We Need to Talk About Kevin
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 Cover of the American Reprint Edition |
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| Author | Lionel Shriver |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Counterpoint Press |
| Released | 14 April 2003 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback and Hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 1582432678 |
We Need to Talk About Kevin is a 2003 novel by Lionel Shriver, concerning a fictional school massacre. It is written from the perspective of the killer's mother, Eva Khatchadourian, and documents her attempt to come to terms with her son Kevin and the murders he committed. Although told in the first person as a series of letters from Eva to her husband, the novel's structure also strongly resembles that of a thriller. The novel, Shriver's seventh, won the 2005 Orange Prize, a UK-based prize for female authors of any nationality.
Contents |
[edit] Characters in "We Need to Talk About Kevin"
[edit] Kevin
Kevin's behavior throughout the book closely resembles that of a psychopath, although reference to this condition is sparse and left mostly up to the reader's imagination. He displays little to no affection or moral responsibility towards his family or community, and commonly distances himself from people to avoid attachment. Kevin seems to regard virtually everyone with contempt and hatred. Eva, his mother, makes frequent attempts to enter Kevin's mind and identify some reason for his detachment and his actions, which to non-sociopaths seem incomprehensible. He engages in many acts of petty sabotage from an early age, from seemingly-innocent actions like cutting decorated cards to pieces to encouraging a girl to gouge her eczema-affected skin. Rationalization for his behavior is one of the central themes of the story -- when asked the simple question 'Why?' after the massacre, he responds that he is giving the public the excitement and scandal that they secretly crave. Only in rare instances does another side of Kevin emerge, in childhood when he becomes very ill and later, just before he is transferred to an adult prison. In these instances, he displays the simple need for love and comfort that all children seek, as well as an unusual empathy and concern for those around him. It is left ambiguous as to whether this is Kevin's real personality hidden under layers of psychosis, or vice versa.
[edit] Eva
Kevin's mother is founder and CEO of the fictional travel guide company 'A Wing and a Prayer'. Her work allows her to travel to many diverse countries, which satisfies her taste for the new and exotic. She is intelligent and educated, emotional, and quite strongly liberal to the point of anti-Americanism, owing partly to her Armenian ancestry and her dislike of the attitudes of rich suburbanites. In a sense her husband, Franklin, is her opposite in terms of personality, although there is a strong chemisty between the two.
Eva has conflicted feelings about becoming pregnant, but desires to give Franklin the family he wants. After Kevin's birth, Eva admits that she did not bond with the child nor feel any of the instant love that other mothers profess. This is, in part, because the newborn Kevin himself resists bonding, refusing even at such a young age to breastfeed and crying constantly, although his every need is met. Eva worries that Kevin instinctively sensed her ambivalence towards motherhood and that this has led to his horrifying behavior.
[edit] Franklin
Eva's narration takes the form of letters written after the massacre to her presumably-estranged husband, Franklin. In these letters, she details the events of Kevin's life up to the school massacre, and her thoughts concerning their relationship. She also admits to a number of events that she tried to keep secret, such as when she lashed out and broke Kevin's arm in a sudden fit of rage. Franklin comes across as extremely loving but also intensely myopic where his family is concerned. He makes a huge effort to believe that his household conforms to his idealistic view of typical family life, blinded to Kevin's malice and convinced that he has a normal, happy son. Towards the end of the novel he breaks down under the pressure of maintaining this illusion and asks for a divorce. Kevin overhears this, and in Eva's view, decided to commit his act of mass-murder at that point, in part because he guessed that he would end up in his oblivious father's custody, whereas he actually prefers the mother who he knows can see through him.
[edit] Major themes
Shriver deliberately avoids arguments about media violence and gun control, to enable her to focus on the relative importance of innate characteristics and personal experiences in determining character and behaviour. (Kevin does not, in fact, use a gun to commit the killings.) The book is particularly concerned with the possibility that Eva's ambivalence toward maternity may have influenced Kevin's development.
[edit] External links
- Interview with the author from Salon.com
- BBC Radio 4 interview with Shriver on the book
| Preceded by Andrea Levy - Small Island |
Orange Prize for Fiction 2005 |
Succeeded by Zadie Smith - On Beauty |
