WINNER OF THE ORANGE PRIZE read more Interactive online message board now live - visit here Reading group questions here (but don?t spoil the plot!) Read an extract --------------------- Two years ago, Eva Khatchadourian?s son, Kevin, murdered seven of his fellow high-school students, a cafeteria worker, and a popular algebra teacher. Because he was only fifteen at the time of the killings, he received a lenient sentence and is now in a prison for young offenders in upstate New York. Telling the story of Kevin's upbringing, Eva addresses herself to her estranged husband through a series of letters. Fearing that her own shortcomings may have shaped what her son has become, she confesses to a deep, long-standing ambivalence about both motherhood in general and Kevin in particular. How much is her fault? Lionel Shriver tells a compelling, absorbing, and resonant story while framing these horrifying tableaux of teenage carnage as metaphors for the larger tragedy - the tragedy of a country where everything works, nobody starves, and anything can be bought but a sense of purpose.
We Need To Talk About Kevin
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Watch the author talk about this book in Windows Media
Player format:
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
'An elegant psychological and philosophical investigation of culpability with a brilliant denouement' -- Observer
'Fearless novel' -- Telegraph, December 3, 2005
'Harrowing, tense and thought-provoking, this is a vocal challenge to every accepted parenting manual you’ve ever read' -- Daily Mail
Compelling account of parental feelings in extremis -- New Stateman, November 28, 2005
‘This startling shocker strips bare motherhood… the most remarkable Orange prize victor so far’ -- Polly Toynbee, Guardian Weekly Books of the Year
'Fearless novel' -- Telegraph, December 3, 2005
'Harrowing, tense and thought-provoking, this is a vocal challenge to every accepted parenting manual you’ve ever read' -- Daily Mail
Compelling account of parental feelings in extremis -- New Stateman, November 28, 2005
‘This startling shocker strips bare motherhood… the most remarkable Orange prize victor so far’ -- Polly Toynbee, Guardian Weekly Books of the Year
Book Description
The Orange prize winning, million copy bestseller: now a Serpent's Tail classic, with a new foreword by Kate Mosse
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
47 of 49 people found the following review helpful
By S. Hartwell
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Schriver is frequently slated for writing a book about motherhood when she is childless. In slating Schriver and in condemning Eva (Kevin's mother) reviewers overlook the fact that Kevin scores highly on the Cleckley checklist used to identify clinical psychopathy and Eva also alludes to all 3 of the classic triad of childhood indicators of psychopathy. She's done her homework in this respect. Kevin evades diagnosis (there is a great unwillingness to diagnose psychopathy in children) and the family are left to flounder with a child whose behaviour cannot be modified with either reward or punishment.
As a mother, Eva blames herself for not bonding with a son who is incapable of bonding or, indeed, of forming normal relationships. She does her best to understand and cope with his aberrant behaviour, but faced with her husband's refusal to acknowlege the problem and his inability to see through Kevin's play-acting, she is out-manoeuvred by her own son. Through it all she loves her son as best she can, but his inability to respond in a normal fashion stymies her attempts to mitigate his behavioural and deep psychological problems.
It takes a while to get into the book, but as the story progresses, it becomes hard to put it down. The real reason for Eva's estrangement from husband and daughter is a twist I didn't see coming until a few pages from it. The final scene, however, seems out of place.
As a mother, Eva blames herself for not bonding with a son who is incapable of bonding or, indeed, of forming normal relationships. She does her best to understand and cope with his aberrant behaviour, but faced with her husband's refusal to acknowlege the problem and his inability to see through Kevin's play-acting, she is out-manoeuvred by her own son. Through it all she loves her son as best she can, but his inability to respond in a normal fashion stymies her attempts to mitigate his behavioural and deep psychological problems.
It takes a while to get into the book, but as the story progresses, it becomes hard to put it down. The real reason for Eva's estrangement from husband and daughter is a twist I didn't see coming until a few pages from it. The final scene, however, seems out of place.
133 of 144 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I saw this book on BBC1's Page Turners and so decided to buy it. This novel is absolutely brilliant, I cannot recommend it enough.
The story is narrated by Eva, in letter form, as she writes to her estranged husband. Eva's son, Kevin, is in a juvenile detention centre, as at the age of 15yrs he went on a killing spree at his high school. He killed 7 fellow students, a teacher and a cafeteria worker. Through Eva's letters, the reader is taken through Kevin and her story, going right back into their past, even before Kevin was born. As Eva spills her heart out onto the paper, you are struck by how she is debating the point of just how to blame, if at all, she is for Kevin's actions.
The story is narrated by Eva, in letter form, as she writes to her estranged husband. Eva's son, Kevin, is in a juvenile detention centre, as at the age of 15yrs he went on a killing spree at his high school. He killed 7 fellow students, a teacher and a cafeteria worker. Through Eva's letters, the reader is taken through Kevin and her story, going right back into their past, even before Kevin was born. As Eva spills her heart out onto the paper, you are struck by how she is debating the point of just how to blame, if at all, she is for Kevin's actions.
The exploration of the past, especially Eva's relationship with her husband, brings up many areas of life and truth that are often not spoken about. This, I think, is why this novel is so good; the book is not just about Kevin's terrible crime. The dynamics of Eva and Frianklin's relationship are also explored, both as a young couple and as a family once Kevin is born.
This novel really does stay with you long after you have finished the last page. The ideas, suggestions and debates it raises are complex and intriguing, something to really get your teeth into.
This is a great book, one of the best I have read, and that really is saying something.
83 of 90 people found the following review helpful
By Tiny Dancer
Format:Paperback
This book is very well written. Contrary to other reviews of this book, I think it is a strength in the novel that Eva does not always inspire empathy in the reader. Eva is a terrifically well rounded, believable and flawed character. The book is in the form of letters to her husband trying to rationalise the tragic killings performed by her son. I think it is in trying to rationalise why Kevin committed such atrocities that Eva questions her role as a mother... is it because she didn't really want a baby, because she couldn't bond with Kevin after he was born, because she wanted a career or was Kevin just born inherently evil?
This book is gripping from beginning to end, thought provoking, funny, scary and sad... well worth a read.
This book is gripping from beginning to end, thought provoking, funny, scary and sad... well worth a read.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 619 reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not my cup of tea
I didn't really enjoy this book, or the film for that matter (which I watched after I read the book). But that's just my personal opinion.
Published 8 hours ago by Catriona McClements
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best books I have read for a long time
This is a book that I could not forget after reading.
Most books these days are easy to forget - not this one.
Cant wait to read her new Big Brother.
Most books these days are easy to forget - not this one.
Cant wait to read her new Big Brother.
Published 6 days ago by thamesvalley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shocking but amazing
Just loved this book. About to read it again.
It bares a Mother's soul to us readers in a uncompromising way. Read more
It bares a Mother's soul to us readers in a uncompromising way. Read more
Published 10 days ago by Sue
4.0 out of 5 stars
We Need to Talk About Kevin
I can only echo what other reviewers have said about this book and that is that it is more than just fiction, it is a great literary work. Read more
Published 15 days ago by queenb
1.0 out of 5 stars
Very complicatedly written!
I must admit, this is the first book I haven't finished, I found it unbearable to read. The part I did read is written like an ongoing rant, I guess the subject is difficult but... Read more
Published 17 days ago by Kate Gold
3.0 out of 5 stars
We need to talk about Kevin
Something that needed to be written about; mother love doesn't come naturally to some women; can women blame themselves if their offspring turns to evil acts? Read more
Published 22 days ago by Mrs. B. Oldmeadow
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
My friend originally lent me the book, originally found it difficult to get my head around the fact that the book was written in letter form but soon got used to it and it really... Read more
Published 24 days ago by Petapops
3.0 out of 5 stars
purchased in error
The book was purchased in error, so has not been read.
Please not that the star rating is average purely as to make a selection here was the route into making this comment.
Please not that the star rating is average purely as to make a selection here was the route into making this comment.
Published 24 days ago by Mr R
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow
This book was recommended for my book club. It srarted off a bit wordy but as you get into the story the writing style changes, making it hard to put the book down. Read more
Published 28 days ago by watersign
5.0 out of 5 stars
wow
terrifying, thought provoking and it stays with you. i got recommended this by a friend, two months on im still thinking about it, a book everyone should read
Published 1 month ago by jenny ayre
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
