Vintage © 1993, 416 pages [amazon]

It’s a simple premise. What would happen if three men–two brothers and a friend–should stumble on a bag full of money in the woods? Stolen money, you’d have to assume, millions of dollars in non-sequential, hundred-dollar bills–enough that somebody, somewhere, has to be looking for it. Should they keep the cash? Use it to elude from their one-traffic-light town? Call the police? Scott Smith immerses his characters in this moral dilemma of a situation and lets us watch as the ostensibly reasonable plan they agree on leads inevitably, inexorably, to a string of tragic consequences.

[INSET TEXT: Scott Smith immerses his characters in this moral dilemma of a situation and lets us watch as the ostensibly reasonable plan they agree on leads inevitably, inexorably, to a string of tragic consequences.] Smith makes it look easy. In this book as well as in his second novel, The Ruins (see my review), he puts people in a trying situation and records what happens to their characters as they respond to events. The plot of the novel arises naturally from their actions, which follow naturally from the initial set-up. Writing such a book

oneself almost seems possible, but of course the simplicity of the story is only apparent.

A Simple Plan is a perfect suspense novel. Smith’s protagonist, Hank Mitchell–from whose perspective the story is told–is forever in danger of being found out. The bag of stolen money, stashed precariously under his bed, nearly throbs in the story, Tell-Tale-Heart-like, constantly in our minds as a source of potential trouble for him. Incredibly, Hank remains entirely sympathetic throughout the story. He may do some bad things, but he’s still a normal guy caught up in extraordinary circumstances. His responses, if regrettable, make perfect sense given man’s natural urge for self-preservation. Readers may insist that they would act otherwise, but Smith makes a good case for the argument that Hank really never has much of a choice.

There is only the one choice: should they keep the money, or call the police?

Do yourself a favor and read this book.

Tags: A Simple Plan, book reviews, books, Scott Smith