bea_reads78 's review for:

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

4.5

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The writing was really lovely. Evocative. The mystery part of the book was strong, great clues and layered storytelling that revealed things slowly. The book focuses on memory- what do you remember so many years later, how do you remember it, how do you see things differently now than you did when you were living the memory, how does knowing things you didn’t know at the time change your memories. 

Textually, the book is about the abuse and murder of women by men, who gets blamed, who gets punished, the legal system, the vigilante internet mob, true crime podcasts, and what the repercussions are for everyone involved. I found it very thoughtful on these topics, nuanced, and compelling. 

Reminded me of teaching as an adult at the high school I used to go to (not a private boarding school like in the book, but a public high school in New Hampshire— all of the NH references, name drops, and the settings hit close to home). It’s such a weird feeling, being reminded so forcefully that they are Kids, and therefore I was also a Kid even though I felt like an adult at the time.