I recommend We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver

[albosmum]

I really enjoyed this book and would like to recommend it!

ooh, keep trying to get this out at library but it's always gone. supposed to be great.

I would post you my copy but i have already passed it to sil

It is brilliant, mesmerising and totally shocking. She builds up the horror brilliantly. It's also quite funny in a dark, dark way.

fantastic book, one of the best I have read for eons. Absolutely stunning writing and so gripping.

just incase anyone wants a copy, the book people have it atm! £3.99!

It's my book club's book this month, and I'm really enjoying it. Unusual style, I think. No spoilers please!

I was so in awe of her writing. The twist at the end is good too.

totally riveted by this book. only finished it last night and bits of it keep swirling around in my head. incredibly though-provoking and a real must-read for all parents

I've got it on reserve at the local library and can't wait

I got it out from the library on Saturday. The librarian said, "oooh, you're brave, most mothers can't bear to read it!". Have read about four or five chapters so far. The writing is a joy - it is so beautifully written.

I recommend therapy for Lionel, who is far more frightening that Kevin.

I am currently reading this. Her words really pull you in.

Not reading the thread in case someone lets some info slip!

I started this and couldn't bear the way it was written. Overblown and unwieldy, imho.

Will you be my best mate, baked? I agree 100%.

i just bought it yesterday..

no way bakedpot - I am genuinely shocked that you think that. I thought it was brilliantly written.

Still enjoying it... It's got a lot of Americanisms in it which make it harder to read; I'm sure I'm missing some cultural references. Apparently no British publisher would take it until it was discussed on Woman's Hour.

bakedpot, agree to start with...but got beyond this and totally enjoyed it. and I am difficult to please. very.

I think (not having finished it yet) that it has echoes of Zoe Heller's Notes on a Scandal - which I loved. I imagine this narrator, like Heller's, may not be the most admirable person on earth; plus the horror as it unfolds.

fauxvampire, enjoyed notes on a scandal too, but nowhere near as much as Kev

Lionel Shriver was on that bookclub type programme a few months ago on BBC1 and she was fantastic. Anauthor that comes across as well on TV as in print.

I couldn't get into this book and took it back to the library unfinished, which is rare for me! I think it was the stream-of-consciousness stuff I didn't like. But maybe I should give it another go.

do try to stick with it suedonim, i got a bit stuck at the start too

ladybundyful, Did not think Notes on a Scandal could be surpassed! Will let you know if I think it has been when I finish. May then have to start a thread with spoilers.

The thing is, with a first person narrator all the way through (so far as I've got), it's bound to be a bit claustrophobic. But what a thing for a writer to pull off. Suedonim, and others, have another go. I'm betting on it proving worth it.

I liked it a lot ... although I remember finding some of the stuff about being a mum not entirely convincing. Don't remember what, now, of course.