Book Review: We Need to Talk About Kevin

This year I set myself the challenge of reading 20 books. You can read my quick reviews of the first 10 here, but I thought that We Need to Talk About Kevin should have it's own.

Want to avoid spoilers? My rating for this book is probably 9.5/10. I found it gripping and emotional, and would highly recommend it. Minor spoilers below!

Intense, frustrating and somewhat slow-paced, We Need to Talk About Kevin is told from the perspective of Eva - a mother whose 15 year old son, Kevin, goes on a rampage in his school, killing seven students and two staff members - in the form of letters to her estranged husband, Franklin.

The book switches from the present day, where Eva regularly visits Kevin in juvenile prison and the past, beginning from before Kevin was conceived. It's obvious that Eva doesn't particularly want to have children, and starting with a difficult labour (albeit, as a result of Eva declining painkillers) and Kevin's refusal to breastfeed, you are given a glimpse into what's to come.

The Beginning of a Nightmare

Kevin presents challenges from early childhood that would be difficult for any parent. He doesn't start talking or using the toilet until much later and appears to be uninterested in things typical of a child, despite Eva's attempts and Franklin's desire to encourage playing and "all-American" hobbies like baseball.

His behaviours become more problematic and sinister as the book progresses, before reaching the explosive and twisted ending. Throughout the book, it's obvious that Eva thinks that Kevin is purposely behaving out of turn in order to evoke anger and rage from her. Franklin thinks otherwise, and is always ready to defend or excuse Kevin's behaviour.

I found this to be incredibly frustrating. Whilst I'm not a parent myself, I couldn't imagine how infuriating it must be for my partner to disagree with me on such issues and be blind to abhorrent and evil behaviours - even if it was our own child acting in such a way.

Which leads on to my next point. I automatically sided with Eva and believed everything that she was saying. That she had done nothing wrong in raising Kevin, that he was simply born wicked, and that she couldn't be blamed for his crimes. Throughout the book, she makes reference to other school shootings and often cites that the mother is questioned on how the child was raised, as if that should be a reason for them to carry out such heinous acts. Of course a troubled childhood can lead to violent behaviours, but initially, I didn't believe that Kevin had experienced this.

However, once I thought more about it, it appeared that I had only heard it from Eva's side. We never heard how Kevin felt about his mother's avoidant attitudes. Was Eva automatically closed off towards Kevin, given the difficult labour and fact that she didn't want to have him in the first place? Is she paranoid about Kevin plotting against her?

It's clear here that We Need to Talk About Kevin highlights the long-standing nature / nurture divide. On the whole, I still stand with Eva, but perhaps that's due to my stance of being on the fence about having children. In fact, the novel highlights that some parents can regret their choices and never fully love their offspring, which actually sways my feelings.

The American Dream

Another theme that I found to be interesting was Eva's Armenian heritage coming up against Franklin's desire to live the American Dream. Eva seems to have a dislike for this idea and country that she has found herself in, with one scene involving her rhyming off negative stereotypes and stating that "they are self-righteous and superior about their precious democracy, and condescending towards other nationalities because they think they've got it right...the rest of the world can't stand them."

Whilst this is a harsh, sweeping generalisation, I can't help but think the same sentiment probably rings true for people across the world today given the current president; the handling of a pandemic; and the prevalence of police brutality.

Of course, gun control and the Second Amendment is also mentioned too, with Franklin defending the use of firearms that are a "big part" of America and are "here to stay".

Later in the novel, Eva remarks that school shootings are frequent, as the children that carry them out want to make the news, and are often imitating what they hear and see in the media. This novel was written in 2003 and I can't help but feel sad that these incidents are still occurring 17 years later. As an outsider, like Eva, I often struggle to grasp this aspect of the American life - particularly how easy it is to obtain weapons, and how people can defend it.

We Need to Talk About Kevin is a gripping tale that will get you thinking and feeling.

I hope you enjoyed my review and enjoy reading it if you choose to do so!

Lyns x