We Need to Talk About Kevin

Questions About We Need to Talk About Kevin

by Lionel Shriver (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (22)

I only saw the movie and I exonerate his mother completely of any fault. Kevin was bad from infancy. Reminded me of that old 1950's movie, The Bad Seed. Very sad and disturbing. Does anyone out ther concur?
Carianne
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Amy It is my firm conviction that there was nothing wrong with either child, it was the mother who had something wrong with her. Here is my theory on this…moreIt is my firm conviction that there was nothing wrong with either child, it was the mother who had something wrong with her. Here is my theory on this, and my reasoning. Some of the views I express here may be quite unpopular with some people.

Eva treated Kevin badly from birth and conditioned him to hate her and to behave the way he did, and when Celia was born, she conditioned her to be needy and scared of everything.

Children are NOT inherently bad from birth. Kevin definitely had some behavioural problems (possibly ADHD or an Autistic Spectrum disorder) but that could have been due to the foetal alcohol syndrome he developed due to his mother's drinking when he was in the womb.

There was no way of Kevin being so calculated as a child, to the point of being portrayed as evil because children simply do not think that way. His mother projected all his 'bad behaviour' onto him and in time he began to behave the way she expected him to, and likewise with Celia, who was mollycoddled by her mother from the day she was born.

Celia's unnatural fears were not caused by Kevin. They were caused by her mother. Celia saw how her mother treated Kevin and was afraid that if she did not continue to cling to her mother the way she did, her mother would begin to treat her the same way.

The incident with the acid could well have been a childish plan cooked up by Celia herself to try and get their mother to treat them both the same way by persuading her that Celia is also badly behaved for playing with the drain cleaner fluid, and the plan backfired as she got it in her eye by accident. This explains her reluctance to point the finger at Kevin, because it wasn't actually his fault. He is likely to have gone along with Celia's plan in a last-ditch, desperate attempt to get his mother to see that both children are the same and should be treated as such.

It's actually really surprising how many of these answers are siding with the mother. Eva was the evil one in this novel. She is a VERY unreliable narrator and definitely has some kind of mental health issue. Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy comes to mind here, where parents project certain behavioural traits onto their children for various reasons (the actual syndrome pertains to illness and diseases).

Reading this novel put me in mind of Dave Pelzer's 'A Child Called It' although that is from the point of view of the mistreated child and not the mother who is convinced her child is bad and evil. Eva broke Kevin's arm once, who knows what else she did to him. She may well have caused his 'illness' when he was 10 that confined him to his bed and could have killed him. Maybe she poisoned him? She (as the narrator) is definitely not going to admit that to the reader so it's up to us to judge.

I believe that is the author's aim though - to present us with a one-sided ambiguous story and leave it up to us to judge. (less)
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What age group is appropriate, and is the vocabulary difficult, but is it worth it build your vocab?
Erin Oh dear God, only adults for this one. And if you're only looking to build your vocab, there are less harrowing ways. …moreOh dear God, only adults for this one. And if you're only looking to build your vocab, there are less harrowing ways. (less)
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Can somebody explain why Eva remained in love with Franklin? I'd hate somebody who treated me like that; dismisive, controlling and humorless. Why did Eva even loved him? Tis important, because she explains he's the reason why she didn't take Celia and run for the hills in fear of Kevin.
Matthew Cleary I think that a large part of it was that she felt guilt from all her travels as well before Kevin and didn't want to leave Franklin because of that. S…moreI think that a large part of it was that she felt guilt from all her travels as well before Kevin and didn't want to leave Franklin because of that. She endured Kevin and the house she hated and could have taken Celia before the incident with the eye. The book is also written from the perspective of her sending the letters after the school massacre so it could skewer how their relationship was prior to that point. (less)
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Just finished this book. Haunting, devastating. I wondered though why no one ever thought to take Kevin to a psychiatrist? His mom always thought there was something wrong with him, and social development issues were noted in school in his formative years. I don't understand the movie casting. In the book, Franklin is described as blond, handsome and fit. Where did they get John C. Reilly from?
Estrella I think JCR was a good choice. And Eva refuses therapy for her post-partum depression. Both her and Frarklin gave me the impression that they both des…moreI think JCR was a good choice. And Eva refuses therapy for her post-partum depression. Both her and Frarklin gave me the impression that they both despised therapy, and in general, asking for help. Kevin gets Prozac, though. Did he get that without even a session? Maybe he fooled the doctor into a depression diagnosis.(less)
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