Rating: 
Summary: A Strong Moral Tale
Review: This book is very similar to the movie, which is probably because Scott B. Smith was granted the opportunity to write the screenplay to the film as well. "A Simple Plan" tells the story of two brothers, Hank and Jacob, who find a crashed plane in a forest near their home towns with a friend of Jacob's, Lou. In the plane is a bag of money -- over $4 million. Conflicted over ideas of who owns the money, where it came from, and how it would change their lives for the better if they kept it, they eventually agree to sit on the money for six months, until the spring thaw and the plane is found; if there is no mention of missing money, they agree to split it three ways.Of course, things don't go as planned, and the novel takes twist after twist which propels Hank, the narrator of the story, into deeper and deeper moral quagmires. With each choice he makes to protect their theft and his sure wealth, he adds new things he would take the fall for should they be discovered, and new things he must live with on his conscience. While the plot is very similar eventwise to the movie, there are a few deviations -- and, strangely enough, they almost always seem to work in the movie's favour. I watched -- and absolutely loved -- the movie a few years ago, so I knew the basic plot and was pleased to see the similarities. I count the movie among the best pure "moral" movies ever made, where the underlying principle is just a dilemma about doing the right things. But there are things which were in the novel which make Hank's choice less sympathetic than in the movie. In the movie I felt that his choices were truly, as Sarah rationalizes, without choice at all, just outcomes of their initial choice to sit on the money, things that had to follow. He never does anything which is premeditated and malicious. But here we see Hank morally deteriorated to the point where he's picking on (to put it lightly) absolutely innocent people to cover his mistakes, and not taking moral stands he knows he should make for the sake of others (one particular choice I'm thankful that he *does* make in the movie). I also didn't like the resolution to Jacob's involvement, which is the most noticeable change between the novel and the movie. Otherwise, though, I think both the movie and the novel are worth paying attention to. Some of Hank's choices toward the end of the novel might be slightly stretching credibility, but there is an underlying principle which is strongly demonstrated throughout: good people can do evil things. The question of how close we are to being Hank Mitchells ourselves is always there, because he is, for the most part, just a normal guy. The question is not "What would you do if you found $4 million?" but rather "What would you do to keep $4 million?" If we're to accept that Hank Mitchell is just another normal guy, I'd say the answer is pretty scary. Matthew D. Johnston
Rating: 
Summary: absolutely mesmerizing
Review: This book sat in my bookcase for months until I finally decided to read it. What an excellent decision! The story was absolutely mesmerizing with a fantastic plot and very well written. It was tightly constructed with no obvious loose ends.This first novel held my interest as the narrator Hank, an accountant, reveals how he, his older brother Jacob and Jacob's friend Lou accidently discover a crashed plane and over $4 million hidden within its fuselage. From the decision to take the money, Hank reveals the thoughts and emotions, the fear, anxiety and the development of sociopathy with rationalization and self-preservation justifying increasingly violent and irrational behavior. The story has the ability of allowing the reader to think along with Hank and his wife Sarah and compare their decisions to what the reader may have done in similar circumstances that makes this a great exercise in values clarification.
Rating:
Summary: A lot of suspense, a truly facsinating book.
Review: This book was jammed packed with suspense from the start. Hank Mitchell and his pregnant wife Sarah start out with normal lives and are very happy people in the beginning. Then when Hank, his big brother Jacob, and Jacob's friend Lou find a downed plane, a dead pilot, and 4.4 million dollars everyone's life turns around and then the killing begins for the money. Hank is starting to get greedy and kills his brother and everyone connected to the money.And then Victor Klasimov comes into looking for the 4.4 million dollars which happens to be his disguised as a FBI agent and Hank is forced to kill two(Victor and town sherriff) more people or confess to the town sheriff that he stole 4.4 million dollars which is under his bed.
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