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I Have Some Questions for You (2023, Penguin Publishing Group) 4 stars

Literary mystery

I Have Some Questions For You

4 stars

Very good. 4.5 stars. It's well-written, with an interesting setting and an engaging mystery. I enjoyed the parts dealing with twitter, podcasting, and film (that took me back to my Film As Narrative class in college). There's a lot going on in the book, but for me its overarching concern is harassment of and violence against women.

At first, I wasn't sure about the second person narration. Then I got used to it, and ultimately I decided that it worked well. In thinking about why it's written that way, I realize that it's technically addressed to a particular character, but it also occurred to me that it's implicating the reader - me - on some level. As a man reading this, I found that to be appropriate, considering the subject. Maybe it's the feminist lens through which I tend to view things, but thinking about it that way added an extra layer of meaning to the whole thing (including the title) for me.

Anyway, I read in the Submakk newsletter on Substack that the book has been optioned for a limited series, and I really hope the series gets made.