I recommend We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver

[albosmum]

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

mathamoo, I have taught some near sociopaths who's parents refuse to see them as anything other than 100% angelic. Hard to believe, I grant you, but trust me they do exist!

Did she not realise it's a boys name (well, an old man's name really)?

I lived w/a sociopath like this at Georgetown University, martian. Scary stuff!

No, I can well believe it, mb - but she knew he had blinded his sister - not much of a leap of faith from that to oooh could he have shot up the gym (arrowed up? archeried up?)

I agree with you, marthamoo, I think the book went off the boil in the second half; towards the end I felt as if I was reading the screenplay for the film, all gore and horror, written for a cinema audience. My enthusiasm for the book waned from the middle on. I do like the style of the unreliable narrator, though - very clever, IMO. But I also agree that it's a book that leaves you feeling rather sullied.

I've just finished this and it's been playing on my mind so much. So sad and disturbing and depressing but I would recommend it. Is it her first novel?

I must the only person in the world who thought it was ... blah ...

I found it predictable tbh .. and also thought the characters were unbelievable

guess that's what makes the world go round

You're not, Twiglett, I am currently reading it and finding it quite tedious. The mother is such an annoying character and the author seems to be suffering from a bout of verbal diarrhoea while giving her voice.

Eva also waffles on a bit, I am skipping huge "self-pitying, poor me" chunks of the book. So glad I didn't buy it!

I recommend Lionel Shriver get her head checked. That book was pants.

She obviously has a bug up her arse about motherhood (Shriver that is, probably issues about her own mother giving her such a crap name.)