Book Review: I Have Some Questions for You | Rebecca Makkai

A podcaster returns to her former boarding school and becomes convinced in the wrongful conviction of a man who has been in prison more than 20 years for the murder of her former classmate. Intricately plotted with a unique narrative structure and a different but compelling addition to the #metoo movement through literary fiction.

About the Book (Goodreads)

A successful film professor and podcaster, Bodie Kane is content to forget her past—the family tragedy that marred her adolescence, her four largely miserable years at a New Hampshire boarding school, and the murder of her former roommate, Thalia Keith, in the spring of their senior year. Though the circumstances surrounding Thalia’s death and the conviction of the school’s athletic trainer, Omar Evans, are hotly debated online, Bodie prefers—needs—to let sleeping dogs lie.

But when the Granby School invites her back to teach a course, Bodie is inexorably drawn to the case and its increasingly apparent flaws. In their rush to convict Omar, did the school and the police overlook other suspects? Is the real killer still out there? As she falls down the very rabbit hole she was so determined to avoid, Bodie begins to wonder if she wasn’t as much of an outsider at Granby as she’d thought—if, perhaps, back in 1995, she knew something that might have held the key to solving the case.

Structure and Plot

The reading experience for I Have Some Questions for You is a part of the story and the themes. I found that certain narrative elements make no sense until they suddenly do make sense. The pacing is fast then slow then fast again, until the structure comes together. Different from most books, the story zooms outwards rather than in. The book seems to be about one thing and then suddenly it is about a dozen things.

The teaser for the book makes it seems as though the story is largely about Omar Evans and a potential wrongful conviction, but I felt the book really wasn’t about Omar at all, or at least Omar was a part of a different story that was being told. The story is largely narrated by Bodie Kane, who is a producer of a hit podcast series and has been invited back to her New Hampshire boarding school Granby to teach a short course on podcasting for the students.

Bodie coaches the students through project ideas to spark their curiosity, one of which being the murder of her classmate Thalia Keith during their senior year. Omar Evans, the school’s athletic trainer and only Black employee at the time, was arrested and eventually confessed to the murder, only to later recant his statement and indicate he confessed under duress.

Doubts about Omar’s guilt have plagued the internet for decades since his conviction, and Bodie works with the students as she investigates what really happened. Meanwhile, Bodie’s longtime partner Jerome has his own #metoo scandal break out. And as that is happening, Bodie is also confronting troubling aspects of her own time at Granby and forces that may have prayed on her troubled childhood as a young student.

Characters

Bodie is a bit distant as far as main characters go. I never really felt I related to or liked Bodie necessarily, but I did feel her emotions and story coming through the page. Bodie narrates parts of her story to a mysterious “you” that becomes less mysterious as the book goes on. Her feelings about “you” are clearly complicated, at times filled with rage and at others filled with sadness.

Bodie’s partner Jerome is the subject of a #metoo scandal, and the dynamics at play between Bodie and Jerome (though it is a side plot) are fascinating. Eventually, they all come full circle thematically as the story grows larger throughout the book. Bodie also has another lover that gets mentioned, and adds more complexity to the story.

Bodie’s only real friend from her time in school is Fran, and Fran is probably the most likeable and genuine character in the book. But even Fran has some complications to her storyline, and no one leaves this book blame free or fully redeemable.

Thalia herself is forever immortalized as a teenage girl, star of the school play, and a victim. But she is also complicated, and Bodie remembers plenty of her less favorable qualities, none of which detract from her pursuit of the investigation.

Overall Thoughts

This book is hard to review for so many reasons. It is long—nearly 450 pages—and there are no filler paragraphs in this book. At times the reading experience is frustrating; the structure and pacing are inconsistent and many things don’t make much sense until later. When everything comes together, the way the novel is written makes a lot of sense. The “you” that Bodie is speaking to clicks into place, but until that happens the narrative is confusing and vague.

Thematically the book seems to be about one thing, and then it becomes clear it is about many different things all knotted together. This isn’t just a story about systemic racism, or the fascination with true crime, or wrongful convictions, or the #metoo movement. It is about all of those and more. Omar’s case is both central to the plot and sort of outside the plot. Omar himself isn’t really a character at all, but a stimulus that set the rest of the stories moving. Intelligent and meaningful, this is a strong book with a compelling plot. At the same time, if I could offer a critique it might be that the brilliance of the narrative also made it a bit messy at times. Ultimately satisfying and with a lot of weight to it.