A Simple Plan

A group of three men find a crashed plane buried in the snow out in the countryside. In it, 4 million dollars and a dead pilot. They decide to split it three ways but sleep on it until summer to see if anyone comes looking. Things quickly spiral out of control.

It’s hard not to think of Fargo when reading this because it’s about snow and money and desperate men going to desperate lengths to cling on to it. It’s much bleaker though. Smith gives you glimmers of hope but is very quick to extinguish them. Things go from bad to worse and then somehow worse again, to the point there it becomes darkly amusing.

There’s a poignant theme of brotherly reconciliation, and facing up to the failings of your parents. I’m sure it could resonate with a lot of readers, but the shotgun puts an end to it fairly swiftly like a lot of things in this book.

Smith’s interesting observation is how the very idea of money can corrupt and cloud one’s judgement. He puts his characters within sniffing distance of the cash, allows them to realise they shouldn’t touch it right away, then shows you that was never really going to be possible.

The prose is weirdly… horny. It’s a first person perspective so perhaps it’s the way Hank looks at his wife that is pervy but frankly it feels like the author’s fantasy intruding into his character’s thoughts. Otherwise though I like the way he tells the story, and following Hank’s cold blooded excuses to himself for his actions is chilling.

A bleak, bloody page-turner.