WellRead’s March 2023 selection was I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai. A literary page-turner that will grip you from the very first page, I Have Some Questions for You is a stirring investigation into collective memory and a deeply felt examination of one woman’s reckoning with her past.
Use these discussion questions to engage with the book further, whether in a book club with friends, or just on your own as you digest the story.
Reading questions for I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai:
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In the book, characters reflect on their adolescent selves—versions of themselves that feel at once remote and familiar. Do you think it’s possible, with enough distance, for any of us to see our high school selves clearly? How does Bodie’s sense of herself, then and now, affect her understanding of Thalia’s case?
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True crime media has become exceedingly popular in recent years. Why do you think fans of the genre find it fascinating? What considerations factor into being an ethical creator or consumer of true crime media?
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Bodie’s husband, Jerome, is publicly accused of predatory behaviour in a relationship with a younger woman. Were you surprised by the way Bodie handled the allegations, or the fact that she was pressured to address them in the first place? How does an awareness of a wider audience affect Bodie’s choices in her professional and private life?
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On p. 174, Bodie thinks, “Every article about Thalia’s death had fixated on how Thalia and Robbie were the perfect prep school couple, moneyed and talented and privileged, and Omar Evans—no mention of his mother working at Dartmouth—was this outsider. That made the best narrative.” How does the novel’s setting shape the story, both past and present? How does prejudice and the idea of the “outsider” function at Granby and in the novel as a whole?
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Throughout the novel, we are reminded of how many stories of violence against women we regularly encounter on the news, on social media, and in pop culture—the contours of the cases hauntingly familiar even as locations and details differ. What was the cumulative effect of these references as you read?
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Did the novel subvert or expand your knowledge of the criminal justice system? If so, how? What do you predict for the future of Omar’s case?
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Who did you suspect over the course of the book? Did your judgement differ from Bodie’s? What surprised you the most as the case evolved?
Please note, these questions were written and distributed in March, 2023.