I have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makai
Book of the Week
‘I have Some Questions for You’ by Rebecca Makai
Reviewed by Lotte, prolific reader and friend of Books & Company ☺️
‘Rebecca Makkai is an amazing storyteller which is why you should pick up this book.
The story, nice and tense seems to be a regular old murder mystery, but it is so much more!
Bodie Kane, a successful film professor and podcaster, spent her high school years at Granby (a posh New Hampshire boarding school) where she like the misfit, the poor kid from Indiana. In the spring of her senior year Bodie’s former roommate Thalia, a popular it-girl was murdered. The athlectics coach was charged and sent to prison for life.
Now, Bodie is back at Granby 20 years later to teach a podcast class, and Thalia’s murder pops up as a theme. This is not a book about how and why Thalia was killed. It is more about Bodie realizing how she misinterpreted so many things back then, not just when it came to Thalia’s murder, but also about being a teen at a boarding school, the heart-wrenching cry for help and wish to fit in, the culture of ‘boys will be boys’. It is also about how Bodie is now confronting the metoo and cancel culture. Again - Makkai nails it!
Bodie is the narrative voice speaking directly to the former music teacher of Granby about what actually happened back then - and Bodie has some questions for him.
It is brilliant set-up of storytelling, and it makes the book sharp. The prose is detailed, there is a lot of characters (so be patient) and the story unfolds slowly, but surely.
Absolutely a Top10 for me!
PS: if you haven’t read Makkai’s previous book ‘The Great Believers’, you should definitely put that on your TBR list as well.’
Thanks Lotte for a great review and happy reading everyone!