I had the benefit of hearing Makkai discuss this novel at the National Book Festival, which illuminated her intentions. The novel excels when speaking to contemporary themes like systemic injustice, societal obsession with dead pretty white girls, and the trifecta of class/gender/race; unfortunately, the main character Bodie is a major downside. Unreliable (as humans are with regards to memory and perception), she is also majorly unlikeable. Even when I could relate to her feelings of being an outsider, loneliness, and body insecurity, her general surliness, insistence on making Thalia's story her story, and desperation for her married affair partner negatively impacted my ability to appreciate her perspective. (That's probably Makkai trying to say someting about how we view women, but isn't enjoyable for this reader.) I'm also confounded by why she focuses her attention on Mr. Bloch from the beginning - even though he ends up guilty of something, is she ignoring other possibilities becasue he did something to her? Or because he didn't and she's weirdly jealous of his attention on other girls?

Additionally, the pacing was challenging - the first two-thirds was incredibly repititive, with nearly nothing driving the plot forward as Bodie reminisces about her time at school and pushes her students to re-examine Thalia's case, while the last third rammed through a number of revelations without time to ruminate on them. However, there were many good moments throughout that somewhat made up for it. I particularly liked Bodie's recitation of all the possible sexual violence cases it could be in the news, as well as the moral ambiguity of her husband's cancellation in contrast to Thalia's case. As a story, this book is at its most engaging with the court case and Bodie's mixed experience reuniting with classmates in the duration. While some revelations are contrived, I found the ending incredibly thought-provoking.

Re-read for GU Book Club, May 2024 and had a better reading experience. Review edited accordingly.