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On their way with a friend to a ritual New Year's Eve visit to their parents' graves, two brothers discover a crashed private plane, almost buried in the snow near their small-town Ohio homes. But a bigger discovery awaits them inside the plane: over $4 million in cash.

Idioma

Inglés
Editorial

Simon & Schuster Audio
Fecha de publicación

1 marzo 1994
ISBN-10

0671853295
ISBN-13

978-0671853297
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Detalles del producto

Editorial ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster Audio (1 marzo 1994)
Idioma ‏ : ‎ Inglés
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0671853295
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0671853297
Peso del producto ‏ : ‎ 130 g

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4,2 896 valoraciones

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Scott Smith

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4,2 de 5

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Jason Yip

A Simple Pla(i)n reading novel

Revisado en Reino Unido el 2 de junio de 2013

Compra verificada

After struggling but finishing the classic "Wuthering Heights", I wanted something easy to read. A friend at work suggest A SIMPLE PLAN, as she'd read it - and she's a slow reader who is critical of any book that doesn't grip her within a couple of chapters.

PREMISE
I thought the premise of the story was rather weak, or at least it didn't automatically make me think that it would give way to an amazing story. Two brothers and a friend find $4.4m in a plane, in the middle of nowhere. It's not exactly a gripping premise such as "man is stabbed to death in a room that's locked from the inside". In many respects, the very average premise does give rise to an average story - so why have I rated the novel 4/5 overall? Well, it's not because of the premise!

STYLE
This is where Scott Smith scores exceptional high from me. The story is told from Hank's perspective, i.e. in first person. The descriptions are always very well written, and nothing is given away too soon on how Hank is going to behave. Despite knowing every step of the way what Hank's going to do (or thinks he's going to do!), we are never sure it's going to work out because he obviously cannot predict other people's nature, which is what makes the book very compelling. The next category I look at (characterisation) is really what makes the book special enough to garner 4 stars from me; but the style of writing is what allows the author to weave a story that feels fresh.

STORY
The story is told in a way that it feels biographical. Despite some deaths, the narrator never goes into gory details - the story is definitely not about a serial killer, or even someone who's "turning into a serial killer". The title of the story is true to itself all the way through: Hank always maintains that they must absolutely wait it out, find out if the money is truly unmarked or not, and whether anyone is looking for it. Hence "the simple plan" - waiting it out. Even towards the end of the story, Hank is still holding onto this simple plan - it's only just before the last epic scene (missing from the film) that he's no longer sticking to the plan.

CHARACTERISATION
From the outset, we know that Hank is someone who takes few risks, and prefers to be in control as much as possible. Hence he works as an accountant, which lets him control his financial situation but also at the expense of appearing a little boring with life's choices. Hank never deviates from his characterisation - the first time they almost get rumbled, he does his best to cover up the death of an innocent man purely to protect his social circle. A few readers have commented that Hank is "like a sadistic killer"; but that's far from true if you read the novel for its characterisations. Everything Hank does is to give him (and his wife) reasons to keep the money or not; any deaths along the way are a 'necessary' small cog in the giant machine that's turning. Lou's character is one of the most interesting in the story, as he's the complete opposite of Hank - impulsive, a bad gambler, always taking risks, an alcoholic.

ENDING
If you've watched the film, then you've missed out on a truly epic ending (which I won't spoil for you). The ending isn't anything breathtaking, but it fits in with the premise of the story as well as the reason for the story. It also doesn't feel rushed (but is certainly not dragged on), so you're given ample time to take in what's been happening. Despite all the things that Hank has done, the story never concludes that he's "numb to it all" - it's more a case that his life of predictability was completely upset by the one-in-a-million chance of finding $4.4m that they (he, his wife, his brother, their friend & friend's partner) could keep.

OVERALL
The novel gets 4/5 from me because it's a simple story told in an effective way. It took me longer than an evening to finish it, so I'd consider it a standard sized novel (Patricia Cornwell's "Post Mortem" took a short evening to read, that's how small it is). If you're after a well fleshed-out story and aren't bothered by the lack of twists or lack of plot devices, and you like strong characterisations and descriptions - then this is the book for you. Do not read if you're after a story with an amazing plot or premise.

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Edward Aycock

Macbeth in the Midwest

Revisado en los Estados Unidos el 31 de agosto de 2006

Compra verificada

Many people were disappointed by Smith's most recent novel, "The Ruins" (although I wasn't one of them) so I knew I had to read Smith's first novel to see how it compared. The truth is there is no comparison that can be made as "A Simple Plan" is as far removed from "The Ruins" - genre-wise, story-wise, everything-wise- as a novel can be. If there could be a true comprison made for this book, it would be Woody Allen's film, "Crimes and Misdemeanors." That an author can write two such different novels AND succeed with both is an achievement.

Smith is a damn good writer and this tale, a story as simple as Hank Mitchell's plan, is riveting. There wasn't one point in this novel where I wasn't worried that if I turned the page, everything would come out in the open. Between Hank's simple plan, his wife Sarah's murderous lucidity and the growing body count, there is never a dull moment. I do confess that by the end of the book, I was starting to feel like the widening circle of death was getting a bit too extreme (for those who only know the film version of the novel, they diverge in a major way halfway through so the book will be a new experience) but at the same time, if I was Hank Mitchell, what would I have done? That's a question I kept asking myself and still do.

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Alan Smithee

Fantastic insight into human nature

Revisado en los Estados Unidos el 30 de diciembre de 2022

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Exquisitely written, unrelentingly dark, Smith takes you on a wild ride through the psyche of a man who is drawn into evil one seemingly inevitable and small step at a time.

A professional review on the book cover linked the work to the concept of the “banality of evil”: the notion that evil is much more ordinary and commonplace than we think. It’s lurking under the surface in more people than not, and the only thing most of us are missing to induce a slide into the abyss is a triggering event.

Smith introduces this triggering event in the form of a bag of money discovered by the narrator, his brother, and a friend. Greed and fear slowly overwhelm the three as one awful event after the next unfolds as a result of their find. Each event is presented by the narrator as inevitable; he has convinced himself that all of the increasingly terrible acts he commits are events set inexorably into motion by the discovery of the money. In his mind, he is just a normal person who got caught up in extraordinary events.

That was the most chilling part of the book; the revelation that the ability to commit unspeakable acts lies within more people than you would think.

The face of evil isn’t some Snidely-whiplash cartoon bad guy twirling his mustache while a damsel is strapped to the train tracks. The face of evil may be a kindergarten teacher, your family’s pastor, that barista that remembers that you like nonfat milk in your latte. The face of evil may, in fact, even be staring back at you in the mirror. Until you’re tested by some extraordinary circumstance you can’t honestly know for sure.

That’s the “banality of evil” and Smith mines the concept to great effect. Be aware that it is, as mentioned, quite a dark story. But if you have the stomach for it, it’s a fantastic read not only for Smith’s excellent craftsmanship but also for the brilliant insights into human nature with which he underpins his tale.

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MikesFilmTalk

A Simple Plan by Scott Smith: Not so Simple

Revisado en Reino Unido el 17 de abril de 2013

Compra verificada

A Simple Plan is Scott Smith's first book. It caused a lot of fuss when it hit the book stands and after reading it, I can see why. I've actually reversed into this debut novel of Smith's because I read The Ruins first and fell in love with his story telling abilities based on that novel.

The book has been called "A compulsive thriller which also happens to be a beautifully written and original work of art" Robert Harris. I believe him. It's such an accurate description of Smith's writing style and of the story itself that the publishers have pasted it across the front of the paperback version of the book.

If you look at the Wikipedia plot description, it is a bit too simple, straightforward and a little misleading. From Wikipedia: Three men find an airplane crashed in a forest. The pilot is dead and the cockpit contains a gym bag with $4.4 million in one-hundred-dollar notes. They decide to keep the money, dividing it equally, but their plans go wrong when others come close to discovering their secret, resulting in multiple murders.

Now that description would catch my interest, but it is not what the book is really about.

Hank Mitchell lives in a rural area of America. He is married and his wife Sarah is expecting their first baby. His brother Jacob, a behemoth of a man, is one of life's under achievers. Jacob's best friend is drunken wastrel Lou. Lou doesn't like Hank and the feeling is mutual.

Hank and Jacob's parents commit suicide when the farm that their father owned got into financial difficulties. The two brothers have little in common and don't even like each other very much. Hank is an accountant and the only bright spark in his life is his pregnant wife.

Hank, Jacob and Lou make an uneasy trio of men thrown together by familial ties, circumstance and financial similarities. Hank, despite being the only employed member of this little group is basically easily led and taken advantage of. He is not strong enough morally or physically to make a stand for himself.

Then one snowy morning all three men are in a pickup truck when Jacob's dog (a male named Mary Beth) jumps out of the truck to chase a fox. Both fox and dog disappear into the woods and the men go to find Mary Beth. Once in the woods they find a small crashed aircraft. They also find a dead pilot and duffel bag stuffed with money.

Hank takes control of the situation and decides that if they hold onto the money for six months it will then be safe for them to split the cash and no one will be the wiser. With explicit instructions to not tell anyone about what they've found, Hank becomes the "keeper" of the money.

Stress, dire financial situations, lack of secrecy and trust all begin to take their toll on the three men and as events snowball out of control, things turn murderous.

This story had me gripped from the first page. Smith paints a brilliant picture of small town life and the people who inhabit it. His painting of the three (four counting Sarah) main characters made them so real and complete I felt badly for them when things got so out of hand.

Hank was the main protagonist and it doesn't take long to see that he really is not up to the task at hand. Sarah becomes a big player in the action by first acting as his sounding board and then later taking a more active role in events.

This tale of greed, fear and mass murder was made into a film in 1998 by Sam Raimi, starring Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, and Bridget Fonda, if it is one-quarter as good as the book, I have to see it.

This was a brilliant book. A real 5 out of 5 stars for originality and for characters that leapt off the page at you, they seemed so real. If you don't read any thing else this year, read this book.

While the title may be A Simple Plan, the story itself is not so simple.

You can read all my reviews at MikesFilmTalk.com

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Amritesh

A thriller classic...

Revisado en India el 11 de enero de 2021

Compra verificada

“Come on, Hank. No one’s going to send us to jail for this. None of us has records, we aren’t criminals. Anyone would’ve done what we did.”

As readers, we come across a wide variety of books, don’t we?

Some are just meh, some are profound, some change us, and some go beyond everything to define that genre itself for you.

This book defined the thriller genre for me. The book which I use as a standard to compare other thrillers. Yes, it’s that good!

And it kills me, how underrated this book is!

“Think about how people see you. You’re just a normal guy. A nice, sweet, normal guy. No one would ever believe that you’d be capable of doing what you’ve done.”

The premise is basic: Three guys find four million dollars on a plane crash site and decide on keeping it for some time before distributing it among themselves.

A simple plan, right?

Hardly so.

Have you felt the air around you go dense in times of panic?

Or that impending sense of doom as you try to make sense of some shit which just happened?

That sword, waiting to fall on you?

This book does that, again and again, and again, nonchalantly. You keep thinking it’s all over, and Smith keeps surprising you.

“We were trapped, I realized; we’d crossed a boundary, and we couldn’t go back. The money, by giving us the chance to dream, had also allowed us to begin despising our present lives.”

Rarely do I come across a book like this where the plot flows in such a seamless manner with the prose, while also being deeply rooted in human emotions and that too, in a very relatable manner.

Highly highly highly recommended.

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A Simple Plan Casete de audio – Audiolibro, 1 marzo 1994

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Scott Smith

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