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We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

By Mel Biv Devoe | Posted Under Book Reviews | Comments (32)

Lionel-Shriver-gets-Orang-006.jpg

Imagine for a moment that your child has committed a terrible crime. Who is to blame — him, or you, as his parent? What led him to that moment — the way he was raised, or something innate that has been growing inside him over the years? Basically, is it nature or nurture that has led him to be a stone-cold murderer?

That’s the question that Eva Khatchadourian has been struggling with for years, since the day her son Kevin walked into his high school gymnasium and killed 9 people, 7 kids and 2 adults. In a series of letters to her husband, Franklin, Eva recounts not only the massacre but everything that led up to that point, beginning with when she met her husband through conceiving and raising Kevin and her younger daughter Celia.

Eva holds nothing back in her quest to understand what drove Kevin to kill. She discusses feeling ambiguous about being pregnant and even recounts a time when she let her anger take control and left toddler Kevin with a broken arm. Her unflinching introspection is at times difficult to read, but Shriver keeps the story moving. And there is a twist that I figured out after the first few chapters, but is nonetheless heartbreaking.

The story doesn’t have a tidy resolution — there is no black and white answer for why Kevin did what he did. If you’re looking for an answer to the nature vs. nurture debate, you won’t find it here. But you will find a realistic, engaging story that’s bound to leave you with new questions of your own.

This review is part of the Cannonball Read series. For more of Mel Biv Devoe’s reviews, check out her blog, Impudent Strumpet.









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Comments

I read this years ago for a book club and it definitely led to an interesting discussion, there was so much to say and argue about, although in the end, as you say, there is no easy, tidy answer.

I remember finding it extremely difficult to get into at first, as the writing style is quite...standoffish, for want of a better term. And Eva is not an easy person to like, even though you do feel sympathy for her at times.

I did see the 'twist' coming as well, but I don't think it took anything away from the novel. I can't really remember how it ends, but I don't think I overly liked it. I'm not sure I'd read it again to find out though.

Posted by: Carrie at August 12, 2010 9:08 AM

I'm so excited to see this! I love love LOVE Lionel Shriver. I can't even tell you how much I love her.
I first read her Checker and the Derailleurs (about a drummer and his band) at 12 and it just rocked my little world. I don't know if the musical and cultural references hold up now for a first-time reader but I still devour and enjoy it at least once a year. I'm 31 now, so you can see how devoted I am to it.

Another favorite by her is Female of the Species, about an anthropologist. It is engaging and fantastic, and I highly recommend it. One scene always cracked me up, when a stranded American pilot who has made himself god of a remote African tribe has "church" every Sunday, and part of his service is to make everyone sing "Little Rabbit Foo-Foo." It's a tiny part of a much larger story, but it cracked me the hell up. It's a wonderful novel, everyone go read it now!!

I've read We Need to Talk About Kevin a few times, and liked it. It is a hard read, and quite a change in Shriver's style but worth the time. I heard a movie is being made about this (did I read this on Pajiba?) but I'm not sure how a book of letters such as this will translate into film.

Mel, I'm so glad you reviewed this! And I'm doubly glad to see it here on the site. I try to spread the gospel of Lionel Shriver almost as much as I talk up Erika Lopez.

Posted by: MyySharona at August 12, 2010 9:19 AM

I read this book while pregnant (didn't know at the time if it was a son or daughter) and loved it. I thought it was so compelling and well-written. And I actually found Eva a sympathetic, if not likable, character. The husband was so out to lunch!

Posted by: samantha t at August 12, 2010 9:57 AM

This book sounds fascinating. I've never heard of it before now and might have to dig it up somewhere.

I also like this review really a lot, and can't put my finger on why. It is well written and clear and concise.

Posted by: Caroline at August 12, 2010 10:18 AM

Hey, that's me again! That reminds me, I need to add my latest review to my blog.

MyySharona, have you read The Post-Birthday World? That's the first of Shriver's novels that I read, and I absolutely loved it. It alternates chapters between two versions of a woman's life, sorta like the movie Sliding Doors. The whole thing hinges on whether she gives in to temptation and kisses another man or not (she's in a committed relationship).

Posted by: MelBivDevoe at August 12, 2010 10:51 AM

Oooh, I haven't read that one, Mel. I shall find a copy post haste!

Posted by: MyySharona at August 12, 2010 11:16 AM

Read this a few years ago. Chilling. I'm sorry to say it affirmed my decision not to have children at a time when I was looking for potential reasons to change my mind.

Posted by: PaddyDog at August 12, 2010 11:21 AM

This sounds a lot like that Jodie Picoult book, 19 Minutes. Anyone read both? Care to compare?

Posted by: AM at August 12, 2010 11:59 AM

I've read both. I'd say this one is more thought provoking than Picoult. If you've read any of hers you pretty much know how it's going to end, but it was better than some of her others. I'd say Kevin is the better book.

Posted by: Carrie at August 12, 2010 12:10 PM

This book scared me to no end. I even tried to read it again, but had to put it down. Great book, but it really makes you think what you could potentially bring into the world.

Posted by: pereka (called birdy) at August 12, 2010 1:46 PM

My mother read this and wasn't delighted by it but I've heard way more good things...it's lying around the house somewhere ....might give it a peek

Posted by: Nadine at August 12, 2010 3:06 PM

I found Eva far more tolerable than her brazenly oblivious husband. Didn't a little part of you want throw that kid against a wall, too? Blame the kitchen staff for not securing the china better if you so choose, but that Titanic is going to sink anyway.

Oy. We need to talk about sterilization. I'm getting mad just thinking about that sociopathic son of a shit.

BBC Radio...something, probably 7, did a dramatization of it. That 'twist' was the second-creepiest thing I have ever heard on the radio. I mean, usually I'm kind of a purist with the adaptations, but here: whoa. There's reading it, and then there's a whole other dimension.

The most creepy thing also came from BBC Radio. It was the third in a three-part series called The Plantagenets. Anyway, they did a dramatization of the earlier years of John's reign and address the rather weighty matter of how a certain close family member managed to end up dead, even though he was under John's 'protection'. Augh, geez. If you can find it, that scene will make you come closer to voiding your bowels. The pubescent getting a couple of inconsequetial nics at John's hand, which gradually become more substantial, the boy's constantly-breaking teenager voice going from mildly annoyed to scared and a little bloody, his voice turning to full-volume shrieks of dread, the guards trying to intervene on the charge's behalf, running about a growing pool of blood, John absolutely furies at them to stand down, the boy is wailing for God, John is very amused by all of this and switches being rage and mockery at the boy, you can still make out sounds of flesh being torn over his screaming which is all very noisy. then: SPLASH, thud. kick. Horrifying, chilling splash. Not like Shakespeare's version at all.

Posted by: Jo 'Mama' Besser at August 12, 2010 3:29 PM

Good lord, Jo Mama. That sounds horrifying, and yet... I think I should check out BBC Radio now.

Posted by: MelBivDevoe at August 12, 2010 4:07 PM

Ha! AM, I was about to post that the plot sounded like a Picoult book. Not at all surprised to find that there is one already in existence.

Posted by: dsbs at August 12, 2010 5:08 PM

I read both this and Picoult's Nineteen Minutes earlier this year for a book club, AM. Picoult's is the John Grisham version of the scenario, but the two are very different stories, particularly in terms of the mothers' relationships with their sons (which is pretty much the premise of Kevin).

Posted by: Mr F at August 12, 2010 6:55 PM

I read this last year, and it was so chillingly well-written and deep that I had to wonder numerous times what of the narrator's life drew from the author's. It felt real in a way that little other fiction does. Hard to describe, really. It stays with you, lingers in ways that aren't altogether comfortable or pleasant, but feel like you ingested another person's life experience.

Excellent piece of work.

Posted by: Parker at August 12, 2010 11:11 PM

Those foley artists really did their job. The 'Kevin' actors were absolutely fantastic too. The scene is question is chilling. Chilling. Eva is voicing over the event and detailing them in real time, so it's synchronized and it feels like it goes on and on. And there's even more tension because you're counting them off in your head. Incredible drama. The actress was Madeleine Potter.

I'm not really sure how you could get a hold of the dramatised version, as copyright laws prevent them from keeping things up for more than a week. Some of the shows have extensive archive sections which is a godsend if, like me, one happens to be a 'can't watch tv' rather than a 'don't watch tv' person. You can try looking around the internet for specific programs, but that can get frustrating if you're not in the UK--that bars access to video and podcasts. This must be why so many Canadians go into comedy or form 'indie collectives', we can't watch anything. Streaming is nigh on impossible, and I admit that I'm shamefully something of a Luddite, so I haven't even tried to learn what that's about.

Posted by: Jo 'Mama' Besser at August 13, 2010 6:59 PM

This is one of my favorite shows and I never miss an episode but I have to admit that I've had to walk out of the room a couple of times this season. Tone it down a bit please.

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