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mediaevalmuse 's review for:
I Have Some Questions for You
by Rebecca Makkai
dark
mysterious
I first heard of this book while watching a 2024 reading wrap-up on YouTube. I'm not usually a mystery or true crime fan, but this YouTuber made this book sound interesting, so I put it on my TBR. Overall, there were a lot of things I liked about this book, but I do think it could have been a bit more thematically cohesive. It seems to try to take on too much, and though I liked that the author didn't over-explain what was going on, it didn't quite delve as deeply as I would have liked into the things it brought up.
WRITING: Makkai's prose is pretty good. I think it does a good job of balancing showing and telling, and there were some descriptions that I found really compelling. The way Bodie talks about her feelings about Granby were lovely, and her thoughts about trauma and how she responds to crises are insightful.
I'm a bit confused, however, by the decision to frame the whole story as if Bodie is speaking to Mr. Bloch (without spoiling: a teacher who will be relevant to the plot). I guess I can understand the choice on an intellectual level, but I think I would have liked Bloch to feel more like a person and not a blank wall in order for the narration to feel purposeful or emotionally resonant.
PLOT: The plot of this book follows Bodie Kane, a film professor and podcaster who is invited back to her old boarding school (Granby) to teach a short course about podcasting. One of Bodie's students decides to base her project on the murder of Thalia Keith, a Granby student who was murdered in the 90s. Thalia just so happened to be Bodie's roommate, and as her student delves further into her research, Bodie must come to terms with the ghosts of her past.
I liked that a large part of this book focused on Bodie grappling with her emotions. It made the plot feel less like it was interested in the details of murder and the shock of the violence; instead, it looked at Thalia's death through the lens of Bodie's experience.
I also liked the themes that this book explored, such as the victimization of women and the impact that people like Bodie can have on others. It didn't shy away from hard topics such as the way true crime media impacts victims and their families, how imperfect people can be horrible but not perpetrators, etc.
I do think, however, that this book didn't quite delve far enough into some of the topics it brought up. For example, the book brings up the racial aspect of Thalia's murder and the fact that it is pinned on a Black man. There is also a subplot about Bodie's husband being canceled on Twitter for poor relationship decisions. While I don't like it when authors explain too much to the reader, I also think this book could have done more with the ideas it does present. For example, Makkai does a good job showing Bodie taking a critical look at her emotions surrounding her husband, but there isn't much emotional impact because Bodie can simply ignore everything and focus on Thalia. Even when the fallout could have impacts on her career and finances, Bodie doesn't seem too bothered, and I wish Makkai had dug more into the complexities.
I also just think more should have been done with the podcast and YouTube stuff. Bodie's podcast work on Hollywood women feels relevant in that it talks about trauma and who owns these women's stories. And I think Makkai does a good job tying it in with stories that have been sensationalized in our world. But I think this could have been pushed and the role of digital media could have been scrutinized, especially in contrast to the world before social media and true crime podcasting.
CHARACTERS: Bodie, our narrator and protagonist, is sympathetic in that she is presented as both a kid who endured a lot of trauma and an adult who longs for some kind of connection without feeling too vulnerable. Makkai does a good job showing Bodie's nostalgia for her years at Granby while also showing the bad parts, such as bullying. I also liked Bodie's complex relationships and shifting ideas about her former classmates, and some of the most interesting growth is when Bodie has to rethink what she knows about people she liked or thought were terrible people.
I do think many of the supporting characters could have been more robust, however. While I liked the idea of most of them, some seemed to slip in and out of the story when convenient (such as Fran) while some felt like they should have been more emotionally connected with Bodie but were fairly distant (such as Carlotta).
Thalia was interesting in that we mainly see her through Bodie's eyes, and Makkai did some subtle exploration of how Thalia was perceived and now how she was. I think Makkai could have pushed this a little more, especially since once of the major themes of the book is women's trauma being turned into something like content or property to be exploited.
Mr. Bloch and Omar (the man convicted of Thalia's murder) could have been way more fleshed out, but I'm not sure if Makkai purposefully made them a little distant because the focus was on the high school students. I think keeping the focus on the students is important, but also, it seems odd to bring up racism in the justice system and barely give much time to Omar.
TL;DR: I Have Some Questions For You is an interesting book that explores themes such as who "owns" women's trauma. While well-written and stuffed with lovely descriptions of nostalgia, this book could have pushed some of its themes more and done more work to make parts 1 and 2 of the narrarive cohere.
WRITING: Makkai's prose is pretty good. I think it does a good job of balancing showing and telling, and there were some descriptions that I found really compelling. The way Bodie talks about her feelings about Granby were lovely, and her thoughts about trauma and how she responds to crises are insightful.
I'm a bit confused, however, by the decision to frame the whole story as if Bodie is speaking to Mr. Bloch (without spoiling: a teacher who will be relevant to the plot). I guess I can understand the choice on an intellectual level, but I think I would have liked Bloch to feel more like a person and not a blank wall in order for the narration to feel purposeful or emotionally resonant.
PLOT: The plot of this book follows Bodie Kane, a film professor and podcaster who is invited back to her old boarding school (Granby) to teach a short course about podcasting. One of Bodie's students decides to base her project on the murder of Thalia Keith, a Granby student who was murdered in the 90s. Thalia just so happened to be Bodie's roommate, and as her student delves further into her research, Bodie must come to terms with the ghosts of her past.
I liked that a large part of this book focused on Bodie grappling with her emotions. It made the plot feel less like it was interested in the details of murder and the shock of the violence; instead, it looked at Thalia's death through the lens of Bodie's experience.
I also liked the themes that this book explored, such as the victimization of women and the impact that people like Bodie can have on others. It didn't shy away from hard topics such as the way true crime media impacts victims and their families, how imperfect people can be horrible but not perpetrators, etc.
I do think, however, that this book didn't quite delve far enough into some of the topics it brought up. For example, the book brings up the racial aspect of Thalia's murder and the fact that it is pinned on a Black man. There is also a subplot about Bodie's husband being canceled on Twitter for poor relationship decisions. While I don't like it when authors explain too much to the reader, I also think this book could have done more with the ideas it does present. For example, Makkai does a good job showing Bodie taking a critical look at her emotions surrounding her husband, but there isn't much emotional impact because Bodie can simply ignore everything and focus on Thalia. Even when the fallout could have impacts on her career and finances, Bodie doesn't seem too bothered, and I wish Makkai had dug more into the complexities.
I also just think more should have been done with the podcast and YouTube stuff. Bodie's podcast work on Hollywood women feels relevant in that it talks about trauma and who owns these women's stories. And I think Makkai does a good job tying it in with stories that have been sensationalized in our world. But I think this could have been pushed and the role of digital media could have been scrutinized, especially in contrast to the world before social media and true crime podcasting.
CHARACTERS: Bodie, our narrator and protagonist, is sympathetic in that she is presented as both a kid who endured a lot of trauma and an adult who longs for some kind of connection without feeling too vulnerable. Makkai does a good job showing Bodie's nostalgia for her years at Granby while also showing the bad parts, such as bullying. I also liked Bodie's complex relationships and shifting ideas about her former classmates, and some of the most interesting growth is when Bodie has to rethink what she knows about people she liked or thought were terrible people.
I do think many of the supporting characters could have been more robust, however. While I liked the idea of most of them, some seemed to slip in and out of the story when convenient (such as Fran) while some felt like they should have been more emotionally connected with Bodie but were fairly distant (such as Carlotta).
Thalia was interesting in that we mainly see her through Bodie's eyes, and Makkai did some subtle exploration of how Thalia was perceived and now how she was. I think Makkai could have pushed this a little more, especially since once of the major themes of the book is women's trauma being turned into something like content or property to be exploited.
Mr. Bloch and Omar (the man convicted of Thalia's murder) could have been way more fleshed out, but I'm not sure if Makkai purposefully made them a little distant because the focus was on the high school students. I think keeping the focus on the students is important, but also, it seems odd to bring up racism in the justice system and barely give much time to Omar.
TL;DR: I Have Some Questions For You is an interesting book that explores themes such as who "owns" women's trauma. While well-written and stuffed with lovely descriptions of nostalgia, this book could have pushed some of its themes more and done more work to make parts 1 and 2 of the narrarive cohere.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying
Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Alcohol
Minor: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Stalking, Death of parent, Sexual harassment