Wednesday, September 5, 2012

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver


I need to talk about We Need to Talk About Kevin.

I tend to miss all fashions while they’re fashionable, books included, and usually this works fine; my reading friends have grown accustomed to me asking excitedly, “Have you read My Sister’s Keeper?!!” approximately five years after everyone else in the world agreed it was a wonderful book. Right now, however, I’m wishing I wasn’t so far behind. (I’m thankful, though, that I was warned not to read this book earlier in my son’s life; even though by now I know Moses is nothing like Kevin, I still had to remind myself of this fact while reading the second half of the book especially; if Mo was still a baby I may have run away in fear.) 

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver is a breathtaking book, quite literally; I felt winded when I finally put it down. It’s a book that will haunt me for a very long time, and one that I feel oddly compelled to talk about. I’m almost certain that if I heard strangers mention this book in a cafe right now, I’d pull up a chair and join in their conversation. I want to start a book club just to discuss it; we’d meet once, then disband. I had few expectations of the book before I read it - one friend had passionately loved it, another had found it too disturbing. I’d actually thought it was about a mother and her autistic son, so was surprised to read (on the cover) that Kevin was instead the perpetrator of a mass shooting at his high school. The book is made up of letters that Eva (Kevins mum) writes to her husband (they’re separated), reflecting on her life, on their marriage, on Kevin, and on where it all went wrong. Unlike other reviewers, I was riveted from beginning to end, and, despite her flaws, found Eva’s character both captivating and strangely admirable.

Often when reading, a clunky sentence will trip me over and I’ll have to rewrite it in my head before I can move on. In this book, it was the beauty of some sentences that made me pause; the writing is poetic and polished, and now, looking back and seeing how tightly and cleverly the whole story has been put together, I’m even more in awe of Shriver’s handiwork. I was completely under her spell from the opening pages until the inevitable, but still shocking, end (which I read with my hand over my mouth, my heart racing, and my stomach in knots); never before has a piece of writing sucked me in this much. Along with “intense” and “powerful,” my mind keeps attaching the word “perfect” to this book, it’s a truly brilliant masterpiece that repulsed me as much as it drew me in. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to face reading it again, but I dare say it’ll remain at the top of my ‘Best Novels’ list for a very, very long time.

6 comments:

  1. I was enthralled by it as well. Given the content I couldn't bring myself to go see the movie though. That final twist was graphic enough in my head; there are some things I just don't want to see.

    I read a couple of her other novels since; not as compelling, but decent reads. You need a high tolerance for adultery though. :p

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    1. I'm totally with you on the movie thing, though I did go and watch the trailer after finishing the book. A friend told me the same thing about Shriver's other books; I think I'll avoid them and hold her up as a genius forever!

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  2. You're right when you say repulsive and enthralling at the same time. So beautifully written that it was a little too much for me in one sitting. Glad you got through it ok :)

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    1. Glad you warned me away from it while Mo was smaller! :)

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  3. A book that I had similar feelings about was 'The Lovely Bones'. I read it some years ago but remember it being utterly gripping, disturbing, sad and uplifting all at once. And I will never read it again.

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    1. I remember just getting 'disturbing' from The Lovely Bones! After reading your comment I first thought, "Maybe I should read that book again to rethink my reaction?", but after your last line I think I'll just leave it... :o)

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