Bad Questions

by Len Kruger

Humorous and heartbreaking, Bad Questions is a coming-of-age journey toward redemption and self-awareness, skirting the lines between spirituality, skepticism, and faith-and asking the big questions. From the light of the memorial candle back to 1971 in suburban Washington DC, Bad Questions is the story of Billy Blumberg, who carries guilt over the recent death of his father, a Hebrew school principal. After Billy and his mother move across Montgomery County in suburban Maryland, he encounters Ms. Marvin, a former teacher notorious for her macabre eccentricity. A séance in her apartment veers out of control, leading to a deadly "hex list" and Billy's discovery of his father's fatal secret. The winner of the 2023 Washington Writers' Publishing House Fiction Award. Bad Questions is Len Kruger's debut novel.

234 pages, Paperback

Published October 3, 2023

About the author

Len Kruger lives in Washington, D.C., and is a graduate of the MFA Program at the University of Maryland. His short fiction has appeared in Zoetrope-All Story, The Barcelona Review, Gargoyle, Potomac Review, and the anthology This is What America Looks Like. He was the fiction winner of the 2021 annual writing contest sponsored by the Inner Loop and District Fray Magazine.

Like Billy Blumberg, the main character in Bad Questions, Len grew up in Silver Spring and Rockville, Maryland in the 1960s and 70s. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Len worked for thirty-seven years at the Library of Congress where he did research for Congressional offices. In addition to writing fiction, Len is a storyteller and has performed on stage at many Washington, D.C. area storytelling venues, including The Moth DC, Story District, The Story Collider, and Better Said Than Done.

Bad Questions is his debut novel. Find out more at www.lenkruger.com.

Reviews

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprising coming of age story grounded in complex relationships, tragedy, anti-semitism, dark humor, and melancholy. Like life there are more bad questions than good answers, but it is still worth it to keep asking the questions. Accurate to growing up in the DC-MD-VA area in the 70s and 80s.

Trigger warning: father’s suicide, bullying

[Edward Belfar · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Len Kruger’s terrific debut novel Bad Questions, twelve-year-old Billy Blumberg must navigate the routine tribulations of suburban middle school while trying to come to terms with the devastating loss of his father by suicide. The adults in his life offer little in the way of comfort or support. His mother, overcome with her own pain and grief, often treats him as an annoyance, while his former teacher, Ms. Marvin, proves, ultimately, to be a malevolent influence. Left to his own devices, Billy ruminates on questions that range from which baseball team to root for—his beloved Washington Senators, who are about to abandon him and the District for Texas, or their heretofore hated rivals, the Baltimore Orioles—to whether his own actions may have contributed to his father’s suicide. With its deft mixture of humor and pathos, its rich particularity of detail and its universal themes of loss and longing, Bad Questions is a truly memorable work of fiction.

[Denise Robbins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This hilarious and heart-rending debut follows a character named Billy reexamining his childhood in Rockville and Silver Spring. In the wake of his father’s death, the guilt-ridden twelve-year-old gets caught up in a scheme of superstition and hexes, trying to square his family’s Judaism with his father’s belief in spirits, all while trying to understand what happened. It’s a fast-moving portrait of life in the 1970s, before Google could answer all life’s questions, and a reminder that some questions can never be answered.

I was lucky enough to interview the author! Read the interview here: https://medium.com/seventhirty-dc/q-a...

[Jeremie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This debut novel was sneaky funny! It's about life being one big question (along with lots of smaller, sometimes trivial, questions). The author captured childhood beautifully throughout and the writing really flows.

Set in the 1970s, twelve-year-old Billy is left to wonder about the circumstances of his father's death and the questions that emerge on his quest for answers.

A small part of the book that I loved more than I should have was the unique chapter titles that left me wondering how the author would work each title into the chapter. And if you believe in numerology, there are 13 chapters for Billy to find an answer to the big question(s) along with the spirits he thinks are playing a role in his life.

[Nick Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Billy Blumberg is baffled by the world. Wracked by guilt over his father's recent death and lonely in a new town, new school, he does his best to make sense a life that is often illogical and sometimes downright mean. Bad Questions is narrated from Billy's point of view with a voice that's either naive or full of wonder. Oftentimes hilarious, Billy's grief is mediated by his fumbling, scrambling worldview. A coming of age novel, Bad Questions discusses religion, spirituality, and loss in a way that is both innocent and full of charm.

[Lacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kruger's debut novel was thoroughly engaging. I was hooked from the first page, and through Billy's story, was transported back to adolescence, when you take everything too seriously, believe too much, and have so many questions. I really felt for Billy and rooted for him even when he drove me crazy. Kruger wrote a character who feels so original and authentic and yet deeply relatable. And the writing in Bad Questions shines — it's sharp, funny, and emotional. I'm glad I came across this book and would absolutely read more from Kruger in the future.

[Kim Tidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book’s main character, Billy Blumberg. Relatable and memorable, Billy is a quirky seventh-grader trying to figure out answers to big questions about life and his place in it. Bad Questions is both hilarious and moving, as Billy processes his father’s death and tries to fit in in a new town (and school). His earnest, sometimes harebrained antics will keep you turning the pages. I'll find it hard to forget him!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The pacing reminded me of Fredrik Backman books, particularly "My Grandmother Told Me to Say She's Sorry."

Billy Blumberg, the main character, is a 12 year old boy who asks a lot of questions - sometimes hilarious and sometimes heart wrenching. Funny, fast-paced, thought provoking and a unique story that perfectly encapsulates life as an awkward middle-schooler.

This is Mr. Kruger's first novel and I truly look forward to the next.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The story of a young man coming to terms with personal tragedy is poignant and something most of us can relate to. The details of its setting in the Washington D.C. area are perfect, and I felt like I was there while reading it. I hope to read more of Mr. Kruger's work in the future.

[Peter Gorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably the funniest book I’ve read all year. Bad Questions maintains its humor while it poignantly depicts the life of a hapless 11-year-old, and the narrative never lets up. It’s now on my very short list of books to re-read.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, poignant coming of age story that captures a 12-year-old's voice as he deals with issues way above his paygrade. I enjoyed this book enormously.

[Nicholas Cantacuzene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to lost city books local authors book club for the great selection!!

[James E · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. The author deftly transports the reader to the mythical and terrifying land of early 1970s suburban middle school. I alternately cheered and cringed as the hero always determinedly but often cluelessly navigated adolescence. Open a nice big box of Good ‘n Fruities, put your iPhone aside, and read this book.

[Caroline Bock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written debut novel set in the early 1970s in Montgomery County, Maryland-- a coming-of-age novel --especially for those who remember the 1970s! Winner of the 2023 Fiction Award from the Washington Writers' Publishing House.


Full disclosure -- I am the co-president of the Washington Writers' Publishing House. It's on sale on October 3. Read it! Caroline