We Need to Talk About Kevin

ByLionel Shriver

Release Date: 2003-03-25
Genre: Fiction & Literature

Score: 4

From 126 Ratings

Description

THE INSPIRATION FOR THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING TILDA SWINTON AND JOHN C. REILLY

This resonant story of a mother’s unsettling quest to understand her teenage son’s deadly violence, her own ambivalence toward motherhood, and the explosive link between them remains terrifyingly prescient

Eva never really wanted to be a mother. And certainly not the mother of a boy who murdered seven of his fellow high school students, a cafeteria worker, and a much–adored teacher in a school shooting two days before his sixteenth birthday.

Neither nature nor nurture exclusively shapes a child's character. But Eva was always uneasy with the sacrifices and social demotion of motherhood. Did her internalized dislike for her own son shape him into the killer he’s become? How much is her fault?

Now, two years later, it is time for her to come to terms with Kevin’s horrific rampage, all in a series of startlingly direct correspondences with her estranged husband, Franklin.

A piercing, unforgettable, and penetrating exploration of violence and responsibility, a book that the Boston Globe describes as “impossible to put down,” is a stunning examination of how tragedy affects a town, a marriage, and a family.

Reviews

Gripping
5
By Okie 143
Had difficulty starting and getting use to the letter writing with no response, but it took hold of me a third of the way through.
Horror
3
By KnoxvillepinkvNovember
Reads like a horror story from your worst nightmare of domestic life. Like “American Beauty”, it didn’t leave you with any redemptive feelings. Can be just left unread.
A great read
5
By jwatson26
This book has so much emotion. I couldn’t put it down.
Very Creative!
4
By Ozcrome
Although there were parts of book that were long winded, and the prose was sometimes pretentious, I really enjoyed the story, especially as it climaxed in the last several chapters.
Sad
5
By Whatever ✌🏻
This book is so heartbreaking, lovely writing. I wish I would have read the book before watching the movie. I know majority of movies leave out a lot of information that books have, there’s so much in this book that wasn’t told in the movie. Definitely recommend this book!!
Very well done, a stunning nightmare
5
By Dixiejack
You know where it’s going, but you have no idea how bad it really is , until the end....it’s not one of those books that make you laugh, and then bring you to tears. It’s more like a nightmare so real and so bad, you never want to sleep in that bed again.