Tuesday, August 22, 2006

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

kevin

This is a harrowing enthralling, unputdownable story of good and evil, nature vs nurture, disassociation and guilt.

The story follows the letters of Eva mother of Kevin who we quickly find out is a mass murderer of classmates and others from the school he attended. Eva through letters written to her estranged husband Franklin, tells us Kevin's and her story, of his life, her insight into his life as his mother and of all the warning signals she felt she should have acted on before he acted of his own free will.

This is a book that will haunt you. It will make you wonder about having kids, rearing them and all the mistakes that can be made as none of us are infallible. It will also want to make you pull your hair out in frustration as Eva accounts for her frustration and guilt. This book will make you gasp in horror, check yourself for resident evil and ultimately haunt you long after you have finished reading it.