We Need to Talk About Kevin is the remarkable story told by Kevin’s mother Eva Khatchadourian after Kevin’s massacre. Told in a series of letters to her absent husband, Eva tries to establish what went wrong in raising Kevin.
We Need to Talk About Kevin Overview
Before Kevin was born, Eva and her husband Franklin were happy, successful and fairly well off. Franklin was a location scout and Eva traveled the world writing budget friendly travel books that her company, A Wing and a Prayer, then published.
Eva wasn’t even sure she wanted children, the sacrifices that went with them, or even sharing her husband, but when Eva was in her late thirties, she and Franklin decided to have a child. Kevin was born and Eva’s life changed forever. Her traveling days were practically over and she had to take a step back from her business. Eva was stuck at home with a screaming baby, who seemed to quiet down as soon as Franklin walked in the door.
Kevin grows up to be an eerie child who goes through a series of babysitters, mocks his mother and manipulates his father. He then develops into a surly and distant teenager. In Franklin’s eyes, Kevin can do no wrong, and Eva struggles to deal with Kevin’s peculiar and sullen behaviour.
Kevin eventually murders several of his classmates, one of his teachers and a cafeteria worker, three days before his sixteenth birthday. The question for Eva is, did she and Franklin fail Kevin as parents? Or was Kevin born evil?
We Need to Talk About Kevin Review
Eva’s letters are written to the notably absent husband Franklin after the murders, which Eva refers to as Thursday. She moves through a timeline of Kevin’s life, with mention of her weekly visits to him in the juvenile detention center.
Shriver has written a compelling book, clever and poignant, readers will feel for Eva, despite the fact that she is a self centered and vain person. We Need to Talk About Kevin is a dark and deeply disturbing book that explores the sacrifices of motherhood, rather than the rewards. Characters are well developed and readers will relate to and feel for Eva who at times appears to be raising the devil’s child.
The story forces readers to question Eva’s choices and the nature verses nurture debate, but ultimately they will side with her, as she explains the heartbreaking losses she has suffered, through to Kevin’s massacre. With well-rounded and believable characters, this book is a fast paced and masterfully written novel.
We Need to Talk About Kevin was first published in 2003 by Counterpoint, and reprinted in 2006 and 2007 by The Text Publishing Company (ISBN 978-1-921145-08-7). We Need to Talk About Kevin is the winner of the 2005 Orange Prize, a prestigious literary prize awarded in the United Kingdom.
Roberta Goli - Roberta has a Bachelor of Science Degree (Zoology), has worked with animals for over 10 years and enjoys writing short stories and flash ...
