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Original poster

We need to talk about Kevin - just how bad does it get?

96 replies

claudiaschiffer · 10/07/2008 13:56

Ok so i'm about half way though this book, Celia has just been born and I'm worried that Kevin does something so awful to her, that i'm a bit "eek" about reading on.

Go on, reassure me, surely it can't be as bad as I'm imagining.

I know this all sounds so wussy but I have a really lovely sweet dd whom Celia reminds me of and I really really don't want to read anything horrifying about gruesome Kevin torturing his lovely little sis.

Apart from that I'm LOVING it. It's fab and such an interesting/appalling (in a good way) read. Anyone got any thoughts?

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LadyThompson · 10/07/2008 15:03

You've started it now Claud, you have to finish. It's grim though. I can't decide (and still can't, two years after reading it) whether it has something interesting to say about parenthood, or whether it is simply sadistic and Lionel is a meanie who wants to make us all feel bad. Also, I think you can have a perspective on parenthood without having kids. I mean, she may not have kids and in interviews she comes across as being a painful up-her-own-bum berk (I read one about how wonderful she thought her body and skin were, and how she has is always taken for AT LEAST ten years younger than she is) but she has had PARENTS.

artgirl73 · 10/07/2008 14:55

I thought this book was fascinating - a real modern horror, but then I read another of hers about what happened if a woman had an affair with a snooker star (wtf??) or stayed with her dull husband, sliding doors style, and I found it painfully pretentious!

Try Christopher Brookmyre for intelligent and very funny crime fiction?

I have just finished a Richard and Judy (ugh, I know!) thriller called No Time For Goodbye, and it was a cracking good read with a great plot.

Let us know what you pick, and good luck!

cornsilk · 10/07/2008 14:53

actually I thought celia was too needy and passive - always after Kevin's approval.

idontbelieveit · 10/07/2008 14:31

I agree with MsD, i always hated her articles in the guardian.

seeker · 10/07/2008 14:29

It gets worse. And either I am particularly stupid, or it gets worse in a completely unexpected way.

idontbelieveit · 10/07/2008 14:29

she does have flaws, she's shy, cries at the slightest thing, oversensitive. Maybe she jsut seems flawless cos Kevin's so awful.

MsDemeanor · 10/07/2008 14:28

I think she is a loon (she changed her name to Lionel ffs!) who hates kids. Which isn't a very profound thought and really teaches us zilch. I am sure it is a gripping horror story, but I did object to the reviews and articles which implied she has something profound to say about The State of Motherhood Today or some such.

LyraSilvertongue · 10/07/2008 14:27

Blood will be shed...

LyraSilvertongue · 10/07/2008 14:26

Poor Celia

ChickenBurger · 10/07/2008 14:26

Not just Celia...

LyraSilvertongue · 10/07/2008 14:26

Don't you think Celia is a bit too much of a contrast to Kevin? She's everything that is good and sweet with absolutely no flaws, whereas Kevin's all bad.

Original poster
claudiaschiffer · 10/07/2008 14:23

Oh no. Really? Little darling Celia?

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idontbelieveit · 10/07/2008 14:19

be afraid for celia, be very afraid.....

edam · 10/07/2008 14:19

I don't think it's fair to dismiss the book saying 'Oh, but Lionel Shriver's not a mother, what does SHE know?' It's very interesting to read about motherhood from the perspective of a childless/free woman. And we have all had mothers so we are all entitled to an opinion... I think she's said, actually, that she was kind of exploring her ideas about motherhood and confirmed that she didn't want the responsibility because she might be like her anti-heroine.

LyraSilvertongue · 10/07/2008 14:17

Oops, x-post

idontbelieveit · 10/07/2008 14:17

worth finishing but it only gets worse. I found it compulsive but I didn't think it was a good book. I hated Shriver's rather pretentious use of language as well.
It did keep me reading though.

LyraSilvertongue · 10/07/2008 14:17
Original poster
claudiaschiffer · 10/07/2008 14:16

oo lyra, I don't know! I think I want to know that Celia will be ok, but she's not mentioned in any of the earlier letters so I fear for the poor darling.

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Original poster
claudiaschiffer · 10/07/2008 14:14

yup I agree MsD, but I think it is at least unusual for a woman to write about having zero maternal feelings for a child, and pretty interesting to do so in such a bold way.

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AbbeyA · 10/07/2008 14:13

It is worth finishing, it poses a lot of questions. Without giving anything away -it is harrowing and not one that I will read again.

LyraSilvertongue · 10/07/2008 14:13

I don't think it says anything important about parenting. Very few people find themselves in that mother's position. Most of us adore our children, or at least like them a bit, so it's not relevant to most of us.
Claudia, how much of a spoiler do you want? i can generalise a bit.

MsDemeanor · 10/07/2008 14:08

You can be gripped by something without thinking it is teaching us something profound though. I was gripped by Dr Who.

Original poster
claudiaschiffer · 10/07/2008 14:08

Surely msdemeanor it is the whole nature/nurture debate writ to the MAX? Is Kevin just a horrible BAD kid or is his cold mother - at least partly - to blame for his veryvery bad deeds.

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Piffle · 10/07/2008 14:07

I think the ending is important as the preceding text is retrospective so you need to know what he did to understand their dynamic when he is detained....
I was shocked to be fair. But not surprised.

Original poster
claudiaschiffer · 10/07/2008 14:06

Dontcha think Cornsilk that it's a bit reassuring about parenting tho, as surely I CANNOT be as bad as that.

OomphreyCushion, I shall brace myself for the worst

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