We Need To Talk About Kevin

skylight1987

i am considering reading We Need To Talk About Kevin, i heard its brill but also horrific . i would like some views of people who have read it

unknownlegend

I read it a few years ago when it came out. It can be tough at times and quite emotional, sometimes I thought the prose was terse but still descriptive and effective. Give it a go, it's quite rewarding to read through and from what I remember it's not a long read. Apologies for short reply, on a mobile device!

00112984

My all-time favourite book. I've re-read it in parts dozens of times and also have it in audio format on my iPhone to listen to. I love it. I did find the first 100 pages or so tough to get through simply because it can be a tad long-winded and the prose is quite detailed but it's worth sticking with.

I'd highly recommend it but I can see why it's a book a lot of people don't like- both from the point of view of the style of writing and also the events of the story itself.

psycho-hope

one of my favorite books, yes its a bit shocking but its so well written, that it deals with it properly.

skylight1987

thanks folks, i think i will read it but get a few friends to read it too so we can analyse and disscuss. i hope i am not kept awake all night at the horrific goings on

gypsy_rose

I personally didn't find it over the top horrifying, it is disturbing, but I don't think you'll lose sleep over it, enjoy!

Vim Fuego

The first 200 pages are a struggle - Kevin's mother is a self-important shrew - but as the book develops and Kevin becomes older, it starts to get more interesting/disturbing and you're up until 2am trying to finish it. I wouldn't say it was enjoyable but it was compelling, though I don't think I would recommend.

On the up side, it does make a vasectomy look ever more appealing.

Malari

I really enjoyed it. One of my favourite books ever. Maybe because I identified with the Kevin's mother in that I don't want children (or like them particularly) it helped me to get into the story at the start. It was compelling and extremely well written. However, I know everyone won't enjoy it, so I tend not to recommend it!

IgnatiusJ

It will put you off ever having children.

UpCork

Read this book when it was first releated (about three years ago roughly) and I can honestly say it is a book that has always stayed with me. I don't think you could read it and like some books forget about it.

redz11

It's well worth a read.

Most reviews I've read about it are quite critical, and I can see where they're coming from, but at the same time it's a good read.

As other posters have said, it's tough to get through maybe the first quarter of the book. But it's very easy to read from there, and it's really gripping towards the end.

You say that it being horrific puts you off - trust me, I scare easy, but this book isn't horribly graphic or disgusting or anything. It won't keep you awake at night - but it will definitely make you think!!

One thing I would say - while I don't think it'll put you off having kids, as some say - I still would not recommend it for a pregnant person!! As I said ... it really does make you think ...

kylith

I hated every moment of reading it. I thought that it was poorly written. The mother is just horrid.

amdublin

It invigorates the nature versus nuture debate!

Malari

kylith wrote: »

I hated every moment of reading it. I thought that it was poorly written. The mother is just horrid.

I'm interested that people thought the mother was horrible! I thought she was very put-upon, sacrificed a lot for her family and I had a lot of empathy for her. That's the overall impression and memory I have of the character. I read the book about 2 years ago I suppose.

itac

Read it now before the film comes out!

It's one of the few dark books that I read over & over again. The mother is difficult to warm to at the start, but as it progresses, you can kinda understand why she acts the way she does.

I dunno how familiar you are with the plot, so I won't say too much, but it'll certainly leave you thinking about kids a lot! I was lucky in that I knew absolutely nothing about it, so everything in it was completely fresh to me. The horrific part of it isn't that horrific compared to some novels, I think it's more the way it's presented that will leave a you a little spooked.

IMO, it's definitely, definitely worth a read-I've got several copies as I keep lending it out to people!

amdublin

itac wrote: »

Read it now before the film comes out!

There's a film?!

Who's in the cast do you know?

itac

Tilda Swinton & John C. Reilly...he really doesn't match up to my picture of Franklin, but will have to wait and see how he performs I guess!
Think it premiered at Cannes, not too sure when it'd be released here..

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1242460/

ash23

It's a good read. I too struggled through the first third of it, it all seemed very self indulgent to start with and the mother a bit of a whinger.
But the story picked up.

It's funny, maybe I'm a heartless wench, but I didn't find it overly disturbing. It wasn't pleasant, no, but it didn't make me reconsider future children or anything as I felt the upbringing was a lot to do with the end result.

Anyway, read it is my recommendation.

Malari

ash23 wrote: »

It's a good read. I too struggled through the first third of it, it all seemed very self indulgent to start with and the mother a bit of a whinger.
But the story picked up.

It's funny, maybe I'm a heartless wench, but I didn't find it overly disturbing. It wasn't pleasant, no, but it didn't make me reconsider future children or anything as I felt the upbringing was a lot to do with the end result.

Anyway, read it is my recommendation.

Wow, really? I thought it was utterly innate in Kevin. Whatever was wrong with him.

I didn't find it that disturbing either. But then I list American Psycho as one of my other favourite books ever, so maybe I'm a heartless wench too

ash23

Malari wrote: »

Wow, really? I thought it was utterly innate in Kevin. Whatever was wrong with him.

Hmmm, maybe I read it wrong

I just thought that her own behaviour may have been somewhat downplayed by her, seeing as it was told from her own point of view. Particularly as she felt she was the only onw who could see him for what he was when he was younger and felt everytime he was "good" he was being manipulative. I suppose I just don't fully believe that any child is born evil. She hated him pretty much on sight. It struck me that she was somewhat detached from him constantly.

He was clearly a "problem child" but her own behaviour and reactions exacerbated it in my opinion for eg ignoring his clearly increasingly disturbing behaviour.

For me it seemed about 50/50 nature-nurture. As in, he had issues but had they been handled well (or at all), if he'd had a loving mother.....maybe it would have been different.

username123

Malari wrote: »

Wow, really? I thought it was utterly innate in Kevin. Whatever was wrong with him.

Yeah so did I.

I didnt like it. It was compelling, but I felt disturbed by it. Maybe because I didnt agree with how the mother behaved at the end of it all. I would have done the opposite.

Blush_01

I love Schriver's writing style. I read We Need To Talk About Kevin years after I actually bought it, on the back of having read Double Fault. Neither novel was a particularly emotionally easy read, but she's a fantastic writer and I have The Post-Birthday World somewhere - it's on my list!!

Autosport

I bought this book last weekend and i cant wait to read it but i have a few other books to read first. Is it a quick read or slow???

acurno

Read it a few years ago. Thought it was a good read, well written, however I really couldn't take the character Kevin seriously. He seems to have been the most intelligent child to ever have existed on the planet,as well as being the most evil and disturbed person of all time. Totally unbelievable as a character most of the time. And what he did at the end was really a cop-out for what he was capable of. Seemed destined for bigger things that that. Disappointing really. And the mother came across as a major bitch, no wonder he didn't like her.

ash23

Autosport wrote: »

I bought this book last weekend and i cant wait to read it but i have a few other books to read first. Is it a quick read or slow???

Slow, well I found it slow anyone. The language is a bit labourious to wade through at times. Once you get about a third in, it gets more interesting but initially it is a bit of a trial.