Reviews with content warning for Suicide - I Have Some Questions For You

I can't quite pin down what made this not 5 stars for me. I thought if I waited a while to review I'd gather my thoughts more, but it's kind of fading instead. It did a lot and covered a lot. Interesting and a good read, especially if you have misgivings around our culture's true crime obsession... Though it was less interested in the morals and meaning of that than I expected. Maybe it spread itself too thin.

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hilmi's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

To start with, let me admit that literary fiction isn't my wheelhouse and this was me stepping outside of the comfort zone. That said, I've got some opinions for you. The mystery and dark academia components were interesting (not the best I've seen for the latter) but some of the central themes are never truly fleshed out and it gets repetitive. Maybe it's a literary device for demonstrating the recurrence of sexual assault and a lack of justice? Or that trauma sticks and recurs? But it doesn't make a good read here. I did appreciate the emphasis on the imperfections of memory.

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katiecentabar's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The pacing was off for me. It took a minute to get into and it was very myopic in places. I think some of the critique got lost in the theorizing

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eli3823's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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hinkleh's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

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chrisdennismyers's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

There were a few side plots I could have done without but otherwise I love, love, loved this; it was chaotic and dark and mysterious. The entire thing was masterfully handled. Makkai is brilliant.

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hellocath's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

a perfect meditation on the disfunction of the ‘justice’ system (particularly with regard to gender based violence and the way white men can get away with anything), #MeToo and the nuance required in examining power dynamics and abuse, the ethics of true crime storytelling, and the way high school has an unmatched and specifically fucked up impact on the psyche no matter how much therapy you go to. suggest this book to the weirdo in your life that doesn’t get why John Tory dating a staffer 30 years his senior is an abuse of power! also I’m not usually a big audiobook fan but this one is excellent; so well-narrated and very engrossing. please join my prayer circle for an Amy Adams screen adaptation starring Gillian Anderson tysm

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