Rating: 
Summary: Great debut
Review: First of all, I must say it~s no very frequent that a debut novel be adpated to a movie as was the case with this one. So, it must have some quality..And it does. It's a great book, sometimes a little bit too violent. But Smith's writing style is amazing, Hank's character is fascinating, his venomonous wife Sarah is something incredible... Good book.
Rating: 
Summary: good, but
Review: this is avery good book, but however this is one thing i could not ignore, there no way the cops could trace this all back to hank, mainly the one beack at the liquior store. Still, however a good read
Rating:
Summary: A superb and very scary first novel by Scott Smith
Review: Scott Smith's "A Simple Plan" is the tale of ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances--and who struggle to transcend those circumstances. Instead, these men descend into a hell brought on by their own selfishness and suspicion. Brothers Hank and Jacob Mitchell are out one day in the woods with a friend, Lou, when their dog bounds into the deepest, darkest part of the woods. Trying without success to find her, they stumble across a downed plane: "The plane was resting flat on its belly, as if it were a toy and a giant hand had reached down out of the sky to set it there, snug beneath the branches of the trees. There were remarkably few signs of damage. Its propeller was twisted out of shape, its left wing was bent back a bit, tearing a tiny hole in the fuselage, but the land itself was relatively unmarked; there were no upturned trees, no jagged , black gashes in the earth to reveal its path of impact . . . " Then they find the pilot, a gruesome sight that makes them understand that the plane crashed some time ago. They puzzle over how they had heard nothing about it. But it's when they find several million dollars that the light flicks on over their heads: this is illegal, somehow, this money, and that's why no one has reported it. That's why they've heard nothing about it. That's why it's there for the taking. Why not? They reason. Who could possibly be hurt by our taking money that's lying out here in the woods with no one to claim it? Smith takes their "simple plan" and with the introduction of each new obstacle or unforeseen circumstance, he deftly turns it a tiny bit, then a tiny bit more, then a tiny bit further. The result is that by the end, the seemingly simple plan of the Mitchell brothers and their friend Lou has devolved into madness, mayhem, and creeping paranoia. It's a masterful and powerfully creepy novel.
Rating: 
Summary: My heart is still pounding from reading it
Review: I just finished reading this book and am almost breathless and filled with a desire to lock all the doors and windows. A Simple Plan tells the story of average guy Hank, who, with his brother and his friend, finds millions of dollars in a crashed plane. His first inclination is to turn the money in, but he is persuaded to keep the money. One thing leads to another, and before he knows it, he has murdered someone to protect his secret. This is just the first in a series of blood-curdling events that fill the story with such amazing intensity that you will not be able to put the book down until you finish it. Hank narrates the story in the first person in a very calm, rational, and guiltless manner. Each act is, to him, completly necessary and therefore, blameless. The violence comes quickly and, just when you think it won't get any bloodier, it does. The one constant thread throughout the book, is that Hank still considers himself to be a regular guy, despite having committed unspeakable acts. His conscience is clear and life can go on with very few regrets. Scott Smith has written a wonderfully suspenseful story that keeps building and building. I have seen the film version; it is not as graphically violent (it couldn't be!) and not as relentless in its horror (too bad!). I recommend this book to fans of suspense, mystery, and crime. It is a thrilling story!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book - Poor Ending!
Review: If this is Scott Smith's first book, the next/rest should be a lot better. This book starts out very well and carries the reader along, getting caught up in the web of greed and strange justification for wrong acts, but the end just left me amazed-
it seemed like he was in a hurry to quit. I can think of several other ways to end this book that I think would have been better. The ending is the only part that really disappointed me. Still, it is a fast and easy read - you don't want to put it down. Worth the time to see how greed enables regular folks like you and me to do unbelievable acts of crimes, and yet find a sensible way to justify them!
Rating:
Summary: The ultimate car-trip read!
Review: Stephen King encourages one to "Read This Book", so I followed his advice, assuring myself that the man knows a good work of fiction when he reads one -- and, naturally, his advice proved beneficial. To be honest, I have never read an average-length novel in the time-span of two days (6/16-17), but I did with this one, while traveling with my family during our yearly summer vacation via the highways and biways of the mid-west (Indiana to Nebraska and back). I'd heard of the movie "A Simple Plan", so when I stumbled across a copy of the book at a Dollar General store in NE, I decided to get it (for a measly one dollar) -- and I was hooked from page one. For me at least, the return trip home flew by because I was utterly enthralled by the novel. But I was a bit startled to discover that the book is nearly ten years old (having been published initially in 1993). Nevertheless, I was very impressed with it, to say the least. Appropriately, it was sort of Stephen King-ish, but Scott Smith definitely presents his own voice/style. However, I'm giving it four stars out of five because no author's books are 100% perfect (not even Stephen's -- gasp!). But first-time novels, such as Smith's, don't come much better than this.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Book but Not the Next Great American Novel
Review: A Simple Plan begins promisingly. The writing is crisp and inviting: the author has a tendency to mix major plot events seamlessly with small details that evoke a sense of setting of life while at the same time integrating the setting back into the plot. I enjoyed most in this book the little descriptions, be they of the town of Ashenville, the woods, the actions of various small town characters - I mean to say that the author creates a milieu that is really suited to (and perhaps provides deeper insight into) what is happening. Also laudatory is the development of the narrator's situation and the author's grasp of his place in the narrative. This story is not simply told in the past tense because such is the manner in which novels are written - it actually involves a narrator who is narrating the plot retrospectively. Some of the most chilling and interesting moments in the novel occur when the narrator actually speaks from the present of his own view of his actions in the past. It creates a sort of drama to the entire novel in the rare moments when we get the glimpse not of a character being blindly led forward, but a character in turmoil with himself, analytical of the very actions he is narrating. Having said that, this book suffers from a certain moral didactism which is shallow and unwieldy - the plot spans some hundred and fifty pages, the novel spans about three hundred. The author is simple not up to the task of integrating character with a flowing story with a moral take. One can imagine the author beginning the book in the grips of an intellectual question and trying to examine it and work it out as he progresses. This book is situational in the sense that its plot is driven by a situation, but it is certainly not situational in the idea that it narrates a situation. The main problem with this book is that the plot drags, and certain sections seem words dabbed on the page while the author thinks of the next plot twist to throw in the works. In other words, the book has no momentum - it sputters awkwardly between background information, description of setting, characterization, and the actual plot - instead of integrating all of these factors in a seamless web, as they should be integrated. The clear result of this is that the novel, unlike Macbeth - which I'm sure the author takes at least some inspiration from, as the situations are, at times, almost too similar (a man driven and motivated by his wife to murder, the guilt and remorse, the ambition, etc...) does not have the dramatic density required to carry the author's premise. The novel is not one swiftly moving plot, it is a series of irritating bounces and jaunts from one rising action to one climax to one denouement and back to the entire problem of plot in the first place. By the end of the novel, the feeling is that the plot has been entirely contrived and dismissed to reach the final dramatic ending that it does. Having said that, the ending is very well suited to the book. The author makes a fascinating and seamless switch from past tense narration to present tense narration, and the last two pages are condensed, compelling, and pathetic. The story achieves what the author finally hoped it would from the beginning, and the individual sections are wonderfully written. This books is a good book, don't get me wrong, but what keeps it from becoming a great books is that the parts never lend themselves seamlessly into the whole.
Rating:
Summary: captivating and horrifying
Review: The most horrifying thing about the plot of A Simple Plan is that you can see how easily it could come true. Hank and his brother Jacob, with whom he has never been close, live in a small town in Ohio. Their parents have died in what may or may not have been a suicide. Hank is married to Sarah who is pregnant. They are young and middle-class .... and become money-hungry killers after Hank, Jacob and their friend Lou find a small downed plane in the woods loaded with money. They make plans to watch the news and, if no such plane is reported missing, to divide the cash and split. But a simple plan is never that simple. As time goes on, Hank becomes more and more paranoid about whom might discover the plane and/or figure out that he knows about it, so he starts killing them all off. Told in the first person, one sees Hank's struggle to convince himself he is a good person, even as he finds ways to justify his murders. His downward spiral is both heart-wrenching and gut-wrenching, and you wonder if he is left with the ability to do the right thing before it becomes too late.
Rating:
Summary: into the depths of human greed
Review: Taking the viewer into the depths of human greed and tremendous suspense, the book A Simple Plan is absolutely wonderful. Three average-Joe type guys, from a small town, find lots of money in a plane crash... And this is the story of how far each will go to get their share and avoid the consequences with which the law confronts them. The illustrative plot captivates the reader in ways few other authers can do. Smith puts the reader in a position of mixed contempt and compassion for the main character Hank. The reader's feelings, along with the astonishment of the henious murders, creates unbelievable apprehension and intrigue. The tension of multiple murders and the cover story Hank concocts are truly the works of a genius. As one of the final climaxes unfolds, the suspense is riveting, written with detail so intense one can picture everything happening as it would in real life. It is never given away what will happen, so every second is filled with page turning tension. For those who enjoy diving into the depths of human nature, and how twisted people can become, while appearing normal to any outsiders, this book is for you!
Rating:
Summary: Solid Book, Well Thought Out
Review: I thought the story was interesting although on of the older ones in literature - family, greed, tragedy. I think what really got me into the book was not the description of the lead character but of the dim witted brother that is not much of a go getter. Becuase of the real characters the author creates, you really can see this happening. I was thinking at the end of the book there probably is not other way this story could have unfolded with this mix of characters. I also liked how the author wrote a book about a dark topic in the dead of winter but the book did not take on an overall dark heavy tone that was so popular in the 80 - 90's. I did not think there were a lot of twists that were forced, the story was well thought out and constructed. Overall a very good effort.
|
