We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I went on a real journey with this book. I picked it up on recommendation from a friend and after reading the first few chapters, I began asking myself whether or not I should continue reading. It's not that it wasn't interesting; indeed the event around which the book revolves is controversial and, due to our natural tendency to be drawn towards other people's private lives and tragedy, is intriguing, but I believe the fact that it's written in the format of letters to Franklin makes it hard for the author to create suspense. In addition to this, the vocabulary which is diverse is sometimes too obscure making it hard on the reader, even a reader with a good vocabulary.

I took a break from the book, thinking that perhaps if I went back to it in a few weeks with a fresh pair of eyes and a different frame of mind, I might find it easier to read. But after returning to the book, I still found little to grab my attention, to make me gasp in surprise, to make me think, 'Ooh, I certainly wasn't expecting THAT to happen!' By half way through I was almost ready to give up, only spurred on by my own obsessive need not to leave a book half read.

Then about half way through, an event suddenly creates some suspense and the story builds around this making it instantly more interesting. So after struggling to keep going through the first half of the book, I could not now put it down. The storyline was gripping; I wanted to know how this would turn out. From that point onwards I knew I was not going to put this book down until I had finished. It was fantastic.

The author has written about things we don't want to think about. As a mother, reading this book is, of course, thought provoking, but it's also frustrating. I found myself wanting to shout at Franklin, not understanding why nobody could see what Eva could. I kept asking myself the same questions, long after I finished the book; was it her fault? What if...?

This is a book I will not forget for a long time. When the Daily Mail stated that it was 'Harrowing', they were not exaggerating. It's a book I would recommend to others with warnings: 

1. Keep reading, no matter how hard going it is. 

2. Don't make assumptions

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