We Need to Talk about Kevin
Book description
WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2010
ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD
Eva never really wanted to be a mother; certainly not the mother of a boy named Kevin who murdered seven of his fellow high school students, a cafeteria worker and a teacher who had tried to befriend him.…
Why read it?
11 authors picked We Need to Talk about Kevin as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I find this book to be an unsettling but impactful read, both thought-provoking and complex. We Need to Talk about Kevin follows the mother of a troubled teenager responsible for a school shooting.
It’s about nature versus nurture, the relationship between mother and child, and deeply seated guilt. It draws inspiration from real events, including the 1999 shooting at Columbine, which wasn’t the U.S.’s first mass shooting at a school, but it would become one of the most infamous.
Shriver’s novel raises unsettling questions about a mother’s guilt and self-justification and a community’s heartache and blame. I consider it to…
From Kate's list on thrillers inspired by real events.
From the very first page, I was intrigued by Shriver's exploration of maternal complexities. It shone a light on motherhood that I’d never seen before. I found the raw emotion and psychological depth unparalleled and loved how the narrative really delved into nature versus nurture and went so far as to question: are people born evil?
Being a mother myself, I couldn’t imagine living through the horror of my child becoming withdrawn and that disengagement resulting in such devastation in a community. The dismissal of the mother’s concerns by the father was also an interesting social commentary.
Finally, Shriver’s writing…
From Kylie's list on losing yourself in motherhood (the good and the bad).
To me, this book brilliantly and unapologetically explores one of the darkest and most taboo areas of human psychology: a mother’s fear and hatred of her own child.
I don’t have children of my own (through choice), but my mother and sister both struggled in their roles as parents, so this theme has always been very personal. We Need To Talk About Kevin bravely spoke the “unspeakable,” bringing into the light thoughts, feelings, and experiences that I had perhaps never been fully able to articulate for myself.
In turn, Shriver’s book paved the way for me to explore similar themes…
From Philippa's list on dark psychology in thriller fiction.
I love books that deal with guilt, and there can be no greater guilt than being the mother of a psychopath who goes on a killing spree. This book really gets you thinking about why someone would do something like that and what, if anything, can be done to stop them. This book is beautifully written and it’s hard not to feel empathy for the mother, even if I struggled to find much for Kevin.
From Lorna's list on reads to keep you awake all night.
What if you never really wanted to be a mother? Can you hide that from your child? As parents, most of us do the best we can at the time. Right? What if your best wasn’t good enough, what if the most unthinkable happened, caused by your child? Is it your fault? Could you have done differently, better? This novel explores the psychological dynamics of people thinking they’re living their best lives. But they’re not.
From Sharon's list on psychological thrillers to stimulate your mind and heart.
Shriver’s epistolary novel tells the story of a murderous student in letters from his parents. Inspired by the 1999 Columbine High School killings in which Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered 12 fellow students and a teacher. Chilling and heartfelt, the book makes us confront feelings about motherhood, society, and retribution.
From Rick's list on true crime that would be criminal not to read.
I studied psychology and have a keen interest in behavioural science and forensic psychology, so I found this study in criminality and its effects on an (innocent?) mother fascinating. It’s very much a ‘the monster was inside the house all along’ horror story, but wrapped up in the genre of crime. It’s definitely a powerful book and had a big effect on me, both as a writer and as a human being. You won’t look at your nieces and nephews the same again..!
From Angelo's list on crime with killer twists.
I recommend this book often, but many of my friends are reluctant to read it because it’s about a school shooting. I understand their reluctance, but I urge them to get past it. It is perhaps the most stunning and powerful book I’ve ever read and raises thorny questions of nature vs. nurture. And the ending! Let me just say it hit me like a body blow. I was forced to go back and see how Ms. Shriver had constructed a plot that confounded me so completely. (Don’t try to get away with watching the movie. It is incomprehensible.)
From Deb's list on deviously twisted endings.
This 2003 novel is ostensibly the story of a mass school shooting perpetrated by teenager, Kevin. But it is really the story of a marriage and motherhood where Kevin’s mother, Eva, always suspected there was something wrong with her son whereas Kevin’s father, Franklin, never saw that side of his son.
It’s a conflict that apparently led to their eventual estrangement since it is told in the form of letters written by Eva to Franklin. In the letters, Eva struggles for understanding: Is she to blame for Kevin’s mass murder of his schoolmates, or was Kevin born bad?
The sickening…
From Joanna's list on contemporary suspense with jaw-dropping twists.
The book challenges our assumptions about evil on every page. Shriver writes it so that Kevin can simultaneously be viewed as a hardwired psychopath driving his mother out of her mind, or as a poor little twerp who goes bananas because his mum is such a highly strung nightmare. It absolutely crackles with a dark foreboding energy.
From Matthew's list on to completely reverse your whole brain.
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