Status
Available
Genres
Publication
Harper Perennial (2011), Edition: Tie-In ed., 432 pages
Description
Eva never really wanted to be a mother and certainly not the mother of the unlovable boy who murdered seven of his fellow high school students, a cafeteria worker, and a much-adored teacher who tried to befriend him, all two days before his sixteenth birthday. Now, two years later, it is time for her to come to terms with marriage, career, family, parenthood, and Kevin's horrific rampage in a series of startlingly direct correspondences with her estranged husband, Franklyn.
Media reviews
A powerful, gripping and original meditation on evil
At a time when fiction by women has once again been criticised for its dull domesticity, here is a fierce challenge of a novel by a woman that forces the reader to confront assumptions about love and parenting, about how and why we apportion blame, about crime and punishment, forgiveness and
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redemption and, perhaps most significantly, about how we can manage when the answer to the question why? is either too complex for human comprehension, or simply non-existent. Show Less
The epistolary method Shriver uses, letters to Eva's absent husband, strains belief, yet ultimately that's not what trips us up. It's Eva's relentless negativity that becomes boring and repetitive in the first half of the book, the endless recounting of her loss of svelteness, her loss of freedom.
Maybe there are books to be written about teenage killers and about motherhood, but this discordant and misguided novel isn't one of them.
A little less, however, might have done a lot more for this book. A guilt-stricken Eva Khatchadourian digs into her own history, her son's and the nation's in her search for the responsible party, and her fierceness and honesty sustain the narrative; this is an impressive novel, once you get to the
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end. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member Nickelini
Well, isn’t this a surprise! I really didn’t expect to think so highly of this book. I expected it to be manipulative and ultimately trite. I thought it would be a potato chip book --one of those books that is interesting and compelling to read at the time, but makes me feel sort of queasy
Readers looking for a book on school shootings may be disappointed in We Need to Talk About Kevin, because at its heart, that’s not really what this book is about. Instead it is about the murderer’s mother Eva’s torment on her own culpability in the tragedy. Her son, Kevin, is clearly a psychopath. How much did her lack of natural mothering skills contribute to his personality? WNtTaK is often cited as a nature vs. nurture debate, but I think this is a little simplistic. What the novel does fabulously is explore the cult of motherhood, and what happens when women don’t live up our society’s standard. The other thing that really stood out for me was Shriver’s gift for describing moments or small scenes, and her sentences and paragraphs are both lovely and unique. Clearly she is a gifted writer worth watching.
Eva tells the story entirely n a series of letters directed at her husband, who is distanced from her. Until about chapter 3, I found this distractingly awkward, but then I realized that she wasn’t really writing to her husband at all, and I was sure that she never mailed any of the letters. Instead, she was journaling her thoughts to try and process her experience raising an impossible child. She chose this format over the straight-forward diary entries because her husband was more often her adversary than her support, and because she never stopped loving him. However, because we’re only hearing her version of events, it raises questions about what is and isn’t true.
Based on several reviewer comments, I expected to dislike Eva. I admit that around page 76, I was growing a little tired of her voice. However, I realized that she was working through some extreme grief, and my annoyance disappeared. She occasionally repeats herself, and belabours some points, but I think it added to the story more than it distracted. Overall, I was surprised at how much I liked her. I also don’t for a heartbeat think that Eva’s parenting was the cause of Kevin’s extremely troubling behavior. I personally know people who didn’t bond with their babies, and people who didn’t bond with their mothers, and there isn’t a mass-murderer, or even a delinquent, in the lot.
As much as I liked the novel, it wasn’t perfect. I had a number of questions or concerns. Is it possible for a small child to be as nefarious as Kevin was? There was enough misbehaviour that was witnessed by others to see that it wasn’t her imagination. He seemed too much like Daemon from “The Omen.” I also had problems with her husband, and find it hard to believe that she would continue to love someone who treated her with such relentless condescension . Right from when she conceived, he stopped viewing her as a human being. I vehemently hated him. I would have liked to see her leave him with his precious son and see how he’d cope (and I’m not talking about a Saturday afternoon). Also, I find it hard to believe that she would ever leave her daughter alone with Kevin. And finally, I thought her forgiving and hopeful attitude toward Kevin at the end of the story was another bad decision. Having exhausted other options, I think he was just telling her what she wanted to hear. He’s still a psychopath.
Rating: 4 stars. I considered giving it 4.5 or 5 stars, but there were a few too many things that bothered me about the book. First, because of the somewhat false epistolary structure, it took a while for the book to click. I understand why Shriver chose this structure to tell this specific story; however, until I was wrapped up in the characters and story, it felt contrived and artificial. Second, while most of the parents’ poor decisions were explained quite well, there is no good explanation why all three of them didn’t go to therapy. Not that I think there was a cure for Kevin, but they may have averted several tragedies. Of course then there wouldn’t have been a story.
Recommended for: Because people have different takes on this, and because everyone who reads it needs to talk about it, We Need to Talk About Kevin is a fabulous book club selection. Also, it’s a book that a large majority of its readers deemed worthwhile (and an interesting number of the readers who rated it poorly didn’t read past page 50, if you can make it that far, you’ll probably be glad you did).
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after I’m done. Indeed, the book was compelling, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so well written, and for all the biting observation of our culture.Readers looking for a book on school shootings may be disappointed in We Need to Talk About Kevin, because at its heart, that’s not really what this book is about. Instead it is about the murderer’s mother Eva’s torment on her own culpability in the tragedy. Her son, Kevin, is clearly a psychopath. How much did her lack of natural mothering skills contribute to his personality? WNtTaK is often cited as a nature vs. nurture debate, but I think this is a little simplistic. What the novel does fabulously is explore the cult of motherhood, and what happens when women don’t live up our society’s standard. The other thing that really stood out for me was Shriver’s gift for describing moments or small scenes, and her sentences and paragraphs are both lovely and unique. Clearly she is a gifted writer worth watching.
Eva tells the story entirely n a series of letters directed at her husband, who is distanced from her. Until about chapter 3, I found this distractingly awkward, but then I realized that she wasn’t really writing to her husband at all, and I was sure that she never mailed any of the letters. Instead, she was journaling her thoughts to try and process her experience raising an impossible child. She chose this format over the straight-forward diary entries because her husband was more often her adversary than her support, and because she never stopped loving him. However, because we’re only hearing her version of events, it raises questions about what is and isn’t true.
Based on several reviewer comments, I expected to dislike Eva. I admit that around page 76, I was growing a little tired of her voice. However, I realized that she was working through some extreme grief, and my annoyance disappeared. She occasionally repeats herself, and belabours some points, but I think it added to the story more than it distracted. Overall, I was surprised at how much I liked her. I also don’t for a heartbeat think that Eva’s parenting was the cause of Kevin’s extremely troubling behavior. I personally know people who didn’t bond with their babies, and people who didn’t bond with their mothers, and there isn’t a mass-murderer, or even a delinquent, in the lot.
As much as I liked the novel, it wasn’t perfect. I had a number of questions or concerns. Is it possible for a small child to be as nefarious as Kevin was? There was enough misbehaviour that was witnessed by others to see that it wasn’t her imagination. He seemed too much like Daemon from “The Omen.” I also had problems with her husband, and find it hard to believe that she would continue to love someone who treated her with such relentless condescension . Right from when she conceived, he stopped viewing her as a human being. I vehemently hated him. I would have liked to see her leave him with his precious son and see how he’d cope (and I’m not talking about a Saturday afternoon). Also, I find it hard to believe that she would ever leave her daughter alone with Kevin. And finally, I thought her forgiving and hopeful attitude toward Kevin at the end of the story was another bad decision. Having exhausted other options, I think he was just telling her what she wanted to hear. He’s still a psychopath.
Rating: 4 stars. I considered giving it 4.5 or 5 stars, but there were a few too many things that bothered me about the book. First, because of the somewhat false epistolary structure, it took a while for the book to click. I understand why Shriver chose this structure to tell this specific story; however, until I was wrapped up in the characters and story, it felt contrived and artificial. Second, while most of the parents’ poor decisions were explained quite well, there is no good explanation why all three of them didn’t go to therapy. Not that I think there was a cure for Kevin, but they may have averted several tragedies. Of course then there wouldn’t have been a story.
Recommended for: Because people have different takes on this, and because everyone who reads it needs to talk about it, We Need to Talk About Kevin is a fabulous book club selection. Also, it’s a book that a large majority of its readers deemed worthwhile (and an interesting number of the readers who rated it poorly didn’t read past page 50, if you can make it that far, you’ll probably be glad you did).
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LibraryThing member msf59
“Kevin was a shell game in which all three cups were empty.”
Just before his sixteenth birthday, Kevin goes to school and methodically kills nine people. The questions are endless: Was he born this way? Bad parenting? School-yard bullying?
Shriver bravely attempts to examine all these issues, by
Obviously, this book is not always easy to read, it can be relentlessly grim and Eva can also be frustrating and unsympathetic. Shriver never lets the reader off the hook and you may find yourself impaled on this grapple, gasping and thrashing, but she is a crafty writer and has created a story that will burn into your soul.
Just before his sixteenth birthday, Kevin goes to school and methodically kills nine people. The questions are endless: Was he born this way? Bad parenting? School-yard bullying?
Shriver bravely attempts to examine all these issues, by
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placing the spotlight on Eva, the mother. The tale unfolds through a series of letters, that Eva writes to her husband, tracing their history, searching painstakingly for some clues, some answers to what may have caused this horrific tragedy.Obviously, this book is not always easy to read, it can be relentlessly grim and Eva can also be frustrating and unsympathetic. Shriver never lets the reader off the hook and you may find yourself impaled on this grapple, gasping and thrashing, but she is a crafty writer and has created a story that will burn into your soul.
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LibraryThing member HelloAnnie
I had read a lot of Amazon reviews of We Need to Talk About Kevin in trying to decide whether or not to buy it, and the majority of the reviews (even if they were positive) talked about their open disdain for the narrator, Eva. So starting the book I had a preconceived notion that I wouldn't like
I also felt that this book did a good job of being open to all possibilities. We try to answer the question "why", when there is no reason or there are multiple reasons. Kevin wasn't just some kid who was picked on and harassed daily, he was often the aggressor. He did not become a mass murder because his mom was cold and distant or because he had a lousy childhood. He did not do it because he listened to heavy metal music and played violent video games. The book was honest and true and didn't try to force an answer to the why question. It really forces you to look at things from many angles and think about those deep questions we'd rather not think about. This novel offers no answers. As there really are not a lot of answers to be found in these situations.
It also leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Why would Eva stay in such a horrible situation? Why would she continue to visit her son in prison and accept him into her home? And to be honest, the characters were pretty black and white. Kevin was all evil, only becoming a slightly round character at the end of the novel. Eva was always perceptive, yet detached. Franklin was the blind idiot, blindly following his American dream into tragedy. Other than wishing for more rounded characters, her writing was superb. An excellent, excellent book that I can't stop thinking about.
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Eva and might find it difficult to read from her perspective. So in reading it, I really related to her and felt for her from the beginning. I kept waiting to get to that part in the book where I didn't like her, but it never came. I didn't like her choices and could not understand for the life of me why she did the things she did, but I always felt like she was a sympathetic character. As a woman who has always questioned whether or not to have children, I understand how that essential question can loom over you and how there is no easy answer to it. I did relate to many of her ten reasons for not wanting to have children (including less time for the two of us, social demotion and dementing boredom), but even moreso applauded her bravery for spelling out her feelings against having kids. In our society, that is not always an easy thing for women to do. It is generally accepted that all happily married women will have kids and to go against the social grain and defiantly say that you do not want children is generally regarded as selfish and against nature. Once she did have Kevin, it didn't go as smoothly as the diaper commercials would have us to believe. She questioned whether or not she did the right thing in having him, she didn't fall in love with him instantly, and the maternal feelings didn't kick in as easily as portrayed. Again, this isn't something that we talk about in our culture. We are lead to believe the baby is born, you immediately fall in love with him or her, you go home and live happily ever after. You are happy to give up the life you had before the baby, and in some respects, give up yourself because you are a mother. And that title outranks all others before it.I also felt that this book did a good job of being open to all possibilities. We try to answer the question "why", when there is no reason or there are multiple reasons. Kevin wasn't just some kid who was picked on and harassed daily, he was often the aggressor. He did not become a mass murder because his mom was cold and distant or because he had a lousy childhood. He did not do it because he listened to heavy metal music and played violent video games. The book was honest and true and didn't try to force an answer to the why question. It really forces you to look at things from many angles and think about those deep questions we'd rather not think about. This novel offers no answers. As there really are not a lot of answers to be found in these situations.
It also leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Why would Eva stay in such a horrible situation? Why would she continue to visit her son in prison and accept him into her home? And to be honest, the characters were pretty black and white. Kevin was all evil, only becoming a slightly round character at the end of the novel. Eva was always perceptive, yet detached. Franklin was the blind idiot, blindly following his American dream into tragedy. Other than wishing for more rounded characters, her writing was superb. An excellent, excellent book that I can't stop thinking about.
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LibraryThing member zibilee
In this epistolary novel, Eva Katchadourian is writing a series of letters to her husband Franklin after the horror of her teenage son's violent massacre of several high school classmates. Reaching into the past, Eva chronicles, in a series of lucid and disturbing flashbacks, the evolution of a
This is a book I've been hearing very good things about for quite a long time, though I had thought it wouldn't be all that interesting to me for a lot of reasons. But as time went on and I heard more and more about it, I realized that perhaps I was missing something by letting this one go unread. Though I know this type of violence in schools is not only prevalent but important, I couldn't imagine wanting to read a book that centered around this topic. What I discovered is not only is Shriver a penetrating and arresting author, but that this story has more to do with the frightening daily evolution of a very damaged person than the violence he perpetrates. It was not only disquieting, but ultimately terrifying and chilling as well.
One of the most interesting things about the book was the fact that all of the characters were somewhat repellent to me for various reasons. Eva was cold and distant, not only to Kevin but in certain ways to her husband as well. She seemed very arrogant at times and was definitely elitist. At times I wondered how Kevin couldn't help but turn out as he did with a mother like Eva, but at the heart of it all, there was something very human about her that drew me to her. Although I didn't like her, I could understand her perfectly. Kevin was repugnant for obvious reasons. A brutal personality, a penchant for human discomfort and destruction even at the earliest stages, I not only hated him but he scared me. The ambivalence he showed towards human suffering, and indeed his creation of it in others, made my heart and stomach shrivel inside me, and as he grew he only became more and more malevolent. Franklin too was rather unlikable. He repeatedly stuck to the belief that Kevin was a normal boy, even when facts to the contrary were laid right out in front of them. The one thing I hated most about Franklin is he never gave his wife's worries about Kevin any credence, and indeed, even fought with her over her "mistaken feelings" about the boy. He did this in front of Kevin and even joined the boy in making fun of her at times, in a fruitless attempt to bond with the boy. The funny thing is, even though I hated all the characters, it didn't impede me from being connected to them or their stories, which speaks to Shriver's skill at spinning such an incredible yarn.
One thing that I would be very remiss if I didn't mention was the incredible fluid writing. Shriver's skill with words and ideas is striking and beautiful. At times I had to put the book down and marvel over her ability to tease out so much meaning from one simple sentence, and there were many passages that I read over and over again in a state of awe. The writing borders on the poetic, but not in a florid or showy way. Rather, there's an intrinsic power and force to her words, a building up of thoughts and ideas into a crescendo of unbearable tension and wicked loveliness that not only impressed me, but drew me further and further into the story she tells. It was odd to have such a inspired response to the writing when the story being told was one of violence, hatred and ambivalence. As I read on and became more and more invested in the world that Shriver was creating, I felt almost as if I was being pulled down a rabbit hole of deviance and defiance. The beauty and fluidity of the writing and the terror and horror of the subject matter certainly presented me with a dichotomy, but by melding these two elements so seamlessly, the tale almost takes on a life of its own.
It was hard to read about Kevin's growing obsession with other notorious teens who went on bloody rampages in their own schools. Kevin touted opinions and details on them all, and throughout the book, his behavior towards them took on some frightening aspects. It was clear he was attempting to emulate them, only Kevin, in his meticulous way, wanted to be better, to make it more of a challenge and to have a higher body count. I can only describe all this as chilling, and although Franklin and Eva both seemed to want to ignore Kevin's growing fascination with this alien subset of people, it stood out to me in alarming and potentially dangerous ways. Throughout the book, which is told in a series of flashbacks, Shriver embeds these stories within the story of the Katchadourian family, sharing the details of school massacres far and wide, the tally of bodies they yielded and what the eventual punitive outcome would be. I honestly had no idea this type of thing happened so frequently, and it almost put me in a stupor of fear. I mean, I have kids who are at this stage in life, and to think that one of their classmates might be capable of doing something like made me a bit panic stricken. Shriver most movingly explains, through her exposé on Kevin, how these types of things happen and just how the ones left behind react when the violence rains down.
This was my first read of the new year, and while I found it lyrically impressive and tautly suspenseful, I also found it made me quite nervous and upset. While I was reading it, I had some very confusing sensations of doom and I was altogether a little jumpy. It was a brilliant book, made more powerful and poignant by its skillful rendering and also by its relevance, but it was also very disturbing and could at times strongly graphic. It was a fantastic read, and one that I'll never forget, but I warn you that it's not for the faint of heart and those who are easily disconcerted may want to avoid this one. A very realistic depiction of a subject that needs to be addressed, but in that realism also comes unexpected terror.
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wealthy yuppie couple who are deciding if they want to have a child. Eva is a jet-setter, constantly traveling the world in order to research accommodations for a series of travel books she publishes, while Franklin is a scenic location scout working in marketing. Though they both do want a child, it's for very different reasons, and though Franklin is enthused with the idea, Eva harbors reservations about what having a child will do to her marriage and her sense of independence. When Kevin is born, it's clear to Eva, if not Franklin, that something is very wrong with him. Able to scream furiously and ferociously for hours, Kevin proves to be a difficult infant who grows up to be a secretive, cold and calculating child. Though Eva readily admits that she may not be an award-winning mother and is often distant and emotionally unavailable with Kevin, as he grows older, he becomes what can only be described as a psychopath. Though Eva sees this, Franklin is unable to realize the type of maliciousness that Kevin harbors deep inside, and Eva's constant recrimination of the boy sets the couple on a very rocky path. The two are constantly at each other's throats over the boy and are destroying each other's lives, much to young Kevin's amusement. When Eva gets pregnant with a second child in order to prove to herself that she can be a good mother and to have another ally against Franklin and Kevin, the boy's wicked and brutal behavior begins to escalate to a frightening degree. All this culminates with the bloody rampage that Kevin meticulously plans at the high school gym, and to the reader's shock and horror, we discover the magnitude of what Eva lost that day. In this frightening and disconcerting novel, the reader witnesses the birth and adolescence of a killer who expertly manipulates the emotions of the family that surrounded him and tried so hard to nurture him.This is a book I've been hearing very good things about for quite a long time, though I had thought it wouldn't be all that interesting to me for a lot of reasons. But as time went on and I heard more and more about it, I realized that perhaps I was missing something by letting this one go unread. Though I know this type of violence in schools is not only prevalent but important, I couldn't imagine wanting to read a book that centered around this topic. What I discovered is not only is Shriver a penetrating and arresting author, but that this story has more to do with the frightening daily evolution of a very damaged person than the violence he perpetrates. It was not only disquieting, but ultimately terrifying and chilling as well.
One of the most interesting things about the book was the fact that all of the characters were somewhat repellent to me for various reasons. Eva was cold and distant, not only to Kevin but in certain ways to her husband as well. She seemed very arrogant at times and was definitely elitist. At times I wondered how Kevin couldn't help but turn out as he did with a mother like Eva, but at the heart of it all, there was something very human about her that drew me to her. Although I didn't like her, I could understand her perfectly. Kevin was repugnant for obvious reasons. A brutal personality, a penchant for human discomfort and destruction even at the earliest stages, I not only hated him but he scared me. The ambivalence he showed towards human suffering, and indeed his creation of it in others, made my heart and stomach shrivel inside me, and as he grew he only became more and more malevolent. Franklin too was rather unlikable. He repeatedly stuck to the belief that Kevin was a normal boy, even when facts to the contrary were laid right out in front of them. The one thing I hated most about Franklin is he never gave his wife's worries about Kevin any credence, and indeed, even fought with her over her "mistaken feelings" about the boy. He did this in front of Kevin and even joined the boy in making fun of her at times, in a fruitless attempt to bond with the boy. The funny thing is, even though I hated all the characters, it didn't impede me from being connected to them or their stories, which speaks to Shriver's skill at spinning such an incredible yarn.
One thing that I would be very remiss if I didn't mention was the incredible fluid writing. Shriver's skill with words and ideas is striking and beautiful. At times I had to put the book down and marvel over her ability to tease out so much meaning from one simple sentence, and there were many passages that I read over and over again in a state of awe. The writing borders on the poetic, but not in a florid or showy way. Rather, there's an intrinsic power and force to her words, a building up of thoughts and ideas into a crescendo of unbearable tension and wicked loveliness that not only impressed me, but drew me further and further into the story she tells. It was odd to have such a inspired response to the writing when the story being told was one of violence, hatred and ambivalence. As I read on and became more and more invested in the world that Shriver was creating, I felt almost as if I was being pulled down a rabbit hole of deviance and defiance. The beauty and fluidity of the writing and the terror and horror of the subject matter certainly presented me with a dichotomy, but by melding these two elements so seamlessly, the tale almost takes on a life of its own.
It was hard to read about Kevin's growing obsession with other notorious teens who went on bloody rampages in their own schools. Kevin touted opinions and details on them all, and throughout the book, his behavior towards them took on some frightening aspects. It was clear he was attempting to emulate them, only Kevin, in his meticulous way, wanted to be better, to make it more of a challenge and to have a higher body count. I can only describe all this as chilling, and although Franklin and Eva both seemed to want to ignore Kevin's growing fascination with this alien subset of people, it stood out to me in alarming and potentially dangerous ways. Throughout the book, which is told in a series of flashbacks, Shriver embeds these stories within the story of the Katchadourian family, sharing the details of school massacres far and wide, the tally of bodies they yielded and what the eventual punitive outcome would be. I honestly had no idea this type of thing happened so frequently, and it almost put me in a stupor of fear. I mean, I have kids who are at this stage in life, and to think that one of their classmates might be capable of doing something like made me a bit panic stricken. Shriver most movingly explains, through her exposé on Kevin, how these types of things happen and just how the ones left behind react when the violence rains down.
This was my first read of the new year, and while I found it lyrically impressive and tautly suspenseful, I also found it made me quite nervous and upset. While I was reading it, I had some very confusing sensations of doom and I was altogether a little jumpy. It was a brilliant book, made more powerful and poignant by its skillful rendering and also by its relevance, but it was also very disturbing and could at times strongly graphic. It was a fantastic read, and one that I'll never forget, but I warn you that it's not for the faint of heart and those who are easily disconcerted may want to avoid this one. A very realistic depiction of a subject that needs to be addressed, but in that realism also comes unexpected terror.
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LibraryThing member ChelleBearss
It's always amazing when you pick up a book and from the first page in you don't want to put that book down. It's even more amazing when the book covers a horrible ugly topic that would make anyone want to shy away from that book, but yet it still somehow draws you in. This was the way I felt about
Told in epistolary form with Eva writing letters to Franklin about their life and their family and how it all went wrong. Eva wasn't sure if she wanted children and after she had Kevin she realized that she felt nothing. Even moments after his birth when she was given Kevin to hold she realized that she didn't feel the feelings that she should have ... and the feeling was mutual from Kevin. From day one he was a screaming, plotting nightmare of a child. But could she have known what he would eventually become? Could she have prevented murder?
This book is torture for anyone who wants kids, isn't sure about wanting kids or has children that aren't grown up. Recommended to those that can handle tough, gritty situations and not recommended for pregnant women!!
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We Need to Talk About Kevin.Told in epistolary form with Eva writing letters to Franklin about their life and their family and how it all went wrong. Eva wasn't sure if she wanted children and after she had Kevin she realized that she felt nothing. Even moments after his birth when she was given Kevin to hold she realized that she didn't feel the feelings that she should have ... and the feeling was mutual from Kevin. From day one he was a screaming, plotting nightmare of a child. But could she have known what he would eventually become? Could she have prevented murder?
This book is torture for anyone who wants kids, isn't sure about wanting kids or has children that aren't grown up. Recommended to those that can handle tough, gritty situations and not recommended for pregnant women!!
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LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver relates the story of a family whose boy, Kevin, goes on a killing rampage at his high school. This is a book that shook me to the core, I had to read it in short bursts as I needed to take breaks to get away from the darkness. Written beautifully but
Eva and Franklin are very different from one another but they are deeply in love and the decision to have a child is not one that was taken lightly. Eva never really wanted children but decided to go ahead with it as she knew how much her husband desired parenthood. From the moment she gives birth to Kevin, her life becomes more of a horror story. Unable to bond with or love her child, Eva immediately sees Kevin as an adversary. He is shown to be a sly monster, and as he grows he is only too willing to display his evil nature to his mother. His father on the other hand does not see this side of Kevin and feels that Eva is a disinterested, cold mother. As we work our way through the book the story builds in intensity as Kevin matures and that destructive day in April approaches.
I believe that ultimately We Need To Talk About Kevin raises far more questions than it actually answers. As I read about the imploding of this family I couldn’t help but ask myself whether Eva was a reliable narrator. Can someone be born inherently evil? Can a mother’s coldness build a monster? Do parents get the children they deserve? Was this the truth as Eva saw it or is this her own anguish and guilt that she is writing about. Eva puts herself on trial and the reader must form his own judgement.
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the subject matter is distressing, shocking and ugly. Told by the mother, Eva, the story of her family unfolds in epistolary form, through letters that Eva writes to her husband, Franklin. Eva and Franklin are very different from one another but they are deeply in love and the decision to have a child is not one that was taken lightly. Eva never really wanted children but decided to go ahead with it as she knew how much her husband desired parenthood. From the moment she gives birth to Kevin, her life becomes more of a horror story. Unable to bond with or love her child, Eva immediately sees Kevin as an adversary. He is shown to be a sly monster, and as he grows he is only too willing to display his evil nature to his mother. His father on the other hand does not see this side of Kevin and feels that Eva is a disinterested, cold mother. As we work our way through the book the story builds in intensity as Kevin matures and that destructive day in April approaches.
I believe that ultimately We Need To Talk About Kevin raises far more questions than it actually answers. As I read about the imploding of this family I couldn’t help but ask myself whether Eva was a reliable narrator. Can someone be born inherently evil? Can a mother’s coldness build a monster? Do parents get the children they deserve? Was this the truth as Eva saw it or is this her own anguish and guilt that she is writing about. Eva puts herself on trial and the reader must form his own judgement.
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LibraryThing member citygirl
Damn. This is one of the most frightening, frustrating books I've ever read. To a thirty-something woman planning motherhood, Stephen King couldn't have scared me more.
Why: This book gets a lot of praise, and I've loved the other books by Shriver that I've read.
This happily-married 37-year-old
But, anyway, Shriver sure knows how to wield a pen so that the ink gets under your skin. The story just draws you in further, and the horror quotient creeps up as Kevin gets older and his mother grows increasingly powerless. His father's willful ignorance gets more and more alarming, and I just want to scream at the main character: Run, Eva, run!
Exceptionally well-done. A few flaws. I found the ending a bit implausible, but maybe not. It's very thought-provoking, but I don't want to provide spoilers.
Why: This book gets a lot of praise, and I've loved the other books by Shriver that I've read.
This happily-married 37-year-old
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career woman has a baby because her husband wants one, and she resents the intrusion into her life. Whatever. That could be a million people. Some readers think that she's so horrible because she's cold to her uncuddly little sociopath Kevin from the beginning. I think she should have drowned him in the bathtub.But, anyway, Shriver sure knows how to wield a pen so that the ink gets under your skin. The story just draws you in further, and the horror quotient creeps up as Kevin gets older and his mother grows increasingly powerless. His father's willful ignorance gets more and more alarming, and I just want to scream at the main character: Run, Eva, run!
Exceptionally well-done. A few flaws. I found the ending a bit implausible, but maybe not. It's very thought-provoking, but I don't want to provide spoilers.
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LibraryThing member lauralkeet
This is the story of Kevin Khatchadourian, who kills seven high school students, a teacher, and a cafeteria worker just a few days before his 16th birthday. Through letters to her husband, Kevin's mother Eva chronicles his childhood, the horrible events leading up to the massacre, and its
We Need to Talk About Kevin is a harrowing and devastatingly sad tale with no clear answers. Kevin's motives are unclear, and while there were many occasions where his parents could have handled a situation differently, their actions were understandable. Any parent reading this book can emphathize and see how they, too, could have made similar decisions.
Lionel Shriver won the 2005 Orange Prize for Fiction for this highly-recommended work.
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aftermath. Eva is searching for answers, and for peace. When did it all begin? Were there pivotal events that set this tragedy in motion? Was it before Kevin was born, when Eva first resented pregnancy's inconveniences? Or, when he wouldn't nurse? Did her postpartum depression have a lasting impact? Or, did Kevin just hate being alive, from the very moment of his birth? There is no hero in this story. All of the characters are flawed and, in fact, even unlikeable. Eva is self-centered and resents the "intrusion" of children in her life. Her husband Franklin is the eternal optimist, failing to see the destructive patterns in Kevin's behavior. And Kevin, of course, is troubled and angry. We Need to Talk About Kevin is a harrowing and devastatingly sad tale with no clear answers. Kevin's motives are unclear, and while there were many occasions where his parents could have handled a situation differently, their actions were understandable. Any parent reading this book can emphathize and see how they, too, could have made similar decisions.
Lionel Shriver won the 2005 Orange Prize for Fiction for this highly-recommended work.
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LibraryThing member cgl56
I just finished reading this book and can hardly breathe. This superbly written book is more deeply disturbing, yet thought provoking, than anything I've ever read. There were many parts that dragged and I often had to put it down because it was emotionally overwhelming, but I kept going back until
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I neared the end and was clobbered one last time. Not for the faint of heart or those who cling to the belief that this sort of thing could never happen in their world but worth the read (unless I have nightmares tonight). Show Less
LibraryThing member flippinpages
Hated this book. Felt like the author was trying to cram all the words she knows or looked up in her thesaurus and write a story around them. Pompous dialogue. The only good thing I can say about it is it ended.
LibraryThing member Bookmarque
SPOILERS AHOY!
I don’t think I will ever forget this book. Even if I were inclined to actually like children, this book would put me off them. Kevin is evil. He is probably the worst child in history. I completely sympathized with his mother and hated Kevin almost through the entire book. Yes, she
I knew fairly early on that Franklin was dead and not moved away. When Celia was introduced and we were told that Franklin took her, then I started to think that maybe he was alive, but the feeling that he was beyond reach was still with me. I really disliked Franklin. Maybe it was Eva’s portrayal of him that I didn’t like, but he seemed willfully obtuse when it came to Kevin’s nature and behavior. Nothing was Kevin’s fault. Kevin was totally normal. Just because everyone who ever met him hated him on sight or was extremely distrustful and wary of him, it wasn’t his fault. He never saw that the common denominator of all the weird, evil and inexplicable things in their household was Kevin. He thought Eva had it in for Kevin and never took her word in any story about Kevin’s behavior. He excused everything in a blind attempt to have the perfect, synthetic and mythical 50’s family.
I was disappointed that he never had his eyes opened. Even Kevin’s penultimate attack on him was in the process of being excused. Finally Kevin had told his father exactly what he thought of him and all his attempts to ‘bond’ with Kevin and still Franklin wouldn’t see him for who he was. He was still making excuses. Kevin shot him in the throat just after he pinned Celia to his target with a hail of arrows. Here’s a nice summary by Eva;
“Let’s get one thing straight; I did think Kevin screamed in his crib out of free-floating rage, and not because he needed feeding. I fiercely believed that when he poked fun at our waitress’s “poopy face” he knew it would hurt her feelings, and that he defaced the maps on my study walls out of calculated malice, not misguided creativity. I was still convinced that he systematically seduced Violetta into clawing a layer of skin from the better part of her body and that he continued to require diapers until he was six years old not because he was traumatized or confused or slow to develop, but because he was on a full-time war-footing with his mother. I thought he destroyed the toys and storybooks I painstakingly fashioned because they were worth more to him as emblems of his own up-yours ingratitude than as sentimental playthings, and I was sure that he learned to count and read in secret deliberately to deprive me of any sense of usefulness as a parent. My certainty that he was the one who flipped the quick release on the front wheel of Trent Corley’s bicycle was unwavering. I was under no illusions that the nest of bagworms had dropped into Celia’s backpack by itself or that she had climbed twenty feet up our white oak only to get stranded on an upper branch all by her lonesome; I believed it was no more her idea to stir together a lunch of petroleum jelly and Thai curry paste than it was to play “kidnapping” and “William Tell”. I was pretty damned sure that whatever Kevin whispered in the ear of let-us-call-her-Alice at that eighth-grade school dance, it wasn’t admiration of her dress; and however Liquid-Plumr got into Celia’s left eye, I was dead positive that her brother had something to do with it beyond his role as her noble savior. I regarded his jerking off at home with the door wide open as wanton sexual abuse –of his mother – and not the normal uncontrolled bubbling of adolescent hormones. Although I may have told Mary that Laura should suck it up, I found it entirely credible that our son had told her frail, underfed daughter that she was fat. It was no mystery to me how a hit list turned up in Miguel Espinoza’s locker, and though I took full responsibility for spreading one to my own company, I couldn’t see the hobby of collecting computer viruses as anything but disturbed and degenerate. I remained firmly of the view that Vicki Pagorski had been persecuted in a show trial of Kevin Khatchadourian’s personal contrivance.”
And there were other things. But the planning involved in shooting the kids at school was ingenious. He requested to be put on Prozac after the awful and entirely fabricated incident with the teacher. This way when he was put on trial, he could offer a defense that the Prozac was at fault, that he was one of the small percentages of people who turned into raving psychotics while on Prozac. He also decided to do this while he was still technically 15 so that he would receive a lighter sentence. And it worked, but it doesn’t make sense. He was tried as an adult but only sentenced 7 years. For killing his sister, father and 7 other people?? That doesn’t even remotely make sense. He served the first 2 years at a juvenile facility and upon turning 18 will be moved to Sing Sing.
I have read some Amazon reader reviews that call Kevin a bad seed and others who say this is overly simplistic. Those who think it’s simplistic blame Eva. They think that her distance and lack of love caused Kevin to withdraw from her and become a hateful little sociopath. I disagree – Kevin rejected her first. He wouldn’t take her breast, wouldn’t be held by her and screamed at the top of his lungs whenever she alone was to care for him. Also, how to explain his utter distain and contempt for his lovingly naive father? If anything, his father was the complete opposite of Eva – he spoiled the kid and made excuses for him and smothered him in Father Knows Best love. Maybe it was because his father’s love seemed like an act. The pursuit of the perfect father could come off as transparent, but regardless of the motive, the unfailing devotion remained.
Another thing I disagreed with was the critical bashing of the author’s use of a high vocabulary. Some readers said that they had to go for the dictionary every few pages – morons. I didn’t have to go for it once. Give me a break, just because she doesn’t write with Kevin’s 3-letter-word essay style is no reason to say the book is bad. Grow up and stop being so stupid.
Celia’s demise at Kevin’s hands was not surprising, what was surprising was that he waited so long. I guess turning her into a “one-eyed freak” wasn’t enough for him. I expected to read of a childhood filled with mysterious injuries and emotional torture. But mostly, Kevin left Celia alone. And leaving Eva alone was the worst thing he could think of to do to her. He killed her husband and her daughter leaving only the person she didn’t love left. In the end when he says he’s sorry and they seem to be moving into some semblance of a normal human relationship, I didn’t buy it. Kevin’s character of evil is too well formed even though Eva insists it’s work for him to keep up his hatred and disinterest in everything. She thinks that the episode when he was sick with fever is the real Kevin. He was a perfectly normal kid when he was sick for those two weeks, but for him it was not normal. It was opposite. When normal kids get sick, they turn into crabby monsters, when Kevin gets sick he turns into a normal kid. It wasn’t real even though Eva wanted it to be.
I don’t think I will ever forget this book. Even if I were inclined to actually like children, this book would put me off them. Kevin is evil. He is probably the worst child in history. I completely sympathized with his mother and hated Kevin almost through the entire book. Yes, she
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is partially at fault but who could blame her for distancing herself from her son? He was a wicked child from the moment of his birth. Unnatural behavior was normal for him.I knew fairly early on that Franklin was dead and not moved away. When Celia was introduced and we were told that Franklin took her, then I started to think that maybe he was alive, but the feeling that he was beyond reach was still with me. I really disliked Franklin. Maybe it was Eva’s portrayal of him that I didn’t like, but he seemed willfully obtuse when it came to Kevin’s nature and behavior. Nothing was Kevin’s fault. Kevin was totally normal. Just because everyone who ever met him hated him on sight or was extremely distrustful and wary of him, it wasn’t his fault. He never saw that the common denominator of all the weird, evil and inexplicable things in their household was Kevin. He thought Eva had it in for Kevin and never took her word in any story about Kevin’s behavior. He excused everything in a blind attempt to have the perfect, synthetic and mythical 50’s family.
I was disappointed that he never had his eyes opened. Even Kevin’s penultimate attack on him was in the process of being excused. Finally Kevin had told his father exactly what he thought of him and all his attempts to ‘bond’ with Kevin and still Franklin wouldn’t see him for who he was. He was still making excuses. Kevin shot him in the throat just after he pinned Celia to his target with a hail of arrows. Here’s a nice summary by Eva;
“Let’s get one thing straight; I did think Kevin screamed in his crib out of free-floating rage, and not because he needed feeding. I fiercely believed that when he poked fun at our waitress’s “poopy face” he knew it would hurt her feelings, and that he defaced the maps on my study walls out of calculated malice, not misguided creativity. I was still convinced that he systematically seduced Violetta into clawing a layer of skin from the better part of her body and that he continued to require diapers until he was six years old not because he was traumatized or confused or slow to develop, but because he was on a full-time war-footing with his mother. I thought he destroyed the toys and storybooks I painstakingly fashioned because they were worth more to him as emblems of his own up-yours ingratitude than as sentimental playthings, and I was sure that he learned to count and read in secret deliberately to deprive me of any sense of usefulness as a parent. My certainty that he was the one who flipped the quick release on the front wheel of Trent Corley’s bicycle was unwavering. I was under no illusions that the nest of bagworms had dropped into Celia’s backpack by itself or that she had climbed twenty feet up our white oak only to get stranded on an upper branch all by her lonesome; I believed it was no more her idea to stir together a lunch of petroleum jelly and Thai curry paste than it was to play “kidnapping” and “William Tell”. I was pretty damned sure that whatever Kevin whispered in the ear of let-us-call-her-Alice at that eighth-grade school dance, it wasn’t admiration of her dress; and however Liquid-Plumr got into Celia’s left eye, I was dead positive that her brother had something to do with it beyond his role as her noble savior. I regarded his jerking off at home with the door wide open as wanton sexual abuse –of his mother – and not the normal uncontrolled bubbling of adolescent hormones. Although I may have told Mary that Laura should suck it up, I found it entirely credible that our son had told her frail, underfed daughter that she was fat. It was no mystery to me how a hit list turned up in Miguel Espinoza’s locker, and though I took full responsibility for spreading one to my own company, I couldn’t see the hobby of collecting computer viruses as anything but disturbed and degenerate. I remained firmly of the view that Vicki Pagorski had been persecuted in a show trial of Kevin Khatchadourian’s personal contrivance.”
And there were other things. But the planning involved in shooting the kids at school was ingenious. He requested to be put on Prozac after the awful and entirely fabricated incident with the teacher. This way when he was put on trial, he could offer a defense that the Prozac was at fault, that he was one of the small percentages of people who turned into raving psychotics while on Prozac. He also decided to do this while he was still technically 15 so that he would receive a lighter sentence. And it worked, but it doesn’t make sense. He was tried as an adult but only sentenced 7 years. For killing his sister, father and 7 other people?? That doesn’t even remotely make sense. He served the first 2 years at a juvenile facility and upon turning 18 will be moved to Sing Sing.
I have read some Amazon reader reviews that call Kevin a bad seed and others who say this is overly simplistic. Those who think it’s simplistic blame Eva. They think that her distance and lack of love caused Kevin to withdraw from her and become a hateful little sociopath. I disagree – Kevin rejected her first. He wouldn’t take her breast, wouldn’t be held by her and screamed at the top of his lungs whenever she alone was to care for him. Also, how to explain his utter distain and contempt for his lovingly naive father? If anything, his father was the complete opposite of Eva – he spoiled the kid and made excuses for him and smothered him in Father Knows Best love. Maybe it was because his father’s love seemed like an act. The pursuit of the perfect father could come off as transparent, but regardless of the motive, the unfailing devotion remained.
Another thing I disagreed with was the critical bashing of the author’s use of a high vocabulary. Some readers said that they had to go for the dictionary every few pages – morons. I didn’t have to go for it once. Give me a break, just because she doesn’t write with Kevin’s 3-letter-word essay style is no reason to say the book is bad. Grow up and stop being so stupid.
Celia’s demise at Kevin’s hands was not surprising, what was surprising was that he waited so long. I guess turning her into a “one-eyed freak” wasn’t enough for him. I expected to read of a childhood filled with mysterious injuries and emotional torture. But mostly, Kevin left Celia alone. And leaving Eva alone was the worst thing he could think of to do to her. He killed her husband and her daughter leaving only the person she didn’t love left. In the end when he says he’s sorry and they seem to be moving into some semblance of a normal human relationship, I didn’t buy it. Kevin’s character of evil is too well formed even though Eva insists it’s work for him to keep up his hatred and disinterest in everything. She thinks that the episode when he was sick with fever is the real Kevin. He was a perfectly normal kid when he was sick for those two weeks, but for him it was not normal. It was opposite. When normal kids get sick, they turn into crabby monsters, when Kevin gets sick he turns into a normal kid. It wasn’t real even though Eva wanted it to be.
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LibraryThing member jayne_charles
This novel challenges the notion that only ignorant layabout chain-smoking drug-abusing parents raise delinquent kids. What if the mother of that delinquent is well-to-do, highly intelligent, articulate, successful in her career, and finds young children ‘brutally dull’?
I wish I hadn’t waited
Many questions are raised - a book group could be kept talking for a month. Crucial is the question of parental guilt. How much is a parent to blame if their child turns out a criminal? Uncomfortable reading, particularly if you find some of the anecdotes a bit close to home (and I did). Definitely one that will live with me long after I put it down.
I wish I hadn’t waited
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so long to read this excellent book. It has blown completely out of the water my theory that books with characters’ names in the title are either written for children or simply naff. I was mesmerised from start to finish, astounded by its jaw dropping intelligence and gripped by the suspense.Many questions are raised - a book group could be kept talking for a month. Crucial is the question of parental guilt. How much is a parent to blame if their child turns out a criminal? Uncomfortable reading, particularly if you find some of the anecdotes a bit close to home (and I did). Definitely one that will live with me long after I put it down.
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LibraryThing member sweetiegherkin
We Need to Talk about Kevin is a book told entirely in letters from Eva to her estranged husband Franklin, detailing their son's life from their decision to have a child up until his current imprisonment for murdering nine people in a school shooting. Despite all the buzz, I had no interest or
I very much appreciate that this book took a different perspective on the school shooting tragedy and one we don't hear of often - that of the parent of the perpetrator. Indeed, after a massacre if we hear anything of the parent(s) it's either that they have been murdered also or that they are being blamed as though they themselves have committed the crime. In this book, we see how such an event haunts not just the victims' families but the perpetrator's as well. Eva is riddled with guilt and lives her life in such a state of penitence that I find it difficult to believe that some readers walked away with absolutely no sympathy for her.
However, the bulk of the book is not about the tragic event at the high school itself but about all the little events that built up to that moment. Eva begins with her happy marriage to Franklin and their debate on whether or not to have a child. These early chapters where they reason out the pros and cons, followed up by Eva ultimately becoming pregnant and staying home with baby/toddler Kevin, are a social commentary of a completely different kind. I very much felt that this section was a criticism of the current culture of "mommy wars" and stereotypical gender roles. Some of the decisions to have a child seemed to fall under the category of "it's the next logical thing to do" and a feeling that not having children was unnatural and selfish, two harmful thoughts that seem to pervade our society. Personally I found it maddeningly frustrating that Franklin seemed more invested in having a child than Eva did, but he was not the one who had to make the life-altering sacrifices she did. The critiques here of parenthood - and the differences it means for mothers versus fathers - provide plenty of fodder for discussion.
After having the baby, Eva immediately notices something off about Kevin (while Franklin remained clueless - arguably, willful so - until the bitter end) as her baby does not seem to bond to her. As he grows up, little events mark Kevin as apart from his peers, perhaps dangerously so. Of course, Eva is recalling these events with hindsight now, so her memories may be tainted. Nevertheless, such a detailed chronicling allows for lots of food for thought on whether a person is born a sociopath or becomes one. When Kevin grows into a teenager, his actions become even more volatile and serious, up to the point where he meticulously plans to murder his peers. I very much appreciate that Shriver used the flashbacks to build up to this moment as it was apparent then that the graphic violence was not meant to be gratuitous but a culmination of the person we have been watching grow. Still, it was a heartbreaking scene and one not for the faint of heart. I had become so invested in the book that I actually had to remind myself that this wasn't a *real* school shooting being recounted.
Speaking of investment, I found this book - as I mentioned earlier - absolutely riveting. I had downloaded the audio version (which had an excellent narrator) from my library; usually I only listen to audio books while doing mindless household chores like dishes or laundry. In this case, I became so absorbed by the book that I would realize I had sat down for an hour doing nothing but listening to it - a first for me and audiobooks. The book club meeting for this novel also had great discussions going about some of the themes/topics I mentioned above. All in all, I very much recommend this book so long as you don't mind delving into heavy subjects.
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intention in reading this book until it came up as a selection for my book club. Now that I've read it, I'm glad I didn't miss out on it, as the book is a powerful, well-written, and riveting read. I very much appreciate that this book took a different perspective on the school shooting tragedy and one we don't hear of often - that of the parent of the perpetrator. Indeed, after a massacre if we hear anything of the parent(s) it's either that they have been murdered also or that they are being blamed as though they themselves have committed the crime. In this book, we see how such an event haunts not just the victims' families but the perpetrator's as well. Eva is riddled with guilt and lives her life in such a state of penitence that I find it difficult to believe that some readers walked away with absolutely no sympathy for her.
However, the bulk of the book is not about the tragic event at the high school itself but about all the little events that built up to that moment. Eva begins with her happy marriage to Franklin and their debate on whether or not to have a child. These early chapters where they reason out the pros and cons, followed up by Eva ultimately becoming pregnant and staying home with baby/toddler Kevin, are a social commentary of a completely different kind. I very much felt that this section was a criticism of the current culture of "mommy wars" and stereotypical gender roles. Some of the decisions to have a child seemed to fall under the category of "it's the next logical thing to do" and a feeling that not having children was unnatural and selfish, two harmful thoughts that seem to pervade our society. Personally I found it maddeningly frustrating that Franklin seemed more invested in having a child than Eva did, but he was not the one who had to make the life-altering sacrifices she did. The critiques here of parenthood - and the differences it means for mothers versus fathers - provide plenty of fodder for discussion.
After having the baby, Eva immediately notices something off about Kevin (while Franklin remained clueless - arguably, willful so - until the bitter end) as her baby does not seem to bond to her. As he grows up, little events mark Kevin as apart from his peers, perhaps dangerously so. Of course, Eva is recalling these events with hindsight now, so her memories may be tainted. Nevertheless, such a detailed chronicling allows for lots of food for thought on whether a person is born a sociopath or becomes one. When Kevin grows into a teenager, his actions become even more volatile and serious, up to the point where he meticulously plans to murder his peers. I very much appreciate that Shriver used the flashbacks to build up to this moment as it was apparent then that the graphic violence was not meant to be gratuitous but a culmination of the person we have been watching grow. Still, it was a heartbreaking scene and one not for the faint of heart. I had become so invested in the book that I actually had to remind myself that this wasn't a *real* school shooting being recounted.
Speaking of investment, I found this book - as I mentioned earlier - absolutely riveting. I had downloaded the audio version (which had an excellent narrator) from my library; usually I only listen to audio books while doing mindless household chores like dishes or laundry. In this case, I became so absorbed by the book that I would realize I had sat down for an hour doing nothing but listening to it - a first for me and audiobooks. The book club meeting for this novel also had great discussions going about some of the themes/topics I mentioned above. All in all, I very much recommend this book so long as you don't mind delving into heavy subjects.
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LibraryThing member mrstreme
When I started We Need To Talk About Kevin, I did so with hesitation. Several readers commented how it was depressing, the characters were unlikable and the subject was uncomfortable. Admittedly, that’s exactly how I would summarize this book. I couldn’t wait for it to end. It was like
It’s the story of Eva, written as letters to her estranged husband about their son, Kevin, who killed students and teachers at his high school. Eva is self-loathing, egocentric and probably not the best candidate to be a mother. Through Eva’s descriptions, we learn that her husband was overly optimistic, turning the other cheek at Kevin’s flaws. And Kevin is portrayed as angry and troubled. I am not sure if he had a happy moment in the book.
Like any parent, Eva dissected every moment of her child’s life to determine what went wrong. How did she make Kevin into this murderer? She chronicled her hesitancy to have children, her failures to breastfeed and her unattachment to her son. We learned a lot about her mistakes but little about any successes. Perhaps there were none to write about.
(As a side note, this book made me contemplate how our society scrutinizes parents so heavily when their child murders, but if a 25-year-old man committed the same act, the parents rarely come into question. Moreover, parents always scrutinize themselves, no matter the age of our children.)
We Need To Talk About Kevin didn’t move me like it did other readers. I preferred Jodi Picoult’s treatment of this subject in Nineteen Minutes. It was better rounded, giving you an overall view of the players involved in a school shooting. While I didn’t like the story, I did find Lionel Shriver’s writing to be superb and would read another book by her. We Need To Talk About Kevin just wasn’t my cup of tea.
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approaching a car accident, rubbernecking to see what happened and then hurriedly speeding up to get past it.It’s the story of Eva, written as letters to her estranged husband about their son, Kevin, who killed students and teachers at his high school. Eva is self-loathing, egocentric and probably not the best candidate to be a mother. Through Eva’s descriptions, we learn that her husband was overly optimistic, turning the other cheek at Kevin’s flaws. And Kevin is portrayed as angry and troubled. I am not sure if he had a happy moment in the book.
Like any parent, Eva dissected every moment of her child’s life to determine what went wrong. How did she make Kevin into this murderer? She chronicled her hesitancy to have children, her failures to breastfeed and her unattachment to her son. We learned a lot about her mistakes but little about any successes. Perhaps there were none to write about.
(As a side note, this book made me contemplate how our society scrutinizes parents so heavily when their child murders, but if a 25-year-old man committed the same act, the parents rarely come into question. Moreover, parents always scrutinize themselves, no matter the age of our children.)
We Need To Talk About Kevin didn’t move me like it did other readers. I preferred Jodi Picoult’s treatment of this subject in Nineteen Minutes. It was better rounded, giving you an overall view of the players involved in a school shooting. While I didn’t like the story, I did find Lionel Shriver’s writing to be superb and would read another book by her. We Need To Talk About Kevin just wasn’t my cup of tea.
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LibraryThing member salgalruns
O.M.G. - just finished this book and it's honestly far too late for me to even be awake and writing this, but I wanted to while the story is fresh in my mind. This book was one of the most emotionally difficult books I've read in a long time. The story is told through the eyes of Eva, whose son
Kevin's demeanor is creepy, to say the least. He is not a nice infant/child/tween/teenager. He is malicious, evil, and highly defiant. Above all else, he is terrifyingly brilliant and manipulative beyond measure. I cringed when Eva so obviously noticed what was wrong, and her husband, Franklin, excused it all. Don't even get me started on what I REALLY think about the husband (jerk...jerk...jerk).
In all my workings with children, all of my psych background, and even my penchant for reading and watching the insane, this story will stay with me long after I read it. I know that the movie is either out or will be out soon, and I have heard the acting is EXCELLENT, but I don't know if I want to see it yet. The evilness of this child stays with you - you almost don't want to give him the satisfaction of watching him again.
The author does an amazing job of pointing out such a hot topic in today's world - that of school violence. As a school principal, I am constanty on alert for signs of bullying, aggression, or threatening behavior, and it has only intensified over the past 15 years. Shriver points out through the characters things to consider - what continues to fuel the aggression? Media hype? Accessibility to weapons? Poor parenting? It would make for a great discussion topic, but one that unfortunately, has no good answers.
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Kevin is convicted of murdering his high school classmates. Through letters to her husband, she retells her life with Kevin, and incorporates the unbelievable - that she really doesn't like her own child.Kevin's demeanor is creepy, to say the least. He is not a nice infant/child/tween/teenager. He is malicious, evil, and highly defiant. Above all else, he is terrifyingly brilliant and manipulative beyond measure. I cringed when Eva so obviously noticed what was wrong, and her husband, Franklin, excused it all. Don't even get me started on what I REALLY think about the husband (jerk...jerk...jerk).
In all my workings with children, all of my psych background, and even my penchant for reading and watching the insane, this story will stay with me long after I read it. I know that the movie is either out or will be out soon, and I have heard the acting is EXCELLENT, but I don't know if I want to see it yet. The evilness of this child stays with you - you almost don't want to give him the satisfaction of watching him again.
The author does an amazing job of pointing out such a hot topic in today's world - that of school violence. As a school principal, I am constanty on alert for signs of bullying, aggression, or threatening behavior, and it has only intensified over the past 15 years. Shriver points out through the characters things to consider - what continues to fuel the aggression? Media hype? Accessibility to weapons? Poor parenting? It would make for a great discussion topic, but one that unfortunately, has no good answers.
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LibraryThing member beabatllori
Done. Now I need to go hug a puppy.
LibraryThing member -Eva-
It's an intriguing idea to tell of a school killing from the perpetrator's mother's point of view, and I was especially pleased with finding out that I was not supposed to feel any empathy with any of the characters. It would have been easy to make it into a smarmy poor-misunderstood-us story, but
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Shriver fortunately refrained from that. Interesting as the idea is, it is unfortunately not a very interesting read. I have a hard time believing in Eva and Franklin as a couple. Why would a worldly, clever, successful woman who never wanted to have children suddenly want to become pregnant and why would she then stay with a husband who constantly tells her that she is hysterical, evil, deluded, and crazy - to the point where he allows his child to come to serious harm in order not to lose face. Unless she was a cowering, abused woman (which she definitely isn't), at some point she would act instead of just bumble along. However, it is quite an achievement of Shriver's, although I'm not sure it's intentional, that Kevin turned out to be the most appealing of the characters - he's certainly creative and also quite funny. I can only assume I'm not meant to be sympathizing with the sociopath. Although it was an OK read, I'm not recommending this one. Show Less
LibraryThing member titania86
Eva Khatchadourian's life has completely changed since the incident involving her son Kevin at his school. She used to be a successful travel writer and now she took any job that would have her (in this case a clerk in a travel agency). She used to have a family in a large luxurious house, but now
Last year, I watched the film We Need to Talk About Kevin and I had to read the book it was based on because the story is so compelling. The novel is set up in a series of letters from Eva to her husband Franklin. The narrative follows Eva's life from her marriage to Franklin to the present while interspersing events in the present among those of the past. Eva goes on a lot of tangents and is fairly long winded, but she details her feelings and experiences beautifully. I enjoyed getting into her head and seeing her thought processes first hand. Her decision to have children was primarily based on wanting to change their routine and she felt it was the next logical step in life. Motherhood doesn't suit her well when Kevin proves to be a horribly loud, fussy baby, an unpleasant child, and a murderous teen. She resented that her body and her life were no longer her own before he was born and didn't feel that special bond to her newborn that so many people talk about. Society views women as maternal and doesn't take into account women not wanting or liking motherhood. I'm sure Eva is not the first mother nor the last to feel this way, but these women are demonized or simply not acknowledged. Failing to meet Franklin's view of an ideal mother ends up exacerbating all of Eva's problems.
A lack of communication permeates Eva's life. After a while of trying to voice opinions about Kevin, Eva simply stays silent. This is largely due to her husband, Franklin, who has this idealized version of a family that he wants his family to fit in. He loves the good old days and longs for a Leave it to Beaver type nuclear family with a subservient and perfect wife and an enthusiastic, perfect son. Obviously, his family doesn't match that, so his solution is to explain away every problem with Kevin, usually referencing that boys will be boys or that Eva is making things up, and undermine Eva at every turn. When more serious things start to happen, tensions increase as Eva sees through Kevin's act and Franklin continues to wallow in denial. When the situation gets so extreme that she can no longer stay silent, Franklin completely rejects her and wants a divorce. Eva doesn't talk to Kevin because of his incredibly abrasive and manipulative personality and the way he mocks everything she cares about. After that Thursday, her only form of real communication is her letters to Franklin, which is futile since he's dead. These letters are the honest and uncensored outpouring of her feelings and thoughts that no one in her life will end up reading.
Kevin is a frustrating character because he can manipulate almost everyone in his life incredibly well. Although he seems to hate Eva, he has a special bond with her. He only shows his true self to her and puts up a fake front for everyone else. Eva never blames how he is on nature or nurture, but it's undeniable that even from a young age, something was wrong. The one time he shows his true colors was on the day he killed his schoolmates in the act itself and how he exploded at his dad, letting him know just how fake and empty their relationship is. By the end of the novel, Kevin sheds his shell of fakery and shows his fear at moving to an adult jail, his positive feelings about her visits, and his confusion over his murderous actions. Eva visits him every week whether or not he acts like he wants it and they are the only constants in each other's lives. At the end of the novel, they make a real connection and no longer lie to each other. For better or worse, they only have each other.
We Need to Talk About Kevin is an intense and emotional novel. Although many would condemn her as a bad mother or a monster, Eva is merely human. She makes mistakes, but always tried to do what she thought was right. Lionel Shriver portrays Eva in a sympathetic light as someone doing the best they can in an adverse situation. She may not have done everything perfectly, but she isn't responsible for Kevin's actions. The novel provides much more insight to her character than the film, but both works are highly recommended.
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lives alone in a small squalid house. The people of her town are largely hostile towards her, splashing her house with red paint and shunning her. Kevin nears eighteen and she regularly visits him in jail despite not having much to talk about. Eva reflects upon her strained relationship with Kevin and recounts her dreary present through detailed letters to her estranged husband Franklin.Last year, I watched the film We Need to Talk About Kevin and I had to read the book it was based on because the story is so compelling. The novel is set up in a series of letters from Eva to her husband Franklin. The narrative follows Eva's life from her marriage to Franklin to the present while interspersing events in the present among those of the past. Eva goes on a lot of tangents and is fairly long winded, but she details her feelings and experiences beautifully. I enjoyed getting into her head and seeing her thought processes first hand. Her decision to have children was primarily based on wanting to change their routine and she felt it was the next logical step in life. Motherhood doesn't suit her well when Kevin proves to be a horribly loud, fussy baby, an unpleasant child, and a murderous teen. She resented that her body and her life were no longer her own before he was born and didn't feel that special bond to her newborn that so many people talk about. Society views women as maternal and doesn't take into account women not wanting or liking motherhood. I'm sure Eva is not the first mother nor the last to feel this way, but these women are demonized or simply not acknowledged. Failing to meet Franklin's view of an ideal mother ends up exacerbating all of Eva's problems.
A lack of communication permeates Eva's life. After a while of trying to voice opinions about Kevin, Eva simply stays silent. This is largely due to her husband, Franklin, who has this idealized version of a family that he wants his family to fit in. He loves the good old days and longs for a Leave it to Beaver type nuclear family with a subservient and perfect wife and an enthusiastic, perfect son. Obviously, his family doesn't match that, so his solution is to explain away every problem with Kevin, usually referencing that boys will be boys or that Eva is making things up, and undermine Eva at every turn. When more serious things start to happen, tensions increase as Eva sees through Kevin's act and Franklin continues to wallow in denial. When the situation gets so extreme that she can no longer stay silent, Franklin completely rejects her and wants a divorce. Eva doesn't talk to Kevin because of his incredibly abrasive and manipulative personality and the way he mocks everything she cares about. After that Thursday, her only form of real communication is her letters to Franklin, which is futile since he's dead. These letters are the honest and uncensored outpouring of her feelings and thoughts that no one in her life will end up reading.
Kevin is a frustrating character because he can manipulate almost everyone in his life incredibly well. Although he seems to hate Eva, he has a special bond with her. He only shows his true self to her and puts up a fake front for everyone else. Eva never blames how he is on nature or nurture, but it's undeniable that even from a young age, something was wrong. The one time he shows his true colors was on the day he killed his schoolmates in the act itself and how he exploded at his dad, letting him know just how fake and empty their relationship is. By the end of the novel, Kevin sheds his shell of fakery and shows his fear at moving to an adult jail, his positive feelings about her visits, and his confusion over his murderous actions. Eva visits him every week whether or not he acts like he wants it and they are the only constants in each other's lives. At the end of the novel, they make a real connection and no longer lie to each other. For better or worse, they only have each other.
We Need to Talk About Kevin is an intense and emotional novel. Although many would condemn her as a bad mother or a monster, Eva is merely human. She makes mistakes, but always tried to do what she thought was right. Lionel Shriver portrays Eva in a sympathetic light as someone doing the best they can in an adverse situation. She may not have done everything perfectly, but she isn't responsible for Kevin's actions. The novel provides much more insight to her character than the film, but both works are highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member porchsitter55
This is the stunning novel of a woman, married to the love of her life, unsure of her desire or need to bring a child into their union but encouraged by her husband....and how their first born son brought discord into her life from his very first day.
Eva, who writes letters to her husband
Once baby Kevin arrived, from the moment he refused her breast for sustenance, and seemed to turn away from her in disgust....there began the lifelong wedge between Eva and her son. As the boy grows, his psychopathology slowly develops and Eva begins to realize that this child truly seems to hate her, yet seems to bond closely to his father. Kevin acts out in vicious and hurtful ways, causing Eva to implore her husband to recognize these frightening events, and their need for intervention of some sort. Franklin, the father, only sees his son as just going through phases, and that Eva is only exaggerating.
Eva decides to have another baby, mostly out of curiosity, just to see if a second child would also "hate" her. A little girl is born, a complete opposite of Kevin, and very close to Eva, a very needy personality.
As time goes on, things get worse with Kevin....all spiraling toward the climatic event of the book, and it's absolutely horrific ending.
This is a disturbing story, extremely well written and it will draw you in like driving past an auto accident. You don't want to look, but you have to. You will be turning pages and won't want to put this one down.
Eva, who writes letters to her husband
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throughout this book, was never truly "in love" with the idea of having children. She was more or less talked into it by her enthusiastic husband. Once she acquiesced and did become pregnant, she had high hopes for a "complete" family that her husband seemed to want so badly.Once baby Kevin arrived, from the moment he refused her breast for sustenance, and seemed to turn away from her in disgust....there began the lifelong wedge between Eva and her son. As the boy grows, his psychopathology slowly develops and Eva begins to realize that this child truly seems to hate her, yet seems to bond closely to his father. Kevin acts out in vicious and hurtful ways, causing Eva to implore her husband to recognize these frightening events, and their need for intervention of some sort. Franklin, the father, only sees his son as just going through phases, and that Eva is only exaggerating.
Eva decides to have another baby, mostly out of curiosity, just to see if a second child would also "hate" her. A little girl is born, a complete opposite of Kevin, and very close to Eva, a very needy personality.
As time goes on, things get worse with Kevin....all spiraling toward the climatic event of the book, and it's absolutely horrific ending.
This is a disturbing story, extremely well written and it will draw you in like driving past an auto accident. You don't want to look, but you have to. You will be turning pages and won't want to put this one down.
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LibraryThing member Nandakishore_Varma
I am a little apprehensive as to how I should begin this review: there are so many things to talk about.
First of all, I consider this to be truly a great work of literature, not simply "fiction". As a great writer of my native language said: "The real story is on the unwritten pages"; that is, it
It is not a fast read: even though Lionel Shriver writes beautiful prose, she writes about ugly things. Reading it is almost like self-torture under hypnotism; you don't want to do it, but once you are into it, there's no way to stop.
The story is told in epistolary form, through the letters Eva Khatchadourian writes to her absent husband Franklin Plaskett. Eva is the mother of the infamous Kevin Khatchadourian, the architecht of the Gladstone High School massacre. Eva's letters are divided into two parts. One talks of the current time, her travails as the universally shunned mother of the infamous teen: the bereaved parents of Kevin's late classmates have slapped a civil suit on her, which she is fighting in her typically disinterested manner, and visiting her son regularly in the correctional facility where he is incarcerated. The other part of the letters traces Kevin from his conception up to the fateful Thursday.
As the story unfolds, we get a picture of Eva and Franklin. She, spirited, independent, liberal, proud of her Armenian heritage and a little contemptuous of her adoptive country: he, more conventional and boringly American. Eva as the propreitor of the highly successful travel guidebook franchise A Wing and A Prayer never wanted a child. But she succumbs to Franklin's entreaties and conceives Kevin. And from the moment he sets foot on earth, Eva's life becomes a horror story.
Kevin, through Eva's eyes, is portrayed as so evil that we shudder; as he grows up, his evil nature also expands. To Eva's frustration, Franklin remains oblivious to his son's true nature, trying to recreate some fictitious "American Dream" in his backyard. Eva and Kevin face off many times during the sixteen years leading to the apotheosis of his career on that Thursday afternoon, with Eva always the loser.
Kevin is an odd child from the start. He shuns breast milk, does not talk (even though he has learnt how to) until he is three years old, and refuses to be toilet trained. He is apathetic to everything, seeming alive only when he manages to goad Eva into a rage. With Franklin, he plays the part of the All-American Child, but mockingly, as Eva suspects.
Kevin's crimes are inferred rather than seen: apart from one incident during childhood when he sprays red ink all over Eva's darling maps tacked to the walls of her study, his mother does not see a single instance of his misbehaviour (if we leave aside that masturbation scene with an open bathroom door). But she is oddly sure that in almost all of the "incidents" he has been in (and they are many, including one in which his sister is maimed for life), he is implicated: but she is also convinced that her son is so clever as to hide his true nature from all except a perceptive few.
So the novel slowly moves towards its destructive climax, picking up speed, and when it occurs, it is much more than we expect. It is a one-way ride into darkness.
Lionel Shriver says in the afterword that people who read the novel fall into two camps: those who see Kevin as truly evil and Eva as victimised, and those who see him as a victim of circumstances, mainly an indifferent mother. It is easy to see why. Ms.Shriver has managed to frame the narrative from the POV of Eva Khatchadourian in such a way that the whole veracity of the tale depends on whether we trust her or not. The reader is forced to make a judgement of character and stick by it. In short, how we see Eva and Kevin will depend a lot on who we are.
For such a dark novel, more frightening than any horror story, the novel ends on such a sweetly sentimental note that there was suddenly a lump in my throat. Suddenly I remembered that for all his monstrous faults, Kevin is still only a child.
This book will stay with you for a long time after you walk away from it. More importantly, it will set you thinking, if you are a parent... which is not a bad thing.
For you see, as parents, we do need to talk about Kevin. We have been silent too long.
First of all, I consider this to be truly a great work of literature, not simply "fiction". As a great writer of my native language said: "The real story is on the unwritten pages"; that is, it
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is the gaps, the pauses and the undercurrents between the characters (which the reader is forced to complete or imagine) which is the mark of great literature. This is one hundred percent correct as far as We Need To Talk About Kevin is concerned. The novel makes us think, long after we finish it.It is not a fast read: even though Lionel Shriver writes beautiful prose, she writes about ugly things. Reading it is almost like self-torture under hypnotism; you don't want to do it, but once you are into it, there's no way to stop.
The story is told in epistolary form, through the letters Eva Khatchadourian writes to her absent husband Franklin Plaskett. Eva is the mother of the infamous Kevin Khatchadourian, the architecht of the Gladstone High School massacre. Eva's letters are divided into two parts. One talks of the current time, her travails as the universally shunned mother of the infamous teen: the bereaved parents of Kevin's late classmates have slapped a civil suit on her, which she is fighting in her typically disinterested manner, and visiting her son regularly in the correctional facility where he is incarcerated. The other part of the letters traces Kevin from his conception up to the fateful Thursday.
As the story unfolds, we get a picture of Eva and Franklin. She, spirited, independent, liberal, proud of her Armenian heritage and a little contemptuous of her adoptive country: he, more conventional and boringly American. Eva as the propreitor of the highly successful travel guidebook franchise A Wing and A Prayer never wanted a child. But she succumbs to Franklin's entreaties and conceives Kevin. And from the moment he sets foot on earth, Eva's life becomes a horror story.
Kevin, through Eva's eyes, is portrayed as so evil that we shudder; as he grows up, his evil nature also expands. To Eva's frustration, Franklin remains oblivious to his son's true nature, trying to recreate some fictitious "American Dream" in his backyard. Eva and Kevin face off many times during the sixteen years leading to the apotheosis of his career on that Thursday afternoon, with Eva always the loser.
Kevin is an odd child from the start. He shuns breast milk, does not talk (even though he has learnt how to) until he is three years old, and refuses to be toilet trained. He is apathetic to everything, seeming alive only when he manages to goad Eva into a rage. With Franklin, he plays the part of the All-American Child, but mockingly, as Eva suspects.
Kevin's crimes are inferred rather than seen: apart from one incident during childhood when he sprays red ink all over Eva's darling maps tacked to the walls of her study, his mother does not see a single instance of his misbehaviour (if we leave aside that masturbation scene with an open bathroom door). But she is oddly sure that in almost all of the "incidents" he has been in (and they are many, including one in which his sister is maimed for life), he is implicated: but she is also convinced that her son is so clever as to hide his true nature from all except a perceptive few.
So the novel slowly moves towards its destructive climax, picking up speed, and when it occurs, it is much more than we expect. It is a one-way ride into darkness.
Lionel Shriver says in the afterword that people who read the novel fall into two camps: those who see Kevin as truly evil and Eva as victimised, and those who see him as a victim of circumstances, mainly an indifferent mother. It is easy to see why. Ms.Shriver has managed to frame the narrative from the POV of Eva Khatchadourian in such a way that the whole veracity of the tale depends on whether we trust her or not. The reader is forced to make a judgement of character and stick by it. In short, how we see Eva and Kevin will depend a lot on who we are.
For such a dark novel, more frightening than any horror story, the novel ends on such a sweetly sentimental note that there was suddenly a lump in my throat. Suddenly I remembered that for all his monstrous faults, Kevin is still only a child.
This book will stay with you for a long time after you walk away from it. More importantly, it will set you thinking, if you are a parent... which is not a bad thing.
For you see, as parents, we do need to talk about Kevin. We have been silent too long.
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LibraryThing member busyreadin
Not sure what I thought about this book. I dint like the way it was written, and the vocabulary seemed purposely exaggerated.
There was not a single character I liked. I could somewhat understand Eva's misgivings and dissatisfaction with motherhood. I don't understand how Franklin could be so
There was not a single character I liked. I could somewhat understand Eva's misgivings and dissatisfaction with motherhood. I don't understand how Franklin could be so
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utterly naive or clueless. Kevin will remain a mystery! Show Less
LibraryThing member kraaivrouw
This is one of the best books I have read all year & may be in my top 20 of all time. This is a dense, meaty read full of complex ideas & painful moments leavened by its utter believability & unexpected touches of wry wit & sardonic humor.
Eva, the mother of a school shooter, is writing to her
The relationships & people in this book are believable. The pace is inexorable & grinds the reader into pulp along with the characters. It's form absolutely fits its function & where it could easily have been clunky is instead engrossing & fluid. It is powerful, beautifully written, & utterly intelligent. This is an absolute must-read.
Eva, the mother of a school shooter, is writing to her
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ex-husband about their son. It is apparent from the very beginning of the letters that something was wrong with Kevin, although his father refused to see it. Ms. Shriver dares to write about all the ways that pregnancy is deprivation & physical misery. She explores the equally taboo notion that bearing a child doesn't mean you automatically love said child & the fact that some children are born with various parts of themselves broken.The relationships & people in this book are believable. The pace is inexorable & grinds the reader into pulp along with the characters. It's form absolutely fits its function & where it could easily have been clunky is instead engrossing & fluid. It is powerful, beautifully written, & utterly intelligent. This is an absolute must-read.
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LibraryThing member detailmuse
This is the fictional biography of a family whose teen son carries out a school shooting, written as a series of letters from his mother to the husband she’s now separated from. It’s a perfect storm of nature (a boy who’s a seeming sociopath from birth) and nurture (an incongruent mother; a
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permissive father in denial) combining to create a nightmare. Fascinating, disturbing, outstanding. Show Less
LibraryThing member book_reader
Interesting is an adjective that will not do justice to Lionel Shriver’s We need to talk about Kevin. Adjectives like thought-provoking, disturbing come close.
This book is a set of letters written by Eva Khatchadourian to her estranged husband Franklin. Through these letters she narrates the
The book covers Eva’s courtship days with Franklin, their her post-marriage days, her decision to become a mother, Kevin’s birth and the strange relationship Eva has with her son. Eva finds her son cold towards her and that is an understatement. At times, one gets a feeling as if the mother and the son are on a war with each other.
Those odd incidents which Eva narrates makes one wonder whether to believe her. I only get to read Eva’s side of the story and I often wondered how credible they were. I wish I could elaborate more on those incidents, but then I will have to attach a spoiler label. The characters are completely believable, mind you, it is only these incidents that makes you wonder if Eva is truthful. Kevin and Eva live out their part with all colors. Franklin expresses certain shades, but is not completely developed.
For most part of the book, Eva evoked sympathy and compassion in me. There were times when I hated her, even thought that she was insane. (I don’t want to tread into dangerous water here, but I mentioned to my male friend that this book could be difficult to understand for the male species and he didn’t take it well, so I will refrain from saying anything.) When it comes to Kevin, I am torn between loathing and pity. Certain encounters between Kevin and Eva leave you wondering what their relationship actually is.
The language is anything but simple. I struggled in the initial few pages, but once my mind settled down to taking in new words and complicated sentences, the reading went more smoothly. It becomes difficult to distinguish between Eva, the protagonist, and Lionel, the author of the book. Eva is well read, intelligent, well-traveled and doesn’t hesitate to show her special talents. One tends to think whether the author is showing off her extra-ordinary vocabulary skills through Eva. Of course, authors sketch their characters based on people they meet, so no harm if you use some dimension of your own personality to give your character more depth.
The book moves fast. The interlude of the present situations with Eva’s past works really well. The author shows tremendous control over the mixture of past and present. There is no one sentence in the book which is extraneous. Every sentence, every word does justice (and my paperback version is all of 468 pages).
So, does this book work? Yes, it does, even though the author uses the unconventional method of letters to narrate her story, it works. It probably wouldn’t have worked without these letters. At the end of it, the book leaves a lot for the reader’s guess. This book is not black and white, but a beautiful grey, which the readers can interpret in any way they want. This worked for me.
If you are going to pick this up to know why kids take up a gun and go bang-bang, then please keep the book back. The book is not about that incident. It uses the incident to set a plot, but the book is much more generic. If you expect an answer for the question, you will be disappointed.
The best part about this book is that it does not try to answer the question. This book touched me and more importantly, it made me think.
I would strongly recommend this book to anyone. Even if this book is not your kind, pick it up, you might take something from it.
This book is a set of letters written by Eva Khatchadourian to her estranged husband Franklin. Through these letters she narrates the
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harrowing incident of her son, Kevin, going on a killing spree in his school which results in seven death and two injuries. The book is in Eva’s voice, first person narration and the story seems one-sided at times and it surely is, it is after all just Eva’s version of the story that you get to hear.The book covers Eva’s courtship days with Franklin, their her post-marriage days, her decision to become a mother, Kevin’s birth and the strange relationship Eva has with her son. Eva finds her son cold towards her and that is an understatement. At times, one gets a feeling as if the mother and the son are on a war with each other.
Those odd incidents which Eva narrates makes one wonder whether to believe her. I only get to read Eva’s side of the story and I often wondered how credible they were. I wish I could elaborate more on those incidents, but then I will have to attach a spoiler label. The characters are completely believable, mind you, it is only these incidents that makes you wonder if Eva is truthful. Kevin and Eva live out their part with all colors. Franklin expresses certain shades, but is not completely developed.
For most part of the book, Eva evoked sympathy and compassion in me. There were times when I hated her, even thought that she was insane. (I don’t want to tread into dangerous water here, but I mentioned to my male friend that this book could be difficult to understand for the male species and he didn’t take it well, so I will refrain from saying anything.) When it comes to Kevin, I am torn between loathing and pity. Certain encounters between Kevin and Eva leave you wondering what their relationship actually is.
The language is anything but simple. I struggled in the initial few pages, but once my mind settled down to taking in new words and complicated sentences, the reading went more smoothly. It becomes difficult to distinguish between Eva, the protagonist, and Lionel, the author of the book. Eva is well read, intelligent, well-traveled and doesn’t hesitate to show her special talents. One tends to think whether the author is showing off her extra-ordinary vocabulary skills through Eva. Of course, authors sketch their characters based on people they meet, so no harm if you use some dimension of your own personality to give your character more depth.
The book moves fast. The interlude of the present situations with Eva’s past works really well. The author shows tremendous control over the mixture of past and present. There is no one sentence in the book which is extraneous. Every sentence, every word does justice (and my paperback version is all of 468 pages).
So, does this book work? Yes, it does, even though the author uses the unconventional method of letters to narrate her story, it works. It probably wouldn’t have worked without these letters. At the end of it, the book leaves a lot for the reader’s guess. This book is not black and white, but a beautiful grey, which the readers can interpret in any way they want. This worked for me.
If you are going to pick this up to know why kids take up a gun and go bang-bang, then please keep the book back. The book is not about that incident. It uses the incident to set a plot, but the book is much more generic. If you expect an answer for the question, you will be disappointed.
The best part about this book is that it does not try to answer the question. This book touched me and more importantly, it made me think.
I would strongly recommend this book to anyone. Even if this book is not your kind, pick it up, you might take something from it.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Differenti
Eva, a woman from New York with Armenian roots, writes letters to her ex-husband Franklin, about their love life, about how they grow apart from each other, and most of all about their son Kevin who murdered nine people in his school on a Thursday afternoon. She tries to reconstruct where
A book that rips your soul apart. That forces you to stop for a while and take a look at ourself. As Eva is telling us her side of the story, including every tiny and seemingly irrelevant detail of her pregnancy, Kevin's birth, her fights with her husband, it is impossible not to start judging her behaviour. Was she really a bad mother? How would we react in her situation? Does she try to influence us by giving only her side of the story? Does she or does she not love her son? Should she even love him? What could have saved her son from destruction? It is quite possible the answer to that last question is the only sentence which was never spoken out loud in their marriage, "we need to talk about Kevin".
If I am obliged to point out a downside: the dialogues are not seldom unrealistic. That could be the product of a poor translation, I'm not sure. Also, a large part of Kevin's childhood, roughly from age 6 to 14, feels 'skipped', even though it could be highly relevant for the development of his character. But still a must read, definitely if you enjoy being emotionally jolted.
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everything went wrong. Is it her fault, is she a bad mother? Could it even be avoided?A book that rips your soul apart. That forces you to stop for a while and take a look at ourself. As Eva is telling us her side of the story, including every tiny and seemingly irrelevant detail of her pregnancy, Kevin's birth, her fights with her husband, it is impossible not to start judging her behaviour. Was she really a bad mother? How would we react in her situation? Does she try to influence us by giving only her side of the story? Does she or does she not love her son? Should she even love him? What could have saved her son from destruction? It is quite possible the answer to that last question is the only sentence which was never spoken out loud in their marriage, "we need to talk about Kevin".
If I am obliged to point out a downside: the dialogues are not seldom unrealistic. That could be the product of a poor translation, I'm not sure. Also, a large part of Kevin's childhood, roughly from age 6 to 14, feels 'skipped', even though it could be highly relevant for the development of his character. But still a must read, definitely if you enjoy being emotionally jolted.
Show Less
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Language
Original language
English