"We need to talk about Kevin" by Lionel Shriver.

[Ophelia]

Theme: what might lead a teenager to kill his classmates.

A few points before I write about the book:

School killings used to be an American-only phenomenon, but now there has been one famous case in Germany, and very recently in Finland-- those may be copycat attacks; school killings also make the headlines in Europe, and French teenagers for example seem to think of the US with an equal mix of criticism and fascination. The criticism will be discussed in my English classes, but somehow, the unspoken perfect Christmas dream would be a (return) ticket to the States.

This novel is nothing like what you usually read about violence, about teenagers, about violent children or boys.
I found it touching, puzzling, shocking --in an unusual way (graphic violence is kept to the bare minimum).

The narrator is the mother of a teenage murderer. What feels very weird at first is that her view seems to be so much AGAINST her son, in a way which is not caricatural-- hence disturbing.

There is no easy explanation, as opposed to movies in which children are clearly born without feelings, and we are told, as in the film "Rosemary's Baby" that the child was fathered by the Devil himself.

What is it about fiction that makes it so memorable when it works?
Art. Sometimes genius. The ability to somehow condense experience in a way that no book written by, say, a journalist or an academic, can equal.


My first impression was that this was somehow breaking a taboo-- one does not, even in fiction, write a book about a child, least of all one's child, in a negative way. I am not a parent, but I wondered how parents could react to such unusual material -- I was bothered enough to check on the internet what readers and critics had written -- everything was positive.

One last thing: " We need to talk to Kevin" is well worth reading until the end (no spoilers from me).

[FannieB]

Evelyn-
I picked this book up sometime ago but have not read it yet...your post has made me put down the book I just started and begin this one! I'll keep in touch if you are interested...


FannieB

[Ophelia]

Hi FannieB,

Do keep in touch, I'd love to hear about your impressions, and I'd love to be able to convince other members of the forum to share their thoughts about "Kevin".

[jeannew1231]

My book group read this one a year or two ago and to this day it was one of our favorites.

It was disturbing and real and emotional. We had a great discussion after reading this. I always recommend it to other people in book groups.

Our group is all moms, so the mother-son aspect was very interesting for us.

[Ophelia]

Hello, and thanks for your posting.
I have been wondering whether to suggest "Kevin" for reading in 2008 with Booktalk.
It is interesting to read what you write about your group.
Do you by any chance remember the specific questions your group discussed?
It would be very useful for me to have examples of questions that actually worked.


Did you mean to post only about this book, or are you considering joining Booktalk discussions? I hope you are, and in that case, how about writing an introduction and telling us a little about yourself?
Apart from Kevin, what are your favourite books?

I hope to hear from you again on Booktalk.

[Ophelia]

FannieB:

I'm glad you seconded Kevin in the fiction selection poll, maybe something will come out of this yet.

Have you tried A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini?
This discussion seems to be stuck, and it's a shame.

[Ophelia]

Jeannew1231:

I have a question for you about Kevin:
Some readers criticized Shriver for writing about something she didn't know about-- ie, motherhood.
I think that perhaps, as the subject was so sensitive, at this stage such a book could ONLY have been written by someone who is not a parent, and as fiction.
What do you think?

[FannieB]

As I'm finally getting into Kevin, it's making my heart beat fast and I'm only a few chapters (letters) in. As the mother to a 4 year old, it is somewhat like every nightmare thrust in my face - the what ifs, the things you can never know until the result is before you, the pleading with the Powers That Be to not let you screw it up too bad.

I think perhaps it is a greater story for being told by someone who is not a parent and can overstep the sentiment and emotion I don't believe someone who is a parent could leave behind in approaching this topic.

Even this early in the book, I find myself thinking for one of the first times of the parents of the shooters America has seen...it's easy to place blame and be incredulous that they were unaware of where things were headed...but now as a parent, my heart bleeds for them and what I imagine to be terrible feelings of failure, guilt, loss, fault....even doing my very best, can I be sure I won't be in their shoes someday? Can any parent, truly?

This book is going to keep me awake at night long after I close the cover.