We Need To Talk About Kevin

Good read, what more needs to be said

Buen estado huele a nuevo

Let me say at the outset that I was very impressed with this book. A few months ago I watched the movie of the same name and was struck sufficiently by the themes presented therein to seek out Lionel Shriver’s book. I was not disappointed.[A side note about the movie: It is almost the common wisdom that movies are never as good as the books upon which they are based, but this movie gives the lie to that inasmuch as it was gripping and very faithful to the book, managing to cut very little out and to portray the main characters as the author had intended.]The titular Kevin is a bad kid. He is a son single-mindedly intent - for whatever reason - on destroying his mother and everything (everything!) meaningful in her life. The bulk of the book is spent cataloging the evil deeds perpetrated by this miscreant from the minute he leaves the womb until the horrific climax. (The school violence that Kevin carries out is really only the penultimate climax, and is frequently alluded to as the story unfolds, so to speak of it is not really a “spoiler.” There is, however, an even more climactic climax, if there can be such a thing, which I won’t divulge and which will come as a shock to anyone who did not as I did view the movie first.)The basis for my favorable assessment of this book is twofold: The style in which the book is written and the theme(s) tackled.First, a word about the writing style. Most striking (although it has surely been done before) is that the story is told via the format of letters which the main character writes to her now out-of-the-picture husband. Initially I wasn’t sure if I cared too much for this mechanism, finding it extremely unrealistic, but the ending of the story (which, again, I won’t give away) makes one realize why it was undertaken.Several reviews of the book that I’ve read have faulted the author for being too wordy and verbose, and using too many fifty-cent words. I tend to agree with that. The author all too often engages in feats of linguistic complexity that will have you reading and re-reading the same sentence over and over to try to parse out exactly what idea or sentiment she is trying to convey, and that can be somewhat off-putting. Nevertheless, this is one talented and intelligent writer.Over and above the writing style (which, although a bit too highfaluting, is yet quite notable), the book tackles two parallel themes, both difficult subjects. The first – and most obvious – theme is that of school violence, certainly a hot topic in today’s violence drenched society. The book liberally references school shootings that have, tragically, taken place all over the country in recent years.But the other theme – which seems to take a back seat but shouldn't – is the one that I found the more compelling. It is the theme of familial dysfunction, specifically maternal aloofness and lack of maternal love.The way I see it, “Kevin” kind of presents a chicken-and-egg conundrum: Is Kevin bad because his mother never bonded with and loved him, or was Eva never able to bond with and love her son because Kevin was inherently bad?I think this is an almost taboo subject – the very possibility that a mother might dislike her own progeny – and I applaud the author for daring to tackle it, albeit in a fictional account.The four main characters in this story are expertly and painstakingly sketched.Eva Khatchadourian is our protagonist inasmuch as the story, ultimately, is about how the terrible events of the story impact her life. It is also through Eva’s first-person voice that this woebegone tale is told. Eva is the quintessential working woman. She is very much in love with her husband Franklin but let there be no doubt: She is a working girl. She owns her own highly lucrative travel agency and travels the world over in pursuit of her career. Somewhere along the line, Eva and Franklin decide – for reasons that are not entirely rock-solid – to have a child. The bottom line is that Eva is highly conflicted about having this child – even though this is very much a voluntary pregnancy – and that ambivalence will exact an ugly price.Then we have Franklin, her husband. Franklin is an affable enough fellow, but utterly and completely clueless, guilty of stick-your-head-in-the sand ostrich-like denial in the face of the cascading evil perpetrated by his flesh-and-blood on a regular basis.Then there is sweet, vulnerable, trusting Celia, the perfect counter-point to Kevin, and the apple of her mother’s eye.And then of course there is Kevin. Kevin is, quite simply, evil incarnate. Kevin is the antagonist to Eva’s protagonist, and what an antagonist he is! As aforesaid, Kevin is a bad kid from the start. Incorrigible seems like a quaint term, implying “naughtiness,” but Kevin is truly incorrigible. In infancy (and indeed well past toddlerhood), he acts out his spite and malice through his toilet-training habits; by the time he is a teenager, he is exacting his malevolence through physical harm to his angelic little sister. ....And worse, as we come to see.Basically, We Need to Talk about Kevin is about how this boy wreaks havoc for his mother. Well, actually, not just his mother, but somehow Eva always ends up taking the brunt of his evil-doing. Can the sins of the son be visited upon the mother? Many of the reviews I’ve read before embarking on my own describe Eva as unlikeable. In her very own words (p. 350) Eva is "cold, suspicious, resentful, accusatory, and aloof" and an “ice queen.” I personally felt sorry for her, however, not only for the way her life falls apart at the end, but even earlier than that, for the reason that she is like a voice crying out in the wilderness. In the face of her own husband’s – the boy’s father! - failure to see the truth of what is happening right in front of him, Eva is the only one with eyes to see, the only sane force among the insane. How can a figure like this not be at least somewhat sympathetic?This book starts out slowly but snowballs toward its ineffable climax with ever more chilling incidents. (I catch myself wondering if the book should be classified as “horror” in the vein of “The Bad Seed” or “Damian,” but it deals with themes of a more intellectual nature than sheer horror.) At the book’s conclusion Eva is bereft of everything that mattered in her life. Everything. When I finished this book I was left with the thought in my head that it can be seen as a cautionary tale: Raising a child is risky business, the stakes are potentially high, and perhaps not everyone is suited for parenthood, and hence parenthood is something that should not be entered into lightly. Again, a bold subject for this brave author to tackle.This book has left an indelible impression on me. It is a story I won't soon forget. I would encourage any reader burdened by the lofty language or the initially slow pace of this book to persevere. It is no doubt a depressing tale but one offering much food for thought. I think this would make an excellent book club selection as it not only presents fascinating characterizations but also raises many issues worthy of discussion.

Todo en perfectas condiciones. La calidad del papel muy buena, pero las cubiertas algo delgadas. Un poco mas de grosor y estaría pefecto.

I couldn't get a hold of the Italian edition of this book I got extremely curious about after seeing the movie. Lost all hopes but then found the English version - I'm still reading it yet find it so hard to put it down. The book was in mint condition, perfect. The novel is breathtaking and I'll have to check out more by the same author asap.