We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

I have been putting off this review because I finished the book the day before the El Paso and Dayton shootings and it just did not feel right. It all hit too close to home. For those who do not know, I am from Texas and have lived in west Texas. Knowing that there was a shooting so close was a very hard feeling to deal with, but then to wake up the next morning and finding out that a second shooting had taken place in Dayton was very sobering. Needless to say, I needed to take a beat before writing a review about the school shooting that takes place in We Need to Talk About Kevin.

(Source: Kelsey Darling)

Eva was always uncertain about motherhood, while her husband Franklin knew he was meant to be a father. Because of her love for Franklin, she agrees to parenthood and soon Kevin comes into the world. But Kevin is far from a normal baby or child. He constantly screams, refuses to stop wearing diapers, and scares the kids at daycare. Franklin cannot see anything wrong with Kevin and blames others, but Eva believes her son is evil. Eva never believed that he would eventually kill nine people at his high school though. Told through letters to Franklin, Eva relives her life as Kevin's mother and wonders where they all went wrong.

This was a very interesting and captivating read. The relationship between Eva and Kevin was diabolical from the beginning. As a baby, he hates her. He came out of the womb hating her. It was like he knew right away that she was an adversary, even though she should not be. He learned as a toddler how to please his father, but never attempted to please Eva. The only joy she got out of his younger years were the one time he rolled a ball back to her. It was extremely negative. But by the end of the book, it is clear that the only person he respects is Eva. His father was naive and antiquated in his beliefs. He never thought his son had any problems in any aspect, despite lack of friends, runaway nannies, and few interests in anything. He wanted to believe Kevin was the ideal son.

(Source: Giphy)

Eva saw him for what he was, and by the end of the book, she is calling him out on it, either to Franklin or to Kevin directly. While he does not show respect in the traditional way, he keeps a photo of her in his prison cell; a picture Eva thought had gone missing many years prior. And when Kevin returns his sisters glass eyeball to Eva at the end, he asks her not to open the box there because Eva had previously said she never wanted to see Kevin with it again or she would never visit; he clearly wants her to continue to visit. But even before he is imprisoned, there are moments where he is completely honest with her, like when she confronts him about the computer viruses he keeps on floppy discs.

"'Since you collect them. Maybe you can explain to me-why do people make them?...'
'I understand hacking into AT&T to get free phone calls or stealing emcrypted credit card numbers to run up a bill at The Gap. But this sort of computer crime-nobody benefits. What's the point?'
'That is the point....'
As I turned to go, he said, 'Your computer's fucked, isn't it.'
'Yes, it's fucked,' I said ruefully. 'I guess I deserve it.'
'You know, if there's anybody you don't like?' he offered. 'And you got their e-mail address? Just lemme know.'
I laughed. 'Okay, I'll be sure to do that. Though, some days? The people I don't like come to quite a list.'
'Better warn them you got friends in low places,' he said.
So this is bonding! I marveled, and closed the door." (pp. 326-327)

(Source: Giphy)

The shock ending of Franklin and Celia being Kevin's tenth and eleventh victims was equally surprising and obvious. I suspected early on that Franklin was dead, but also thought that maybe they had divorced and was refusing to talk to Eva. When Celia came into the picture, I thought that maybe the courts had decided that Eva was not capable of being a mother, but Franklin was equally at fault, so that did not really hold up. I thought when there was the Drain-o incident, she had died; but that would mean then the Franklin was dead too, because she said on a few occasions that Celia was with Franklin. So then the thoughts went to wondering if Franklin did something in the aftermath. But when Eva is describing the events of the morning of the shooting, it became very clear what was going to happen. It was really in this moment that it became obvious the Kevin had no respect for Franklin, but might have had some for Eva. He "joked" that Eva should say goodbye to Celia one more time; he killed Franklin and let Eva go to work.

I attempted to look up how many school shooting there have been since this book was published in April of 2003, but after getting to 50 and still being in 2006, I gave up. I continued to scroll though the list and saw many shootings I remember seeing in the news, but saw so many more that were not. Some were not exactly shootings. In one, a girl was in a criminal justice class and was aiming a gun that belonged to the teacher at a target. It missed the target and hit a window; no one was hurt and the shooting was unintentional, the girl not knowing it was loaded. The teacher was a peace officer and allowed to carry the weapon. The only thing wrong here is letting a teenager handle a loaded weapon when the student does not know how to tell if it is loaded. There were a few other accidental discharge situations. Other shootings were gang related and just happened to take place on a school or college campus, but no students or staff were hurt; most were done after hours. But sadly, more often than not, the shootings are students, teachers, or staff that are purposely shooting. Shootings bother me no matter where they take place, but when innocent children lose their lives because of a school shooting, my heart breaks a little bit harder. I wish there was a definitive answer to fixing this problem, but sadly, the politicians are driven more by money than something being right or wrong, and money makes everything more difficult.

I hate ending a review for such a wonderfully written book on such a depressing note, but unfortunately, this book is extremely real in today's world. This book of fiction is very much based in fact, and that makes it more terrifying than any non-fiction book you can read.

Rating: 8/10
Author: Lionel Shriver
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary
Dates Read: July 31-August 2, 2019