Two years ago Eva Khatchadourian’s son, Kevin, murdered seven of his fellow high-school students, a cafeteria worker and a popular teacher. Now, in a series of letters to her absent husband, Eva recounts the story of how Kevin came to be Kevin. Fearing that her own shortcomings may have shaped what her son has become, she confesses to a deep, long-standing ambivalence about both motherhood in general and Kevin in particular. How much is her fault? When did it all start to go wrong? Or was it, in fact, ever ‘right’ at all?
Format: Paperback
Pages: 408
Imprint: Text Aust
Publication date: 30/09/2011
We Need to Talk about Kevin
by Lionel Shriver
Review by Claude
This book is sensational! I have not felt such strong emotions about any one novel in a long time. The book follows a mother writing to her husband about their son, who is in prison for killing nine people in his school gym. Shriver’s writing is raw, direct and poses probably the most disturbing ethical questions I’ve encountered. The reader is left fully immersed in the world of a mourning, anguished mother as she recounts her experiences leading up to her son’s imprisonment. If you want a book that will make you question your existence and make you shake and sweat, then this is for you.
SCORPIO BOOKS
Five Lanes, The BNZ Centre
120 Hereford Street
Christchurch Central City
Ph: (03) 379 2882
TELLING TALES
Five Lanes, The BNZ Centre
101-111 Cashel St
Christchurch Central City
Ph: (03) 741 3309
FREE NZ SHIPPING FOR ORDERS OVER $100
