Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver

11 reviews

hellokatya's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

my first introduction to this story was through the film. somehow, i had come across it in relation to ezra miller - more true to character than we’d originally thought! - and was immediately interested. unfortunate to report, i was not a fan. however, upon finding out this was a novel first, through a sale at a book store, i was rekindled in my interest: hoping it would deliver better. 

the movie took on the same layout as the book where it is going between two timelines, i thought it ruined the potential that the story could’ve had, and i felt a bit similarly reading it. it is revealed in the blurb on the back of the book that kevin is a school shooter and murdered people, leaving his mother to deal with the fallout, but throughout the book it is hinted at, not fully acknowledged or confirmed until the very end where she, in great detail, describes her assumptions of how thursday went down. 

when i first began reading this, i was - and still am - in the throes of a reading slump. this was one i really looked forward to and counted on to bring me out of it; it did in smaller ways than anticipated. 

1. i absolutely loved the way the author writes. it is so eloquent and well spoken, sounds extremely educated, but it came to feel condescending in the end - and maybe that was purposeful but i just could not wait for it to be over with. this book did take me a bit to finish (just over two weeks) and i was dragging my way through it. in some other reviews i’ve read on storygraph, people were also taken aback by this. no real person talks like that. nonetheless, the writing intrigued me and i wanted so badly to finish it. it was just a bit of a drag and felt pretentious at times
2. the “letters” do not feel like letters to someone at all. they’re more diary entries, or reliving memories. they are not cohesive with the way the book is formatted and it was bothersome for me. though, one of my main points with perks of being a wallflower, was that the letters felt too impersonal and left far too much out for me to really be unconditionally in the story.
3. towards the end, i was contemplating whether i think eva is an unreliable narrator and if her accounts of kevin’s behavior and nature are to be trusted, or if they’re tinged red with fury and resentment. are children truly born evil? was he toying with her for so long from such a young age or was he really a lost boy trying to get through to his mother? 
   1. it almost made me begin to empathize with him and i loathed it

overall, i do not think i would recommend this book, as it is far too rich and i began skimming ~70% way through just to have it over with.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Blood

Minor: Classism

jackbifrost's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, and Physical abuse

annahollamby's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

thought-provoking, disturbing, and ultimately, i fear, unforgettable. the detailed writing really adds to the realism of the story. eva, our narrator, is unlikeable but certainly enthralling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Excrement, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Gaslighting

pierreadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying and Medical content

Minor: Animal death and Sexual content

townmarshboy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Body shaming, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Blood, and Medical content

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Death of parent, and Alcohol

phantomgecko's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Character wise, everyone sucks in this book.

Franklin sucks in general, but in regards to a child, he sucked hardcore. A great way to ruin your marriage is to put your kids first. And like, yeah postpartum depression and even postpartum psychosis make Eva a little rough, but dang dude. He didn't need to gaslight her like that. If you legit take the word of your child over your spouse, you're proving the trust in your relationship isn't there. And if you don't trust each other, what is the point?

Is Eva an unreliable narrator? Probably? Should she have had kids? With her motivations, probably not. Did she try her damnedest? Looks like it. Should she have gotten her entire family counseling? Yeah, baby! She also should have stood up for herself more? But these things aren't what makes her suck. It's the stuck up, hypocritical attitude that Kevin rightly points out. (This side of her doesn't come out super often throughout, so she sucks the least.)

And obviously Kevin sucks because that's the point of the book.

There's a lot of philosophizing and social commentary and introspection in this book. Like it's 66% that. Interesting monologue, but it does make everything drag so

Also don't think the nasty mess with the drama teacher was necessary. It was overtly obscene. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

techigeekchic's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent

ehart416's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Keeps you hooked from beginning to end, despite you knowing exactly what's about to happen.  There is a perfect balance of ambiguity when it comes to who is really at fault and it is shockingly well executed.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Blood, Mass/school shootings, and Pregnancy

Minor: Eating disorder

pockymonster_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

nayyira's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Excrement, Mass/school shootings, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail