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A review by astridandlouise
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
5.0
i wasn't going to give this book five stars until i got closer to the end. i realised a book hasn't made me feel such a variety of emotion for an extremely long time and for that reason i feel it deserves the five stars over a four star rating.
this wasn't an easy book to read. it frustrated me, challenged me and made me ask a lot of questions about myself. parts of this book resonated highly with me.
almost every single time the father (Franklin) featured in the book i wanted to absolutely slap the crap out of him. one of those parents (and they're absolutely everywhere these days..) who saw his child (more so his son) as a saint - a deity who could do no wrong - who believed foolishly his son over his wife - who automatically assumed his wife was creating outrageous stories in her mind - a parent who as soon as a child enters their world automatically replaces their partner as the most important person on earth - every decision made should revolve around the child and what they want of course with no regard whatsoever for their spouse - that every concern raised by their spouse is met with disbelief and doubt. he infuriated me throughout the entire book. if this was ever to become what my life would be like with my partner i would not be able to stick around let alone tolerate his disbelieving treatment of me for sixteen years.
that's not to say that the mother didn't annoy me. she did. but in a different way. and i think i sympathised with her more because i saw myself in her a little. i couldn't believe that throughout her son's entire life and the behaviour she witnessed first hand she didn't seek help. i know it is much easier said than done, especially when your husband believes you to be a lying sack of shit who would never agree to get help for a son he believes is the reincarnate of jesus. (men are stupid.) i bonded with her over her unwillingness to have children - to change her life when it was so happy and perfect without children - i understood her because her ultimate nightmare became her reality. her children became her life and her first child was an evil pain in the arse. really evil. and i feel like that constantly about children and whether i really think i'm supposed to be a mother - i like my life too much without children to want children - i like nice things - i want nice things - with children i won't be able to afford them let alone own them. i don't want my life to change so much that it changes my relationship with my partner - for worse not better - i wonder if my partner would believe me if i was in this mother's position or whether he'd treat me like her husband did. to me that is a terrifying thought.
it's only for these reasons that i scored this book so highly. it made me think so much and rarely does a book make me think so much these days. i also noticed when reading it how my emotions altered too. i got so angry and frustrated it transferred to my daily life (apologies to my boyfriend) and at the end i got upset which i drew into my world too. god it was a rollercoaster. i did highly enjoy it but i don't know whether i'd be able to read it again mainly because it was centred around such a heavy subject and it wasn't a light read.
but anyone who can handle a challenging read i'd definitely recommend it to.
this wasn't an easy book to read. it frustrated me, challenged me and made me ask a lot of questions about myself. parts of this book resonated highly with me.
almost every single time the father (Franklin) featured in the book i wanted to absolutely slap the crap out of him. one of those parents (and they're absolutely everywhere these days..) who saw his child (more so his son) as a saint - a deity who could do no wrong - who believed foolishly his son over his wife - who automatically assumed his wife was creating outrageous stories in her mind - a parent who as soon as a child enters their world automatically replaces their partner as the most important person on earth - every decision made should revolve around the child and what they want of course with no regard whatsoever for their spouse - that every concern raised by their spouse is met with disbelief and doubt. he infuriated me throughout the entire book. if this was ever to become what my life would be like with my partner i would not be able to stick around let alone tolerate his disbelieving treatment of me for sixteen years.
that's not to say that the mother didn't annoy me. she did. but in a different way. and i think i sympathised with her more because i saw myself in her a little. i couldn't believe that throughout her son's entire life and the behaviour she witnessed first hand she didn't seek help. i know it is much easier said than done, especially when your husband believes you to be a lying sack of shit who would never agree to get help for a son he believes is the reincarnate of jesus. (men are stupid.) i bonded with her over her unwillingness to have children - to change her life when it was so happy and perfect without children - i understood her because her ultimate nightmare became her reality. her children became her life and her first child was an evil pain in the arse. really evil. and i feel like that constantly about children and whether i really think i'm supposed to be a mother - i like my life too much without children to want children - i like nice things - i want nice things - with children i won't be able to afford them let alone own them. i don't want my life to change so much that it changes my relationship with my partner - for worse not better - i wonder if my partner would believe me if i was in this mother's position or whether he'd treat me like her husband did. to me that is a terrifying thought.
it's only for these reasons that i scored this book so highly. it made me think so much and rarely does a book make me think so much these days. i also noticed when reading it how my emotions altered too. i got so angry and frustrated it transferred to my daily life (apologies to my boyfriend) and at the end i got upset which i drew into my world too. god it was a rollercoaster. i did highly enjoy it but i don't know whether i'd be able to read it again mainly because it was centred around such a heavy subject and it wasn't a light read.
but anyone who can handle a challenging read i'd definitely recommend it to.