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We Need to Talk About Kevin
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We need to talk about Kevin - Lionel Shriver
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Deb wrote: "I've just finished this and was blown away by it. Anyone else out there read it or interested in giving it a try?It really challenges your views on parenthood.
Here are the links [book:W..."
Deb I started listening to it as an audio book, and I was not enjoying it at the time, not sure if it was the voice of the reader or the subject. I might try again in the near future ... I dont like to be beaten by a book.
qdjfshdshyugfbldskjfh, I loved this books (that was my noise of excitement at finding this discussion)
I found it a little hard to read some times but the ending, actually made me feel sick she wrote so realistically.
I found it a little hard to read some times but the ending, actually made me feel sick she wrote so realistically.
Melanie wrote: "qdjfshdshyugfbldskjfh, I loved this books (that was my noise of excitement at finding this discussion)..."I tried to say that noise Melanie but no luck! LOL
What I really liked about this book was the use of such a flawed, unreliable, unlikeable narrator. We only hear Kevin's story through his mother's eyes. Now you might expect a mother's view to be tinted with rose coloured spectacles, but in this case the opposite is true.In the end, we don't have enough information to decide whether Kevin's sociopathic nature is caused by his mother's inability to love him or whether he's just bad to the core... It would be fascinating to turn this story into a trilogy with a book written by franklin and a book by Kevin to tell their views.
Hey Melanie - asjaffvdufhuiaefh - is that better??
I think i just slammed my hand on my keyboard lol.
i dont know if the story would work from Franklins point of view but it would be interesting from kevins.
I love how its written in letters as if she is trying to justify her actions. I also like that there is no answer to the nature or nurture lets you make up your own mind.
i dont know if the story would work from Franklins point of view but it would be interesting from kevins.
I love how its written in letters as if she is trying to justify her actions. I also like that there is no answer to the nature or nurture lets you make up your own mind.
I read this book about a year ago and have been recommending it ever since. It is the nature or nurture debate brilliantly written.
My book club did this when it first came out, but at the time I didn't want to read it. I read it a couple of months ago and I was left in a daze for a week! It was wonderful and horrible at the same time, the most disturbing book I think I've ever read. I'm glad I read it now - and very glad I didn't at the earlier time! Shriver is a very gifted and pitiless writer. She asks the questions we all avoid.
Dee-Ann wrote: "Deb wrote: "I've just finished this and was blown away by it. Anyone else out there read it or interested in giving it a try?It really challenges your views on parenthood.
Here are the links ..."
Dee-Ann - give it another go, but as a real book. I wouldn't want to listen to it either! It's terrific but you need to be able to close its lid when you've read enough. Really worth reading.
Yes, it's a tough read and I certainly found myself closing the book, reflecting then rereading previous sections. @Dee ann - who was the reader in the audio book? It would be a tough voice to portray.
I think the author was Barbara Rosenblat. I can still hear her voice, even though it is a while since I attempted it ... it was a vocie that that I would describe as a voice of contempt.
I agree this was a tough read, but I loved the way it was written - I found it really compelling if horrifying.
Dee Ann - I haven't heard Barbara Rosenblat read, but she has a good write up. The narrator voice even as read is quite bleak.A number of people have mentioned the way this novel epitomises the nature vs nurture debate. Which side do you fall? For me, I go with nature. While I accept that Eva was a poor mother who could not give love to her son, I still feel that everyone is responsible for their own actions. Kevin chose to go on his murder spree, that was his decision and his alone. His relationship with his mother may have been (most likely was) a contributory factor to his developing neurosis, but he was the one who not only did the deed, but planned it meticulously. So in this case, it has to be nature.
I've also read this book - it was recommended by a friend, and the very next day it came through the return chute at the library (my workplace!) How can you pass up serendipity like that? My review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/.... There are times when you have to be careful what you wish for, and Eva was sooo unlucky to have her wish granted - that is, for the world to see Kevin as she did. I spent the next few weeks looking sideways at friends' children, and teenagers I saw in the shops because the story got right down into my bones.
Louise wrote: "I've also read this book - it was recommended by a friend, and the very next day it came through the return chute at the library (my workplace!) How can you pass up serendipity like that? My review..."I think that's a really good comment - I don't read it as nature vs nurture - I don't think the mother had a chance - I think the father vs the mother are the two sides of that argument. the father was always willing to explain away the behaviour.
As you say - the mother got the world to see Kevin, but they blamed her and she had to live with the guilt and shame - Kevin's payback.
I thought this was a brilliant book. Absolutely loved it but can't really say I enjoyed it. It left me feeling so bleak that I had to take breaks reading it but it so well written, such honesty about tough motherhood experiences (althoughfictional. Most of us don't have any experiences anywhere near so extremely bad and yet would be hard pressed to be so honest about our negative thoughts and feeling about our kids.) and such food for thought. I have certainly recommended it to others but with the warning about it being being a fairly grim read.
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You'll pick up a copy pretty cheaply if you wait till then Carmel;)
No I don't think I'll be seeing this movie. I’ve read the book and I think that was enough for me. I’m usually open minded when it comes to disturbing books but Kevin truly terrified me.
It's an amazing book, although I acknowledge its not always easy reading. It haunts you and it's probably my stand out favourite from 2011. I'll see the movie when it comes around on dvd/itunes to see how they have translated it to the screen.
i loved this books read it a few years ago
really wanted to see the movie but it has already stopped showing out here
I thought the cast was interesting not really what I pictured but I still really wanna see how it was translated!
I can totally understand people not want to read it
the end couple od chapters when it talks about what he did made me feel a bit sick but the whole concept was so interesting to me (nature vs nurture...not the killings and things )
really wanted to see the movie but it has already stopped showing out here
I thought the cast was interesting not really what I pictured but I still really wanna see how it was translated!
I can totally understand people not want to read it
the end couple od chapters when it talks about what he did made me feel a bit sick but the whole concept was so interesting to me (nature vs nurture...not the killings and things )
I thought it one of the most rivetting books I've ever read. The end was so unexpected that I gasped with shock. Fantastic characterisation and plot.
This was a stand-out book for me, I started to re-read it immediately on finishing. Although you knew where the story was going, it was still shocking. I deliberately didn't see the movie as I didn't want to ruin it.
I recently saw the movie on a long haul flight. It was a fair adaptation, but for me it did not capture the mother's angst as effectively as the book. The actress who played Eva was a good choice and has replaced my reading image of her in my mind.A year or so later, this is still up there as one of my favourite reads.
I loved this book. So moving and convincing. I liked the movie too.
It really challenges your views on parenthood.
Here are the links We Need to Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver