Scan barcode
A review by annreadsabook
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.75
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Adult/minor relationship