I Have Some Questions for You

Content Warning: This section of the guide features depictions of suicide, self-harm, disordered eating, and sexual assault.

The main character and protagonist of Rebecca Makkai’s novel, Bodie Kane is a dynamic character who comes to recognize her former mentor Mr. Bloch as the predator he really is. Initially married to an artist in Los Angeles, Bodie is a well-settled film teacher and professional podcaster who teaches part-time in Los Angeles and cohosts a successful podcast dedicated to the women of Old Hollywood, from the backstories of stars like Rita Hayworth to the murder and violence faced by would-be stars. While Bodie follows Thalia’s murder case because of her personal connection, she grows to recognize her own role in how the case was handled by the authorities.

Bodie frustrates expectations throughout the novel, advising Beth at one point to “believe [the testimony of abused] women,” (372) while she struggles to believe Jasmine Wilde, an artist who once dated her ex-husband. Instead, she lectures Wilde about consent and assault, thus negating the very philosophy that fuels Starlet Fever. Herself a survivor of Granby’s culture of harassment, Bodie uncovers long-buried memories of abuse at the hands of Thalia’s group of friends, from Beth, who calls her “the Masturbator” (343), to Dorian, whose sexually explicit harassment is ignored and excused by the Granby faculty.