We need to talk about Kevin, a novel by Lionel Shriver was written in 2003 and won the 2005 Orange Prize (a UK-based prize for female authors of any nationality writing in English.) We Need To Talk About Kevin has been made into a film which was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2011. It tells the fictional story of Kevin Katchadourian who killed seven of his fellow high-school students, a cafeteria worker and a teacher. His mother, Eva, narrates the story in a series of letters to her estranged husband Franklin. As a successful career woman, Eva had been reluctant to forgo her independence and the life she shared with Franklin to become a mother. When Kevin was born, she experienced extreme alienation and disliked him as he grew up to become a cruel and spiteful boy. After Kevin committed the murders, Eva fears that she may be to blame for what her son has become.
Discussion books for November: Kate Grenville's 'Colonial Trilogy': Secret River; The Lieutenant and Sarah Thornhill.
this book is harrowing, disturbing but very interesting. read it before you see the movei.
ReplyDeleteI read this book in about 2007. It was compelling reading, but put me off having children for a while! I now have a baby son, and while he's showing no Kevin-like tendencies yet, it still crosses my mind occasionally. That's the kind of book it is. Not sure it's great literature (though it's well written & uses some nice devices), but it stays with you.
ReplyDeleteI have read this book once, and I need to read it again. On my first read, I concentrated on trying to understand Kevin and his relationship with his mother, Eva. While I gained some insights, I suspect that I did not obtain much understanding.
ReplyDeleteNext time I read it, I want to try to concentrate on how Lionel Shriver has actually managed to convey such a complex picture of life and of motivation.
The writing is superb. The issues introduced are both challenging and confronting.
What might lead a teenager to murder? This novel raises more questions than answers, but does so in a way that invites reflection.
I haven't read the book - still awaiting a copy
ReplyDeleteto become available at the library. From what I
have heard about it I am not sure I would choose
it for a 'leisure read'.
Ed
Thank you ACT Library - I have just received my long-awaited copy. Now to find the time to read it! In many ways I feel I have already read it as I have heard so much about it over the years and now that the film is out I'm hearing it again. It may be next month before I post - but I promise I will read it and let you know what I think:-)
ReplyDeleteI have only read 2 chapters of this book but I don't like it. The method of conveying the story in the form of, so far, a one sided letter is so unfiltered, and sermonising in language. I find it tedious. It is not credible. No one would write to an x in that intimate manner and about every single detailed thought about their life and their x's. Its like a one sided phone call full of pomposity and arrogance. I will continue and hope it improves. ED
ReplyDelete