This Book Will Bury Me

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, gender discrimination, and racism.

“I was never a normal college student.”

Jane is socially anxious and introverted and does not feel “normal.” She has never fit in with any group and often self-isolates. The discomfort she feels in social situations is part of why she becomes involved with the true-crime forum: Its members accept her as one of their own and provide her with the social cohesion that she’s been missing for her entire life.

“The first domino that set the wheels in motion was this: my father’s death and my desire to do something about it.”

Jane notes early in the narrative that the impulse to organize chaotic events into a coherent narrative is an innate impulse, establishing the theme of The Human Desire for Answers and Explanations. She cannot make sense of her father’s death, so she throws herself headlong into the investigation of Indira’s. She hopes that solving Indira’s murder will provide her with some sense of closure, even though it is not the closure she truly wants.

“Imagine losing your life to violence and then getting labeled ‘the trash bag woman.’ Insult to injury.”

This novel explores The Ethics of True Crime. In this scene, Jane notes the disrespect and sensationalism that characterize media depictions of crime victims. She feels that Indira deserves more, especially because her life ended so tragically and violently. She realizes that while investigating Indira’s murder, she wants to center her life, identity, and experiences and never lose sight of the fact that Indira was a real person.