We Need To Talk About Kevin

Now one of my favourite books! Compelling, powerful, considered.

St Just Monday Morning Reading Group 30h November 2020.

We need to talk about Kevin. Lionel Shriver.

Obviously this was a very disturbing book, so much so that not everyone in the group felt able to read/finish it, very understandably. Those who did, mostly commented on how shocking and also thought-provoking it was.

The main debate was whether Kevin's nature and actions stemmed from 'nature' or from 'nurture' – was he 'born evil', or did his problems result from his upbringing? Several readers were unable to decide which; others came down on the side of Nature; no one entirely blamed his parents. Eva was a 'cold and detached mother', whose reasons for having a baby in the first place were ambivalent. However, she later had Cecilia and proved (at least to herself) that she could love and raise a normal child. Franklin was an 'over indulgent father', who 'had the wool pulled over his eyes'. But these reasons on their own did not seem enough to produce the sociopath who Kevin evidently was.

The book's format, of letters from Eva to Franklin, was highly appreciated by one reader; another found it off-putting to start with but later thought it compelling; and two others found the letters tedious, one too much so to persist with the book. Eva's reflections on her motherhood and her problems resonated with several readers, who saw normality being depicted and then escalating into serious abnormality in a very high-tension way.

Almost everyone commented on the 'twist' at the end of the book, where it is revealed that Kevin murdered Cecilia and Franklin as well as the school victims, and that Eva has been writing to a dead husband all the way along. All were shocked; one reader thought it unlikely.

Further questions raised were: how could such a seriously disturbed child not get help? Why was his father not puzzled by him setting off for school with bows and arrows and chains and padlocks? How could the school not have noticed?

At the end of the book, both Eva and Kevin, some readers felt, mellowed or matured slightly, and became easier to sympathise with – some found the end quite moving, noting that 'Eva and Kevin finally recognise that they are similar in having a certain detachment from the American way of life and are not really interested in it', and that Eva finally admits that she loves Kevin.

A compelling book (for some), evoking 'a gambit of emotions reading it'. 'Very insightful into parenting', and 'I found myself hurrying back from my daily walk to read more'. 'A really good “dense” read'; 'It brought out a lot of the emotional and relationship issues that anyone might have, but in a more extreme way.' Hardly an enjoyable book, but one which provoked reactions, perhaps, and several readers said they were very glad they read it despite its horrific subject-matter.

This book was read during November 2020 and the continuing social distancing because of the Covid-19 virus, and so the discussion was not 'live' as usual, but took place via a Facebook group, email and telephone conversations.

Our group found this a dark and difficult read. The story takes a long time to unfold and was different from our original expectations.

A thought provoking novel that results in you questioning everything from the future of your potential children, the rights and wrongs that parents can commit and the tough subject of child killers - this was a book I couldn't stop speaking about. Brilliantly written with twists I never saw coming, this is a must read.

This book contains a real insight into how some ones actions cannot only affect them but the people they love and the people around them. It also gives you an insight into an on going problem that happens rarely happens, but when it does it leaves an everlasting mark on a town.

I found the book fascinating, if a bit terrifying. The suspense was ruined a little by the fact that I'd already seen the film though.

Very interesting book. Captures the relationship between mother and son. Kevin is fighting for his mothers's attention, and will do anything to get it.

This is the third time I started this book and the first time I managed to finish it.
It is not an easy read and requires concentration and a certain perseverance. None of the characters are entirely likeable.

The end came as a surprise to me and made me reevaluate the rest of the book.