer. The film's script is based on a novel published in 2001, entitled 'Erasure', written by Percival Everett. It is a scathing satire, describing the literary world's pressure on non-whites to conform to racial stereotypes that portray them unfavorably.

Erroll McDonald, vice president and executive editor, is one of the few prominent black editors in the publishing industry. He said many of the themes in Everett's book are just as fresh today as they were in 2001. He also said he was all too aware of the way white editors and publishers choose stories that reinforce stereotypes about black people, rather than stories which would show them as ordinary people, like everyone else.

The Plot

Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) is an academic writer and Professor of Humanities. But he is not happy in the role and openly expresses his controversial views to his students, regardless of the consequences. Complaints are made to the University authorities about the ugly things Monk said in class, and his managers decide to give him an unpaid leave of absence. Monk goes home to Boston, and as he is a writer, he attends a book festival held there. A couple of things occur to Monk as he attends the festival. First of all, his writings are not in line with what the book market is looking for from black writers like him. And what is the book market looking for? Black people in stereotypical roles speaking vulgar street talk in their vernacular. This is evident from the novel 'We's Lives in Da Ghetto,' a novel written by superstar Sintara Golden (Issa Rae). When Sintara reads out an excerpt from her book, Monk sees the middle-aged white women in the audience nod in agreement.

Monk also understands that, despite his reluctance to contact his family, they are struggling in many ways and that it is important for him to be there and help them in their time of need - especially since his mother, Agnes (Leslie Uggams), has Alzheimer's disease.

To express his dissatisfaction and frustration, Monk sits down one night and begins to write a book. The title of the book is 'My Pafology', a story about gangs and guns, and bad black people. He writes the book under the pseudonym 'Stagg R. Leigh.'As Monk is unable to show his face as Stagg when dealing with various publishers, he pretends to be a criminal on the run from the law, who cannot there attend meetings in person. Then, something happens that he did not expect at all. When the manuscript is sent out, one of the major publishers makes him an offer that is hard to refuse - $750,000! Although he does not want to take it, he has no choice, as his mother needs medical care. Then his book is nominated for a major award and huge success follows for him.

Conclusion

The story works on two levels, firstly as an exposé of the pressures placed on black people working in the arts. At the same time, you see the life of Monk and his family clearly. He is a professor, his sister is a clinician and his brother is a plastic surgeon - defying the racial stereotypes spread by the media. Those two levels that are in opposition to each other create the great tension in the film. And it also clearly shows that the stereotypes that many people believe in are unfounded.

The acting in the film is superb, with Jeffrey Wright incredible in the role of Monk. You feel his frustration and pain all the time, even and perhaps especially, when he is very successful as an author.

I would recommend this movie without question. It shines a universal light on a serious topic, but the topic is discussed in a fun and entertaining way.

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My eyes were glued to the big screen every minute of this very interesting film 'Killers of the Flower Moon', masterpiece of director Martin Scorcese. I didn't even take a toilet break, even though the movie is almost three and a half hours long. I hardly took a breath, or blinked my eyes, for fear of missing something important in the story. 'Yes – this film is so enthralling.

The film is based on the popular book 'Killers of the Flower Moon', written in 2017 by journalist David Grann. The book tells the true story of a white businessman and self-proclaimed "true friend" of the Osage Nation (a native tribe). The tribe became rich when oil was discovered on their reservation. The scheme devised by some white men was to marry landowners and then kill them to get their estates. Women were the owners for the most part, as the Osage tribe was a matriarchal one. The story focuses on one native family – the mother (played by Tantoo Cardinal as Lizzie Q) and her four daughters, and what happens to them, especially one daughter who is not yet married.

There are three main characters in this film – Robert de Niro as William Hale, Leonardo diCaprio as Hale's nephew, Ernest Burkhart, and Lily Gladstone as Mollie Kyle – Burkhart's wife. All three give an excellent performance, and in my opinion, Lily Gladstone is on a par with de Niro and diCaprio. Ernest Burkhart is a dullard, and Hale cleverly exploits him, exerting his influence on him strongly. Mollie meets Ernest, her handsome taxi driver, and they fall in love. Therefore, it was not difficult for Hale to convince Ernest to marry Mollie. One by one, her mother and sisters die so that only Mollie is left alive.

Hale then plans to kill Mollie Kyle, and get her estate for his own family through Ernest. There is a twist in the story because Ernest and Mollie are in love, and the relationship between them is central to the story. I will not tell you more about this story now, but you will see the rotten corruption that the Americans, and especially the farmer Hale, played on the natives in the twenties in the past century, through the lens of this horrible story.

Gladstone's opinion

Lily Gladstone (Mollie in the film) has aboriginal blood, so her opinion about the film is very interesting.

“I struggle to think of another film that has been so true to indigenous women. I love my sisters in the film, and they are like family to me,” said Lily.

Mollie's sisters, native actresses Cara Jade Myers as Anna Brown, JaNae Collins as Reta Smith and Jillion Dion as Minnie Smith, are killed for their money.

The scenes with the sisters and their mother speaking their native language together are very powerful. In fact, every scene that shows the Osage language and culture is exciting. Rarely do you see such a realistic representation of the native people in Hollywood.

“Mollie survived but Kyle's three sisters did not. We all know someone, someone in our family, someone in our inner circles, someone we grew up with and we don't know where they are,” Lily said poignantly. With that, they connect the life as shown in the film and the life as it is today, in terms of mistreatment of indigenous people in America.

Conclusion

You can understand this wonderful film on at least two levels. You can take it as it is, that is to say that it features first class actors at work, under the direction of some of the best directors in the world, revealing an interesting story, set in Oklahoma a hundred years ago. It is a tangle of scheming, with love, murder and money as ingredients mixed together to present you with a delicious soup. The audience would be very happy with the film, and that read on it. But another meaning can be superimposed on this original reading, when you recognize that this is not just a work of imagination, but a work based on bitter truth. That is that there was racial and sexual discrimination against the indigenous people, and their lives were of little value. With that background, it was easy for greedy and immoral Americans to kill indigenous women to steal their money. This corruption was widespread, and did not stop until an FBI detective, Tom White (played by Jesse Plemons), came to investigate the murders.

The film steers the light towards the situation of the indigenous people in their own country, almost a hundred years ago. And it raises this question: are the conditions forindigenous people better now than they were then? Unfortunately, that question is not easy to answer! But perhaps, with this film, this important question will be asked more often to the appropriate authorities.

Bottom line: Don't hesitate to see this movie as soon as possible!

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