I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

I was looking for a new book and somehow, did not know what I wanted as my next audiobook, when this book was recommended to me - specifically because the audiobook is narrated so well. I Have Some Questions for You is Rebecca Makkai's most recent novel, published in 2023, and was named one of the Best Books of that year by People, The Washington Post, and USA Today, among others. Rebecca Makkai's other books are just as well decorated, her 2018 novel The Great Believers was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. I Have Some Questions for You deals with some heavy topics, including adult/minor relationships, body shaming and bullying, cancer, death, eating disorders, fatphobia, mental illness, physical abuse, self harm, racism, sexual assault, toxic relationships, violence, blood, grief, medical trauma, stalking, abortion, murder, injury details, classism, and a pandemic. However, most of these things are touched on lightly or from a third party, hypothetical point of view so I did not find it hard to get through.

Successful podcaster Bodie Kane has lived an entire life since she graduated from the Granby School, the New Hampshire boarding school she spent her high school years at. She has kept in touch with a few of her closest classmates, but not many (they graduated just shy of the social media years). But when the school asks her to come back and teach a mini class over break about podcasting, she agrees and prepares to spend two weeks at the school where she always felt like an outcast. She gives her students instructions to come to their first class with an idea for their own podcast that is centered around the Granby School. When one of Bodie's students wants to investigate the murder of Thalia Keith, Bodie's junior year roommate who was killed just before they graduated and found in the school's pool, their investigation starts to bring back memories for Bodie. Memories that, as an adult, do not sit quite right with her. Memories that are a little more than odd when looked at with a more experienced lens. Memories that make Bodie believe the wrong man is sitting in jail for killing Thalia.

I will admit, the narration of this book was very good. Funny with a dry wit I appreciated, the dialogue and writing is very well done. There are not a ton of characters that you get to know well, most of them are fleeting and the version you're learning about is the version of the character that Bodie knew best - who they were in high school. The story is particularly compelling. The author takes a fictional murder of a high school girl but manages to shine a light on the problematic sides of true crime fetishism and using it for entertainment as well as the horrendous facts of intimate partner violence. Rebecca Makkai does a great job of hammering her point home throughout the book, without giving specific examples or going into graphic details. In fact, I think it is more gripping because of the lack of details, a point that I'm sure was made on purpose. The one complaint that I have is that the book seemed to go on for a very long time, even though it was not particularly long. It just felt long, I suspect because of the way the story was laid out.

I'm giving I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai 4.25 stars out of 5. I thoughtful narrative that takes on several serious issues, but serves them to you as a mystery thriller that is easily digestible. It also made me feel seen in a deep way with this quote: "the need to keep busy is both a symptom of high functioning anxiety and the key to my success."

For more information about Rebecca Makkai, check out her website at https://rebeccamakkai.com/

Pairs well with roasted vegetable terrine and not peaking in high school.