Film Alumna Rachel Cline '87 Publishes Novel 'The Question Authority'

The Question Authority, a timely novel that tackles abuse and the #MeToo movement, written by film alumna Rachel Cline ’87 drops April 18, 2019.

The Question Authority follows Nora Buchbinder. Nora—formerly rich and now broke—would be the last woman in Brooklyn to claim #MeToo, but when a work assignment reunites her with her childhood best friend, Beth, she finds herself in a hall of mirrors. Was their eighth grade teacher Beth's lover or her rapist? Where were the grown-ups? What should justice look like, after so much time has passed? And what can Nora do, now?

“Nora is a beautifully crafted character,” according to Kirkus Review.

Kate Manning, author of My Notorious Life, called the book, “A gripping, provocative story about bright young girls in thrall to a charismatic teacher, and his haunting impact on their adult lives. Set in two Brooklyns, that of the 1970s and of 2009, the novel adds depth and nuance to our ongoing conversation about #MeToo revelations. Cline’s characters are drawn with delightful wit and a keen eye, as well as a striking and profound tenderness for youthful innocence and longing. I devoured this novel, and it has stayed with me long after I turned the last page.”

Martha Southgate, author of Third Girl from the Left said, “Rachel Cline’s The Question Authority does just that, with heart-stinging clarity. So in touch with the present moment that it might have been written last week, so skillful that it couldn't have been, this prescient novel deserves your attention.”

In an interview with Red Book Star- Revue, Cline said, “You have empathy for these girls. You hear these young girls saying this was my choice, I love him and he loves me, and you want to honor their agency, but you know that 30 years down the road they may look at that very differently…There’s almost this evolution in adulthood in your ability to understand what happened to you as a young person.” Red Book Star- Revue went on, “Throughout The Question Authority, Cline compels us to face the most pressing questions that MeToo raised: how is inequality truly seen, what does justice look like, what good does questioning authority do when the authority is so skilled at dodging questions?”

Rachel Cline, author of the novels What to Keep (2004) and My Liar (2008), has written for the New York Times, New York, More, SELF, and Tin House magazines, and is a produced screen and television writer. For five years, she was a screenwriting instructor at the University of Southern California and has taught fiction writing at New York University, Eugene Lang College, and Sarah Lawrence College. She has been a resident at Yaddo, a fellow at Sewanee, and a Girls Write Now mentor. She lives in Brooklyn Heights, a few blocks from where she grew up.

The Question Authority is available for pre-order now.