83 of 90 people found the following review helpful

A gripping story, 19 Jun 2007

This review is from: We Need To Talk About Kevin (Five Star Paperback) (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.

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We Need To Talk About Kevin (Five Star Paperback) 1852424672 Lionel Shriver Serpent's Tail We Need To Talk About Kevin (Five Star Paperback) Welcome A gripping story 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. Tiny Dancer "tiny dancer" 19 Jun 2007

Overall: 5

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Showing 1-6 of 6 posts in this discussion

Initial post: 19 May 2011 15:32:35 BDT

Bobby1 says:

I was actually quite disappointed with this. The front page cover made me want to read it, while the back of it outlined that Kevin was not just a naughty child but a killer. To me, the story dragged on and on- I'd say there are plenty among us who may not admit to thinking about putting this down after 50 pages. My perseverance paid off, it picked up after about page 250 and does have a pretty stunning end to it. But I can't ignore the first half of the book being pretty drawn out and laborious, so for me a 3 star is about right.

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Posted on 24 May 2011 12:22:15 BDT

Jenifer Brown says:

[Customers don't think this post adds to the discussion. Show post anyway. Show all unhelpful posts.]

In reply to an earlier post on 10 Jun 2011 21:24:17 BDT

[Deleted by the author on 10 Jun 2011 21:25:30 BDT]

In reply to an earlier post on 15 Aug 2011 19:14:56 BDT

MS DEBORAH E HARVEY says:

Right from the start we know that Kevin is a killer. This book hasn't been ruined for you at all. But I should read it before the film comes out, because we all know what they can do to a book.

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In reply to an earlier post on 18 Aug 2011 09:39:19 BDT

Ms. H. L. Cubberley says:

Maybe you shouldn't have read reviews if you didn't want to know anything about what the book was about!

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In reply to an earlier post on 24 Aug 2011 23:37:43 BDT

Ellen B. Smith says:

the stupidity of some people just takes my breath away at times, if one was so determined to read the book without knowing anything about it, why would one chose to read the reviews? I'm actually glad that this review had the plot because nowhere in the description does it say what the book is about and personally I want to know a bit about a book before buying it

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