Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - I Have Some Questions for You: A Novel

Hmmmmmmmm. This book. Hmmmmmmmm.

First, the good: I think this would've been great as a whodoneit mystery on its own. I was pretty interested in piecing together who the actual killer was and what happened on that fated night. AND I think that there is something to be said about the bit of commentary Makkai has in here about folks' fascination/obsession with true crime (podcasts, shows, etc.), often in ways that can become harmful and can obstruct healing of victims' families.

But truthfully, I feel this book bit off a more than it could chew and the execution suffered as a result. It tries to do a bit too much without doing much of anything--there's commentary on true crime, the endless hoops of the justice system, white saviorism, you name it, but it all feels half-baked and not terribly thought out to any meaningful degree. This book ultimately felt quite preachy and didactic, with an urgent and self-important tone that didn't really seem to match the substance being conveyed--the substance being relatively straightforward, surface-level white feminist discourse.

This all might seem a bit harsh but I do just think that the author is a great writer and so could have done much more with this book, so I'm quite disappointed. Then again, though, I would've been far more interested to read a book written by a Black person on this subject, as I found the hyper-self conscious white woman handwringing about racial issues to be quite tiresome.

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karen_lo's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

3.5 stars

It's confusing at the beginning, but once you pick up the pace, it's okay.

This is a very slow-burn book that reflects heavily on sexism, racism, gender-based violence, and memory.

I liked it, but I was expecting a confrontation that never came. I guess it's a parallelism with life, and how sometimes you're just left wondering the what-ifs, the could-haves, and the should-haves of important things.

I definitely wanted justice and liberty for the innocent ones.

It was a bittersweet read

Content Warnings