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A review by annie_brewer
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
challenging
dark
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Read via audiobook (Orion Publishing Group Limited)
A superb book. The writing is impeccable, non superfluous but provides astounding imagery. Each character has so much dimension and their perfect regularity lends to faceted motivations.
Delivered through letters, Eva's tone alludes to indifference and banality - a reactionary position of self defense, a methodic distancing from the atrocities of her son, or exhaustion? Her crude apology for her own loss at a funeral of a victim exposes her grief and helplessness, yet possibly hints at self-absorbtion and innate narcissism.
Is Eva an unreliable narrator? Does Eva also have psychopathic tendancies? Was Eva oppressively cynical? Was Eva suffering from post-partum depression, impacting her bonding with Kevin?
The nuances between Kevin and Eva are expertly crafted, rendering the relationship consistantly teetering between obliteration and mutual respect with each interaction. The suprising accountability they hold each other to, valuing authenticity over compassion, stunts their relationships with others who can never reciprocate the grittiness and pervasion.
A novel that will forever make me question nature vs nurture.
A superb book. The writing is impeccable, non superfluous but provides astounding imagery. Each character has so much dimension and their perfect regularity lends to faceted motivations.
Delivered through letters, Eva's tone alludes to indifference and banality - a reactionary position of self defense, a methodic distancing from the atrocities of her son, or exhaustion? Her crude apology for her own loss at a funeral of a victim exposes her grief and helplessness, yet possibly hints at self-absorbtion and innate narcissism.
Is Eva an unreliable narrator? Does Eva also have psychopathic tendancies? Was Eva oppressively cynical? Was Eva suffering from post-partum depression, impacting her bonding with Kevin?
The nuances between Kevin and Eva are expertly crafted, rendering the relationship consistantly teetering between obliteration and mutual respect with each interaction. The suprising accountability they hold each other to, valuing authenticity over compassion, stunts their relationships with others who can never reciprocate the grittiness and pervasion.
A novel that will forever make me question nature vs nurture.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome - Unspecified but implied.