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28 Questions: A love story for our times and for all time
A queer When Harry Met Sally for the Sally Rooney generation.
Reader, imagine yielding to someone with a power so strong she has the ability to slice time. Before. Her. After.
Imagine being so scarred, creativity wilts and words flee. The after-her was filled with her even though she wasn’t there. But now that I have my voice back I want to share our story. Is it possible to enjoy a love story when you know it will end in the kind of heartache that slices time? I think so.
Amalia is in the first year of a Music degree when she meets final year student and fellow Australian Alex. They are both swept away by the immediacy and intensity of their connection. They are, as the Chinese proverb has it, ‘like old friends at first sight,’ Gradually, it dawns upon them both that their feelings for one another may be more than platonic but dare they risk a romantic entanglement if it threatens this most perfect of friendships?
Suffused with music, literature, film, art and the pure pain and pleasure of first love, 28 Questions offers a queer take on that line from When Harry Met Sally about men and women not being able to be friends because the sex always gets in the way.
Reader, imagine yielding to someone with a power so strong she has the ability to slice time. Before. Her. After.
Imagine being so scarred, creativity wilts and words flee. The after-her was filled with her even though she wasn’t there. But now that I have my voice back I want to share our story. Is it possible to enjoy a love story when you know it will end in the kind of heartache that slices time? I think so.
Amalia is in the first year of a Music degree when she meets final year student and fellow Australian Alex. They are both swept away by the immediacy and intensity of their connection. They are, as the Chinese proverb has it, ‘like old friends at first sight,’ Gradually, it dawns upon them both that their feelings for one another may be more than platonic but dare they risk a romantic entanglement if it threatens this most perfect of friendships?
Suffused with music, literature, film, art and the pure pain and pleasure of first love, 28 Questions offers a queer take on that line from When Harry Met Sally about men and women not being able to be friends because the sex always gets in the way.
480 pages, Hardcover
First published January 20, 2022
83 people are currently reading
3100 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 282 reviews
March 6, 2022
A story of queerness and shifting love between friends. It rang true and made me feel vulnerable, nostalgic, frustrated and seen. I didn't relate to either character individually, but did to the relationship dynamic overall. I kept thinking my ex would dislike the snippets of poetry and lyric, they were my least favourite parts too.
All of the characters in Amalia's university life intrigued me. I would love to see Schneider write at length about any one of them, even the girl who actively disliked music (!) and who was, refreshingly, never derided by the deeply musical main character. It was satisfying, reading about people who differ in some fundamental way and yet manage to connect. I enjoyed how the students seemed to grow into their highbrow conversations as the academic years ran on. I also loved that each one had their own struggles, and how sensitively those were touched upon. Nothing felt like it was being used for shock value, or drew attention to the artificial nature of the novel.
I felt more distanced, however, from Amalia's parents. What's mentioned of them seems contradictory. Granted, families are complex, but I couldn't get my head around the majorly disordered element to the family's eating. It didn't seem to fit with anything else about their secure, open, supportive family dynamic, or with each individual's general attributes. Amalia, who analyses everything, never explores the possible reasons for the toxic 'game' that they play tacitly at meal times. I've tried to make sense of it as being created by inherited Jewish trauma, Amalia's own difficult relationship with her ancestry being implied elsewhere. The eating thing grated on me disproportionately, probably a me problem as the word 'calories' never fails to make me flinch, but I do wonder why the author chose to include it at all.
Still, I loved this book, a lot.
All of the characters in Amalia's university life intrigued me. I would love to see Schneider write at length about any one of them, even the girl who actively disliked music (!) and who was, refreshingly, never derided by the deeply musical main character. It was satisfying, reading about people who differ in some fundamental way and yet manage to connect. I enjoyed how the students seemed to grow into their highbrow conversations as the academic years ran on. I also loved that each one had their own struggles, and how sensitively those were touched upon. Nothing felt like it was being used for shock value, or drew attention to the artificial nature of the novel.
I felt more distanced, however, from Amalia's parents. What's mentioned of them seems contradictory. Granted, families are complex, but I couldn't get my head around the majorly disordered element to the family's eating. It didn't seem to fit with anything else about their secure, open, supportive family dynamic, or with each individual's general attributes. Amalia, who analyses everything, never explores the possible reasons for the toxic 'game' that they play tacitly at meal times. I've tried to make sense of it as being created by inherited Jewish trauma, Amalia's own difficult relationship with her ancestry being implied elsewhere. The eating thing grated on me disproportionately, probably a me problem as the word 'calories' never fails to make me flinch, but I do wonder why the author chose to include it at all.
Still, I loved this book, a lot.
November 12, 2021
I enjoyed this book but didn’t love it!
It contained lots of important questions and provided some very poignant thought provoking moments but I just didn’t manage to feel connected to the characters, which is a real shame.
I also didn’t love the style in which is was written but understand that is the main point of the book and probably more of a me problem and just down to personal taste.
It contained lots of important questions and provided some very poignant thought provoking moments but I just didn’t manage to feel connected to the characters, which is a real shame.
I also didn’t love the style in which is was written but understand that is the main point of the book and probably more of a me problem and just down to personal taste.
March 8, 2023
rep: Jewish bi mc, bi li, lesbian li, Jewish bi character, Jewish lesbian side character, gay side characters
tw: discussion of Holocaust, dissociation, infidelity
the book keeps asking 'is it possible to enjoy a love story when you know it will end in the kind of heartache that slices time?', which is a raw as fuck quote! only there's no actual heartbreak in the book.
while i can buy their love story (though we are mostly told about it, rather than truly shown), all their break-ups were just underwhelming, to say the least. to say more, they came randomly, without explanation & mostly felt like the author really wanted the girl to break up, so they did. it didn't help that the heartbreak was foreshadowed from the very start, so as a reader, you were expecting something grand, something earth-shattering. only to be finally delivered one short chapter? where are the emotions?
the writing style definitely doesn't help. it's simple, dry even, and then sometimes there are more poetic lines (but think rupi kaur poetry). the dialogues are written like a play without didaskalia, and all the characters sound basically the same anyway. (it's a cool formatting idea in itself, but doesn't really help to develop the characters further.) all the emotions that the main character lives through are described in many words, but we never actually see them. there's nothing to make you care about those people. and so there's nothing to make you care about the time-slicing heartbreak.
the book wants to be progressive so bad. like, there's a scene where the mc says she is trying to dress more butch (we're never shown this), then backtracks deciding that 'butch' is probably too much for what she has in mind, and there's some generic convo about what the society sees as androgynous these days (white and curve-less). the whole thing takes maybe five minutes, and it never comes up again.
also there were like 3 hp & 1 cmbyn references. really? in 2022?
tw: discussion of Holocaust, dissociation, infidelity
the book keeps asking 'is it possible to enjoy a love story when you know it will end in the kind of heartache that slices time?', which is a raw as fuck quote! only there's no actual heartbreak in the book.
while i can buy their love story (though we are mostly told about it, rather than truly shown), all their break-ups were just underwhelming, to say the least. to say more, they came randomly, without explanation & mostly felt like the author really wanted the girl to break up, so they did. it didn't help that the heartbreak was foreshadowed from the very start, so as a reader, you were expecting something grand, something earth-shattering. only to be finally delivered one short chapter? where are the emotions?
the writing style definitely doesn't help. it's simple, dry even, and then sometimes there are more poetic lines (but think rupi kaur poetry). the dialogues are written like a play without didaskalia, and all the characters sound basically the same anyway. (it's a cool formatting idea in itself, but doesn't really help to develop the characters further.) all the emotions that the main character lives through are described in many words, but we never actually see them. there's nothing to make you care about those people. and so there's nothing to make you care about the time-slicing heartbreak.
the book wants to be progressive so bad. like, there's a scene where the mc says she is trying to dress more butch (we're never shown this), then backtracks deciding that 'butch' is probably too much for what she has in mind, and there's some generic convo about what the society sees as androgynous these days (white and curve-less). the whole thing takes maybe five minutes, and it never comes up again.
also there were like 3 hp & 1 cmbyn references. really? in 2022?
October 6, 2021
“Is it possible to enjoy a love story when you know it will end in the kind of heartache that slices time? I think so.”
Do beauty and honesty have to be mutually exclusive? This question Indiyah Schneider has answered with this extraordinary coming-of-age tale which makes sweet music of love, queerness and university life, while not shying away from the inherent awkwardness in the experience of discovering who you are.
Amalia is a student of Music at Oxford originally from Australia, and this novel follows her exploring what it means to be queer, an artist, Jewish, a woman in a wonderfully creative format. The way it’s written, in quasi-interview form, in the structure of the famous ‘36 Questions that Lead to Love’ New York Times article is ingenious. Schneider’s voice is witty, gorgeously fluid and brutally honest, and the main characters so fully formed that it seems like they naturally forge a space for themselves on the page.
I suppose this is the one flaw I found. Although this novel is about a pair of binary star protagonists; the approach, the collision, the after, it does seem to push everything else aside. This, however, is not in a way that ultimately detracts from the story. Minor characters and settings are perhaps not as fully fleshed out as they could be, but it does help to emphasise the somewhat claustrophobic effect of the central character’s relationship during their darker points which I much enjoyed.
I found myself taking a ridiculously long time to read this book. It wasn’t like it was hard work, far from it. I found myself savouring each chapter, sometimes reading them more than once, committing lines to memory. “First, you were music; now, you’re a part of me.”
I give my five star ratings to those books that linger. When a day, week or even month later I find myself thinking about it. When something happens in my life that a book so eloquently describes that I find a quote floats first into my mind before my own thoughts. This was certainly one of those. I want to buy a copy so that I can keep it for when I have one of these moments and I can just flick to the page that captures just how I feel. I’ve just finished, but I want to read it again. Is it possible to enjoy a novel when you know it will end with the kind of heartache that slices time? Yes, I think so.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 stars
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending me an ARC. This was an honest review.
Do beauty and honesty have to be mutually exclusive? This question Indiyah Schneider has answered with this extraordinary coming-of-age tale which makes sweet music of love, queerness and university life, while not shying away from the inherent awkwardness in the experience of discovering who you are.
Amalia is a student of Music at Oxford originally from Australia, and this novel follows her exploring what it means to be queer, an artist, Jewish, a woman in a wonderfully creative format. The way it’s written, in quasi-interview form, in the structure of the famous ‘36 Questions that Lead to Love’ New York Times article is ingenious. Schneider’s voice is witty, gorgeously fluid and brutally honest, and the main characters so fully formed that it seems like they naturally forge a space for themselves on the page.
I suppose this is the one flaw I found. Although this novel is about a pair of binary star protagonists; the approach, the collision, the after, it does seem to push everything else aside. This, however, is not in a way that ultimately detracts from the story. Minor characters and settings are perhaps not as fully fleshed out as they could be, but it does help to emphasise the somewhat claustrophobic effect of the central character’s relationship during their darker points which I much enjoyed.
I found myself taking a ridiculously long time to read this book. It wasn’t like it was hard work, far from it. I found myself savouring each chapter, sometimes reading them more than once, committing lines to memory. “First, you were music; now, you’re a part of me.”
I give my five star ratings to those books that linger. When a day, week or even month later I find myself thinking about it. When something happens in my life that a book so eloquently describes that I find a quote floats first into my mind before my own thoughts. This was certainly one of those. I want to buy a copy so that I can keep it for when I have one of these moments and I can just flick to the page that captures just how I feel. I’ve just finished, but I want to read it again. Is it possible to enjoy a novel when you know it will end with the kind of heartache that slices time? Yes, I think so.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 stars
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending me an ARC. This was an honest review.
May 14, 2022
Read till about 45% and it was still giving a lot but nothing at the same time.
August 24, 2021
A beautiful coming-of-age story following girls in love through their individual, and mutual, growth and heartache.
One of my favourite things was how Amalia questioned so much. For example: How do you describe the differences between friendly and sexual love? I hadn’t realised how complex that area is until she compared it to coffee. How can we order so many different coffee varieties on a menu yet we have only one word for love?
The entire book is full of wonderful character-challenging questions (hence the title!), in fact it took me longer to read it than usual because I started asking my friends some of the same questions.
I got Call Me By Your Name vibes with how beautifully sexuality was explored by 20-somethings Amalia and Alex. The metaphors are delicious, I made so many highlights. The heavy dialogue reminded me of Before Sunrise, and the deep table conversations about philosophy made the characters feel much older than early 20s. Though I suppose they are Oxford students!
A really nice, fast-paced and emotional story which opens your mind and your heart.
Favourite quote:
“Something happened to me then. Yes, I’d probably been falling in love with her, slowly, for a long time, but, in that moment, I think I landed. Can most people recall the moment they went from falling to landing in love?”
28 Questions will be published on 20th January 2022, thank you to NetGalley for the arc.
One of my favourite things was how Amalia questioned so much. For example: How do you describe the differences between friendly and sexual love? I hadn’t realised how complex that area is until she compared it to coffee. How can we order so many different coffee varieties on a menu yet we have only one word for love?
The entire book is full of wonderful character-challenging questions (hence the title!), in fact it took me longer to read it than usual because I started asking my friends some of the same questions.
I got Call Me By Your Name vibes with how beautifully sexuality was explored by 20-somethings Amalia and Alex. The metaphors are delicious, I made so many highlights. The heavy dialogue reminded me of Before Sunrise, and the deep table conversations about philosophy made the characters feel much older than early 20s. Though I suppose they are Oxford students!
A really nice, fast-paced and emotional story which opens your mind and your heart.
Favourite quote:
“Something happened to me then. Yes, I’d probably been falling in love with her, slowly, for a long time, but, in that moment, I think I landed. Can most people recall the moment they went from falling to landing in love?”
28 Questions will be published on 20th January 2022, thank you to NetGalley for the arc.
August 1, 2022
one of the most heartbreaking & poignant books i have ever read, not many books an make me feel something and this book made me feel a LOT. i wanted to cry at the end, i added every music recommendation there was, the dialogue had me hooked on every line, i loved every character. i felt like i was there with amalia for every up and down. to indyana schneider — i love you & hope you’re ok.
January 22, 2022
My thanks to Simon & Schuster Scribner UK for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘28 Questions’ by Indyana Schneider in exchange for an honest review. I also took part in a group read hosted by The Pigeonhole.
Recently it has been described as a queer Harry Met Sally for the Sally Rooney generation. Okay, I am well aware that I am not part of the Rooney generation and have previously struggled with her novels as well as those of a similar nature. Still, I was willing to give this a go.
‘28 Questions’ follows first-year Oxford music student Amalia and her friendship with Alex, a fellow Australian, over four years. While they become very close and seem to be able to talk about everything, the subject of whether to risk that friendship by getting involved romantically remains a barrier.
‘28 Questions’ is written in an unusual style that seems memoir-like with dialogue presented in a way reminiscent of a script. Certainly there are interesting insights into music, popular culture and the like sprinkled throughout yet the constant angstation about love and identity became wearing after a while. I also struggled to find any sense of connection to its characters.
I did wonder about the degree of autobiographical material within as its author did attend Oxford as a music student and is now an opera singer, a vocation that Amalia aspires to.
Still, despite my lack of enthusiasm, I can appreciate that ‘28 Questions’ will find its readership, but it just wasn’t one for me.
Recently it has been described as a queer Harry Met Sally for the Sally Rooney generation. Okay, I am well aware that I am not part of the Rooney generation and have previously struggled with her novels as well as those of a similar nature. Still, I was willing to give this a go.
‘28 Questions’ follows first-year Oxford music student Amalia and her friendship with Alex, a fellow Australian, over four years. While they become very close and seem to be able to talk about everything, the subject of whether to risk that friendship by getting involved romantically remains a barrier.
‘28 Questions’ is written in an unusual style that seems memoir-like with dialogue presented in a way reminiscent of a script. Certainly there are interesting insights into music, popular culture and the like sprinkled throughout yet the constant angstation about love and identity became wearing after a while. I also struggled to find any sense of connection to its characters.
I did wonder about the degree of autobiographical material within as its author did attend Oxford as a music student and is now an opera singer, a vocation that Amalia aspires to.
Still, despite my lack of enthusiasm, I can appreciate that ‘28 Questions’ will find its readership, but it just wasn’t one for me.
March 20, 2022
*3.75 stars
This book made me feel like I was witnessing a very intense, philosophical conversation between pretentious European uni students. Which is to say I often felt I wasn’t smart or cultured enough to fully grasp it. That being said I oddly found it very easy to read and quite interesting. The writing is very literal and purposefully lacking in description of plot and setting. Instead it spends a lot of time painting a picture of the main characters mind and thoughts. I felt seen by this book. This story was very raw and exposing, and described love and life in a way I haven’t seen expressed before. It was like someone was finally able to articulate parts of myself I have never been able to share or explain. Very sally Rooney-esque.
This book made me feel like I was witnessing a very intense, philosophical conversation between pretentious European uni students. Which is to say I often felt I wasn’t smart or cultured enough to fully grasp it. That being said I oddly found it very easy to read and quite interesting. The writing is very literal and purposefully lacking in description of plot and setting. Instead it spends a lot of time painting a picture of the main characters mind and thoughts. I felt seen by this book. This story was very raw and exposing, and described love and life in a way I haven’t seen expressed before. It was like someone was finally able to articulate parts of myself I have never been able to share or explain. Very sally Rooney-esque.
February 16, 2025
4 🌟
I really enjoyed listening to this today. The conversations felt just as complex and real and interesting as the thoughts and feelings that show up during an unfolding (friends to lovers) sapphic relationship. Some parts made me giggle because they were so relatable. “Read” like an actual wlw whirlwind.
I also thought the audiobook was well done, so that definitely helped!
I really enjoyed listening to this today. The conversations felt just as complex and real and interesting as the thoughts and feelings that show up during an unfolding (friends to lovers) sapphic relationship. Some parts made me giggle because they were so relatable. “Read” like an actual wlw whirlwind.
I also thought the audiobook was well done, so that definitely helped!
April 16, 2025
never act out on your homoerotic feelings towards your best friend.
i really recommend listening to that on an audiobook it was fantastic.
i really recommend listening to that on an audiobook it was fantastic.
January 8, 2025
3.5 so so lovely at times… yet so cringe
January 21, 2022
Amalia leaves her Australian home to study music in Oxford. She has only just arrived when she meets Alex, another Australia in her third year already. They befriend immediately and spend more and more time together philosophing, questioning life and sharing everything. It is an intense but perfect friendship. Yet, things become complicated when their friendship turns into love. What was easy and carefree suddenly becomes complicated, misunderstanding after misunderstanding, unexpressed and unfulfilled expectations turn the perfect friends into the worst lovers.
“(...) every so often, I come across a new piece of music and getting to know the music kind of feels like falling in love. And the idea of spending my life falling in love over and over again... who wouldn’t want that?”
The title refers to a study by psychologist Arthur Aron which postulates that a certain set of questions can lead to more intimacy and a deeper relationship between people. The protagonist of Indyana Schneider’s novel asks “28 Questions” which actually bring her closer to her first friend, then lover but they cannot help untangle the complications they have to face. It is a kind of college novel about becoming an adult, about love and about identity in an ever more complex world.
“I just don’t get how it’s possible to be such wonderful, compatible friends and so ill suited as lover.”
This is the central question. How can two people being that close, sharing the same ideas and attitudes simply be so incompatible as lovers. They are fond of each other, there are butterflies and they even match physically – but the relationship doesn’t work out. Over years, they have an on/off relationship because they can neither live with nor without each other.
Yet, the novel is not a classic heart-breaking love story. What binds Amalia and Alex is an intellectual love, they get closer over the questions which address core human topics, from social interaction over social categories of identity and the definition of themselves. They grow with each other, reflect upon their convictions and finally enter the real world of adulthood for which they are still not quite prepared.
A wonderfully written, intense novel about love which goes far beyond just being attracted by someone.
“(...) every so often, I come across a new piece of music and getting to know the music kind of feels like falling in love. And the idea of spending my life falling in love over and over again... who wouldn’t want that?”
The title refers to a study by psychologist Arthur Aron which postulates that a certain set of questions can lead to more intimacy and a deeper relationship between people. The protagonist of Indyana Schneider’s novel asks “28 Questions” which actually bring her closer to her first friend, then lover but they cannot help untangle the complications they have to face. It is a kind of college novel about becoming an adult, about love and about identity in an ever more complex world.
“I just don’t get how it’s possible to be such wonderful, compatible friends and so ill suited as lover.”
This is the central question. How can two people being that close, sharing the same ideas and attitudes simply be so incompatible as lovers. They are fond of each other, there are butterflies and they even match physically – but the relationship doesn’t work out. Over years, they have an on/off relationship because they can neither live with nor without each other.
Yet, the novel is not a classic heart-breaking love story. What binds Amalia and Alex is an intellectual love, they get closer over the questions which address core human topics, from social interaction over social categories of identity and the definition of themselves. They grow with each other, reflect upon their convictions and finally enter the real world of adulthood for which they are still not quite prepared.
A wonderfully written, intense novel about love which goes far beyond just being attracted by someone.
April 7, 2022
I'm not a big romance reader but I adored 28 Questions! I was initially drawn in by the intriguing premise of falling in love through twenty-eight questions and I liked that each chapter was inspired by and loosely answered one of the questions. Schneider's unique blending of form and structure is masterful: the mix of prose, scripted dialogue, letters, poetry, and sheet music set a wonderful, lyrical tone and I liked the subtle fourth wall breakage too.The vivid descriptions of city student life instilled a sense of nostalgia in me for that period of youthful freedom before "real adult life" starts, when you're trying to work out who you are and who you want to be, and the emotional turmoils of the characters resonated deeply with me as I find myself at a similar age and circumstance. The romance itself was beautiful and tender and pulled my heartstrings without fuelling my unrealistic expectations of fairytale love. A wonderful debut novel.
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster for the reading copy!
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster for the reading copy!
November 24, 2021
This book is described as "When Harry met Sally for the Sally Rooney generation". Well I have never seen When Harry met Sally but I do like Sally Rooney so I thought I would give it a go and I wasn't disappointed.
I felt the author really brought the characters to life in this coming of age novel and whilst I may not be the exact target audience for this book I still really enjoyed it.
The books mixes relationships with music, academia and many other themes and whilst the writing style may not be for everyone, again it was a style which really worked for the book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I felt the author really brought the characters to life in this coming of age novel and whilst I may not be the exact target audience for this book I still really enjoyed it.
The books mixes relationships with music, academia and many other themes and whilst the writing style may not be for everyone, again it was a style which really worked for the book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
November 16, 2022
Some of this felt a bit like the author was showing off (yes of course I can compose a string quartet whilst writing a novel) but I enjoyed listening to the piece of music and really what part of writing a book isn’t showing off?
I loved this and couldn’t stop reading because I wanted to know everything about Alex and Amalia and the conversations they were having.
I loved this and couldn’t stop reading because I wanted to know everything about Alex and Amalia and the conversations they were having.
May 15, 2023
The fact that the girlies were trying so hard to be heterosexual for like half of this book was maddening, but once they figured it out the pace picked up and I found myself heavily relating to a lot of the themes and attachment behaviours of the characters. If you’re an anxious avoidant, this book will severely call you out.
3.5/5 stars
3.5/5 stars
November 20, 2024
didn't like it, didn't finish 👹
March 11, 2022
"months pass. happiness crumbles."
have I just read my favourite book of the year??? bitch just maybe
have I just read my favourite book of the year??? bitch just maybe
August 5, 2022
It took me forever to read this book but tbf it's only because I was so busy. I really enjoyed the philosophical ideas in it and the way the relationship developed over so many years, I'd only mark it down slightly because of some of the wording of stuff
September 14, 2022
Highly recommend for fans of Sheila Heti, Ben Lerner, Zadie Smith, and any other authors who meld intellectual questioning, personal quests, and moments of great humor. A stunning debut that left me breathless.
The writing here is gorgeous, the plot is compulsively readable, and the love story will stick with you for ages. Ultimately says something very profound about our responsibility to each other, in friendship as in love.
Five stars!
The writing here is gorgeous, the plot is compulsively readable, and the love story will stick with you for ages. Ultimately says something very profound about our responsibility to each other, in friendship as in love.
Five stars!
November 9, 2023
some parts of the story felt less consistent than others, but for the most part, it was a raw & beautiful story, showed the dance that happens between being friends to romantic partners. asked some beautiful questions which has gotten me thinking & reflecting on my own friendships.
like most books within this genre, there is a particular flow & rhythm they all seem to follow, but this book felt like a breath of fresh air despite it all.
like most books within this genre, there is a particular flow & rhythm they all seem to follow, but this book felt like a breath of fresh air despite it all.
July 10, 2022
always a bit of a sucker for a college story and i enjoyed this one!! written in an interesting style but at times i felt too dumb to get into the really deep philosophical chats at some parts but the queer romance was nice. i thought it was going to be based on the actual 28 questions though but enjoyed it nonetheless.
4.5 rounded up to 5.
4.5 rounded up to 5.
January 9, 2024
“Is it possible to enjoy a love story when you know will
end in the kind of heartache that slices time?”
first read of the year, off to a strong start with one of my favourite books that have been recommended to me. genre is: two people who are hopelessly and impossibly in love philosophising and questioning, a personal favourite. the before trilogy if it was lesbian if you will
end in the kind of heartache that slices time?”
first read of the year, off to a strong start with one of my favourite books that have been recommended to me. genre is: two people who are hopelessly and impossibly in love philosophising and questioning, a personal favourite. the before trilogy if it was lesbian if you will
June 5, 2024
I enjoyed this book and it definitely served as a form of escapism and existentialism as a half lesbian at Oxford myself. Wasn’t life changing and could’ve been shorter in my opinion but nonetheless a good read.
February 18, 2022
more a 4 star read but i couldn’t stop reading and the way i related to amalia and the inclusion of so many musical elements just makes this so interesting and unique to me so 5 stars it is
March 23, 2022
“Who walks through life trying not to fall in love?”
I have been searching for a love story like this for what feels like forever. Something that could match the likes of Lie With Me and Call Me By Your Name but sapphic. It seems like the majority of modern sapphic books at the moment are high fantasy which is great but just not for me. So to find 28 Questions was truly like hitting jackpot. I am so warm inside just having finished it.
The format of this book was brilliant and original, with each chapter title offering a question that the rest of the chapter looked to answer. These answers were mostly given through dialogue between Amalia and Alex, or perhaps through what we can imply from their dialogue. This didn’t slow the pacing of the book whatsoever. The plot was strong and engaging and I raced through it.
I hope this book gets lots of love because it truly deserves it. I also hope way more literary contemporary sapphic books are written in the future as it’s a gap in the publishing industry I believe drastically needs to be filled.
I have been searching for a love story like this for what feels like forever. Something that could match the likes of Lie With Me and Call Me By Your Name but sapphic. It seems like the majority of modern sapphic books at the moment are high fantasy which is great but just not for me. So to find 28 Questions was truly like hitting jackpot. I am so warm inside just having finished it.
The format of this book was brilliant and original, with each chapter title offering a question that the rest of the chapter looked to answer. These answers were mostly given through dialogue between Amalia and Alex, or perhaps through what we can imply from their dialogue. This didn’t slow the pacing of the book whatsoever. The plot was strong and engaging and I raced through it.
I hope this book gets lots of love because it truly deserves it. I also hope way more literary contemporary sapphic books are written in the future as it’s a gap in the publishing industry I believe drastically needs to be filled.
March 5, 2022
I feel exhausted having just finished this. 28 questions follows the story of Amalia and Alex, two women who meet studying at Oxford university, develop an intense friendship that evolves into a relationship, but ultimately can’t make it work — despite the love and attraction they feel for each other.
If you swap the names of the women and university that could be a chapter in my own life (and in fact this book was given to me by ‘my person’ as Amalia and Alex might say) — it should have been relatable, but somehow was very irritating to read. Maybe partly because it is just sad that however much you love a person you won’t necessarily be good partners. I think the book does a good job of exploring that and the different kinds of love, and how people’s needs are different in relationships and friendships. The other good thing about it is how unapologetically it depicts a lesbian romance. And refreshing to see them happy and queer rather than persecuted in any way (but my god does Amalia take a maddeningly long time to admit she could actually not be straight!!! “my friends from school used to joke that I was bi, but I think I’m just confident and, I don’t know, flirty?” 🙄)
It’s let down by the length and the writing style in my opinion — not a darling was killed in the publishing of this book. Feels like someone’s own journals and exchanges regurgitated without much consideration for crafting a novel or need for characterisation. Reams of text message exchanges, bad poetry and pointless conversations that made me cringe. Buried in amongst all that is a thoughtful and poignant reflection on love, but it requires a lot of patience to get to.
Overall rating maybe 2.75 stars.
If you swap the names of the women and university that could be a chapter in my own life (and in fact this book was given to me by ‘my person’ as Amalia and Alex might say) — it should have been relatable, but somehow was very irritating to read. Maybe partly because it is just sad that however much you love a person you won’t necessarily be good partners. I think the book does a good job of exploring that and the different kinds of love, and how people’s needs are different in relationships and friendships. The other good thing about it is how unapologetically it depicts a lesbian romance. And refreshing to see them happy and queer rather than persecuted in any way (but my god does Amalia take a maddeningly long time to admit she could actually not be straight!!! “my friends from school used to joke that I was bi, but I think I’m just confident and, I don’t know, flirty?” 🙄)
It’s let down by the length and the writing style in my opinion — not a darling was killed in the publishing of this book. Feels like someone’s own journals and exchanges regurgitated without much consideration for crafting a novel or need for characterisation. Reams of text message exchanges, bad poetry and pointless conversations that made me cringe. Buried in amongst all that is a thoughtful and poignant reflection on love, but it requires a lot of patience to get to.
Overall rating maybe 2.75 stars.
January 11, 2022
Literary fiction but make it queer. I don't know what it was about this book but I was addicted from start to finish - I just really wanted to see where the characters ended up! It follows Amalia, a, Australian music student at Oxford. I was so excited that she was an opera singer! The book follows her from her first year at university to the year after she graduates and it was so interesting to me to follow her experiences.
Amalia's time at university was definitely not like mine. There is an air of sophistication about Amalia and her friends that is revealed to be a little fake through Amalia's thoughts. She meets Alex near the start of her university life, a third year who she becomes best friends with. Their friendship is intense, and Amalia questions her sexuality.
I feel like Amalia's journey was realistic. She is told she won't make it in opera until her late twenties and is advised to find placeholder work. There she is judged for her academic background despite being intelligent. Honestly I just really felt everything she went through at university only to end up in a job she hates.
Her relationship with Alex is on and off as both of them figure out their sexuality and what their priorities are. Both of them are opposites in the way they handle stress and conflict and it definitely puts a strain on their relationship.
Overall 28 Questions was a strange book for me. The characters are flawed and sometimes annoying but they had real reactions and experiences. Very interested to see what Indyana Schneider writes in the future.
Amalia's time at university was definitely not like mine. There is an air of sophistication about Amalia and her friends that is revealed to be a little fake through Amalia's thoughts. She meets Alex near the start of her university life, a third year who she becomes best friends with. Their friendship is intense, and Amalia questions her sexuality.
I feel like Amalia's journey was realistic. She is told she won't make it in opera until her late twenties and is advised to find placeholder work. There she is judged for her academic background despite being intelligent. Honestly I just really felt everything she went through at university only to end up in a job she hates.
Her relationship with Alex is on and off as both of them figure out their sexuality and what their priorities are. Both of them are opposites in the way they handle stress and conflict and it definitely puts a strain on their relationship.
Overall 28 Questions was a strange book for me. The characters are flawed and sometimes annoying but they had real reactions and experiences. Very interested to see what Indyana Schneider writes in the future.
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