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I Have Some Questions for You

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I Have Some Questions for You

By: Rebecca Makkai
Narrated by: JD Jackson, Julia Whelan
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Summary

 **A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK FOR OPRAH DAILY, TIME, NPR, USA TODAY, BUSTLE, STAR TRIBUNE, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING AND MORE**

'Whip-smart and uncompromising' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

'Quietly riveting' IRISH TIMES

'It's the perfect crime' NEW YORKER

'Impressive and complex' GUARDIAN

'Addictive' OPRAH DAILY

The riveting new novel from the author of The Great Believers, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award

A successful film professor and podcaster, Bodie Kane is content to forget her past: the family tragedy that marred her adolescence, her four largely miserable years at a New Hampshire boarding school, and the 1995 murder of a classmate, Thalia Keith. Though the circumstances surrounding Thalia's death and the conviction of the school's athletics coach, Omar Evans, are the subject of intense fascination online, Bodie prefers-needs-to let sleeping dogs lie.

But when The Granby School invites her back to teach a two-week course, Bodie finds herself inexorably drawn to the case and its increasingly apparent flaws. In their rush to convict Omar, did the school and the police overlook other suspects? Is the real killer still out there? As she falls down the very rabbit hole she was so determined to avoid, Bodie begins to wonder if she wasn't as much of an outsider at Granby as she'd thought-if, perhaps, back in 1995, she knew something that might have held the key to solving the case.

One of the most acclaimed contemporary American writers, Rebecca Makkai reinvents herself with each of her brilliant novels. Both a transfixing mystery and a deeply felt examination of one woman's reckoning with her past, I Have Some Questions for You is her finest achievement yet.©2023 Rebecca Makkai (P)2023 Hachette Audio UK Crime Fiction Crime Fiction Exciting Suspense
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I loved the narrator and the story she ‘stumbled’ her way through. It was poignant and thoughtful. A really impressive book. I think the characters will stay with me for a long time.

A story with a great sense of place

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A brilliant novel that's very difficult to put down. A very compelling performance, too.

Excellent

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You get good stories and you get good writers. And sometimes you’re lucky enough to get both. This is not only a brilliant thriller, it’s a beautifully written book. It’s managed to be utterly gripping and also meditative. The ending is very clear - the reader who thought it was inconclusive is wrong. The person who thought it ignorant is living on another planet, and giving Julia Whelan a 1 point score as narrator just highlights that. I could not stop listening. I loved it. I cared deeply about the characters and what happened to them. Bravo.

A magnificent book.

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a really well thought out story giving life to the fears and stresses women and girls have been through and still go through. Not an easy listen, it challenges and prods our thoughts if how we look at life through such a different lense in the short period of our female lifetime (as a 50 year old woman). An amazing piece of literature.

A tremendous story

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I've got a lot of weird and conflicting feelings about this one. When I got it, I felt like it was rather imposing, it would be long and it would drag considering it had pretty small text. I'm not sure I would have been as engrossed by it if I hadn't listened to it, but I did, so it did capture my attention overall.

The characters aren't precisely likable, but they're human. With many facets and faults, with good parts and bad parts, and good parts that can lead to bad outcomes and bad parts that can lead to good outcomes, I guess. Bodie wasn't a supremely likable narrator, but she serves the plot really well for the many themes that were going on.

I felt there were a lot of layers, and a lot of interesting social commentary. The way we can look back, from maturity to the experiences of youth and give them context, or understand that they were ultimately unacceptable, or realise the grim reality that was there for anyone who was ready to see.

Then there's the MeToo stuff, both as a force for getting people heard, but also as a vehicle for someone willing to abuse it to boost their notoriety. Everything's a double edged sword, and the grim reality of people who will use any opportunity felt very relatable.

Add to that the social media angle, which could occasionally be a force for change, by surfacing people who deserve to be found and shamed, as well as having the potential to ruin lives for a mistake, or a statement out of context. It was a bittersweet observation, though I'm definitely on the side of social media being absolutely evil for the most part.

They all blend together well, benefits and drawbacks that come with life, with growing up, with a specific point in time that are never going to be available ever again just because of the alignment of stars under which someone was born.

That said, it's not a fast paced story, and the fact that it's heavily addressed to a particular, absent character makes it a bit odd to get used to. And the lack of a happy, or at least moderately happy ending also makes things pretty grim in the grand scheme of things.

But it's ultimately interesting, and I suppose it's a reason for introspection, hence my high rating, but I'm definitely conflicted about it all.

Still not sure how I feel about this one

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