Let's Talk About Kevin

[PrettySnowyPictures]

Has anyone read this book? I've just finished it, I'm kind of mixed about how I feel now.

On one hand I thought it was drawn out, the language and descriptions added and the way it was narrated seemed like the author didn't have a clue how they wanted the character to sound or how bitchy she actually came across and there wasn't really that much story over all or much focus on Kevin, most of it just seemed like the author was adding elaborate words and descriptions to fill out the story.

On the other hand, it was one of those books that no matter how much it irritated you at times you just couldn't put it down. It was emotional too (in my opinion) and the ending made me cry heaps which doesn't normally happen unless I'm reading a true story. It left me feeling kind of empty if that makes any sense whatsoever? (Not in a bad way though I doubt I've explained myself very well, more in a what now? I need more kind of way).

And it's one of those rare books for me that makes me want to go back to the start and read it all over again. It left me questioning a lot about myself too.

Can anyone recommend any similar sort of books? I'm going to have a look and see what else the author has written but atm I don't feel quite "over" the story so it'll be difficult to get stuck into another book atm

I love it, but don't like most of her others much at all. I don't think she likes people much, not just children!

I wish I hadn't read it. I thought it was well written, but I could see where it was going & was just waiting for it to happen.

It's the only book I can think of that I wish I could unread

I liked it, and will read it again at some point.
The only other one of hers I've read is Big Brother, which I also enjoyed, but found the ending a bit irritating.
Want to see the film too. And will look out for some titles mentioned here too.

I found this tedious to read but felt I had to finish it. Have heard it read on radio 4 and went to see the film so it must have had some effect on me.
Found it hard to relate to Eva and Kevin because I just kept thinking she should have started how she meant to go on with discipline from day one and less of the happy clappy parenting that seems to go on nowadays.
Read another of her books, can't remember title now, about a woman with cancer. Come to the conclusion that if you want to feel depressed read Lionel Shriver!

I loved it. Like all her books.

Apparently children who turn into killers like that will generally have suffered severe abuse in childhood, unlike Kevin. I may be wrong but I don't think the author based her book around proper research. In which case it's shocking but in a cheating kind of way - not based on anything at all likely to happen in real life.
And the ending was way too predictable. It was obvious from the outset that the father and sister had been killed too.
I also thought the supposed big question over whether it was all the mother's fault was ridiculous - she had the patience of a saint towards Kevin, IMO.

9Blue, I didn't find it obviousl.

Isn't the blame thing Eva wondering whether to blame herself even more than society blaming her?

I didn't find it obvious either 9blue.

What made the film so rubbish? Did it just not translate well to the screen or did they change the plot?

Were the Columbine shooters severely abused (I know they were bullied) - as they are referenced in the book I always assume they were part of the base for Kevin.

Yonic - the mother was supposedly writing letters to the husband, and was talking to him about their daughter in those letters. She never, in the whole course of the book, saw her young daughter. That to me clearly indicated that something nasty had happened to her.
I also found it a bit implausible that she strongly suspected that her clearly nasty and sadistic son had blinded her daughter, but did nothing to separate the children. They were wealthy - not sure why they didn't send the son to one of those famous American military schools or some other boarding school.
Having said that - I do like the author, and it's a strong book (though maybe not accurate). The book about the married tennis pros is good too.
Has anyone read the interview in Far from the Tree, with the mother of one of the Columbine killers? He apparently had also been brought up by caring parents, and she couldn't understand how he had turned into the person he had. But still loved his memory.

Before the fate of the father and daughter was revealed I assumed that they had divorced and that he had custody of her - which would explain why she was alone.

Hmm, it's hard to remember the first reading now but a lot of the letters were about history and it was quite a long way through before the DD was introduced or even the crime was clarified.

I think I assumed the father had moved out and the DD had died at some point.

I thought it was obvious from the beginning too, 9blue. Though a part of me kept hoping that he'd somehow 'escaped' with the daughter.

Well written and thought provoking, but I think sensationalist, and almost gratuitous. I found it upsetting and difficult to read those passages about the damage done to her daughter.

I also found it a bit implausible that she strongly suspected that her clearly nasty and sadistic son had blinded her daughter, but did nothing to separate the children.

This is the part I couldn't reconcile with. I wanted her to remove her daughter from the situation. She was convinced he'd blinded her, along with all the other minor incidents inflicted on the poor girl, and did nothing.

I didn't realise about Franklin until almost the moment we were told.

I had this wonderfully awful "oh!" moment and turned the page to find out I was right.

I thought he had blamed Eva and taken the daughter away.

I loved Eva though, and hated Franklin.

I think it's brilliant. Being obviously pretty dense, I read it the first time and didn't realise she was supposed to have post-natal depression. So the second time I read it, it was like reading a different book.
She also wrote a very good, though relentlessly grim, book about two married tennis players, the name of which now eludes me. I'd recommend it though. (She says, unhelpfully.)

I loved this book I found it very disturbing but an absolute page turner

The tennis player book is Double Fault.

I liked the book,but it was drawn and she seemed to overword it with no real purpose.

It's one of the few cases,if not the only one,where I've actually referred the film and I've seen that many times!