Synopsis from Amazon:
Two years ago, Eva Khatchadourian's son, Kevin, murdered seven of his fellow high-school students, a cafeteria worker, and a popular algebra teacher. Because he was only fifteen at the time of the killings, he received a lenient sentence and is now in a prison for young offenders in upstate New York. Telling the story of Kevin's upbringing, Eva addresses herself to her estranged husband through a series of letters. Fearing that her own shortcomings may have shaped what her son has become, she confesses to a deep, long-standing ambivalence about both motherhood in general and Kevin in particular. How much is her fault? Lionel Shriver tells a compelling, absorbing, and resonant story while framing these horrifying tableaux of teenage carnage as metaphors for the larger tragedy - the tragedy of a country where everything works, nobody starves, and anything can be bought but a sense of purpose.
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A thickish book, 400 pages, and smaller print than is currently used for many popular paperbacks, which made it a little awkward for reading in bed. This probably contributed to the slow start I made on this book...That and the self-obsessed soul-searching that Eva indulges in when tryingto decide whether or not to start a family.

Once Kevin arrived, however, and we start to see the differences emerging between Eva and husband Franklin as they try to relate to their son, the story began to hold my attention more and more.
Eventually, I was reading late into the night, which I have not done for quite some time, and read the last couple of chapters in a moving car (which is risky, as it makes me travel sick!).

Although we know before we start what Kevin has done to be imprisoned, it is the gradual erosion of trust between the parents, and the disintigration of the family that is compelling. Those last few chapters really took me by surprise, and I felt quite moved by the ending.
Thoroughly recommended.

The well deserved winner of 2005 Orange Prize for Fiction is definitely a must read novel.

It is utterly compelling and I could not put it down. Extremely well written, the story unfolds in a series of letters written by Kevin's mother.

I put this forward as a title for my reading group and am looking forward to discussing it with them in the New Year.

Thoroughly recommended - add this one to your Santa wish list.

I rarely recommend books to friends, but I've been pushing this one on to anyone who will listen.

This was one of the most thought provoking novels that I have read for a long time. It leaves a lot of questions unanswered, most notably the nature/nurture debate that many parents must have to tackle. The mother isn't a particularly likeable character and as the narrator of the story, doesn't attempt to apologise for the way she is which is a strength of the story. No-one could be accused of sentimentality here!

The ending was truly didn't-see-it-coming shocking. A unique piece of writing.

I found this a really interesting novel, really thought provoking. I didn't like the way there was only the mother's view of events, which may or may not have been a 'reliable' account, but it makes for interesting discussion, I may suggest it for the next meeting of my book group! The ending was quite a shocker, although I had sort of guessed about half way through, won't say too much more just yet because of spoilers and I can't remember how to make a spoiler tag! I found the ending inconclusive and disturbing, but I guess it was all the more effective for this. I really hope loads of other people read this because I'd really like to discuss it properly! Recommended, if only for the many questions it poses.

You can read how to use Spoilers here. So spoil away to your heart's content, Seraphina.

Hi Seraphina

Glad to have another devotee of what must be one of my top three reads of the year (so far!). It does give food for thought doesn't it?

well, that wasn't really 'the ending' was it?

My bookgroup is supposed to discuss this book on Monday, but if anyone has still to finish it I don't see that we can.

I thought it was quite effective the way we were made to feel a bit sympathetic towards Kevin at the end...for me anyway it heightened the futility of the whole thing. I think it would have been easier to deal with if he hadn't shown any remorse, but the fact that even HE didn't see any reason for what he'd done in the end made me really angry!

So what about the whole nature/nurture thing? Is Eva partly to blame for Thursday or not? I personally believe not. I'm a firm believer in nature, although I think nurture can bring certain things to the fore, but they have to be there already. So I suppose I'm saying it's a mixture really. Kevin must have had the ability to do this in his nature from the start, but perhaps Eva's behaviour enhanced it.

Also do you think Eva's account is reliable? Or is she lying and making things up? Is she writing with a particular agenda? And what is her reason for writing these letters anyway? Is she trying to assign blame? It almost seems as if she's trying to pin the blame on Franklin sometimes... There's no one to contradict her story so she can say what she likes.

I had some trouble with this book for the first few chapters. All the anguishing over whether or not they wanted a baby,and why, plus Eva's dreadful labour/delivery, followed by the bonding and feeding problems.
I just thought it would be dreadful to read this if you are pregnant, or have a cranky baby.

There are two people in any relationship, and I felt that Kevin and Eva were similar in character and just irritated each other from the start, building up a spiral of aggravation which Kevin couldn't express in an acceptable way, and eventually he exploded. Although 'explosion' seems rather inaccurate way to refer to something so carefully planned and executed.

I think that Kevin actually respected Eva for her ability to see through him, and because she did not try to live the illusion of a 'happy family'. I think that he actually does love her.

Fanklin has a picture of how the 'All-American Family' should be, and imposes it on Kevin and Eva (even dictating the proper way for an expectant Mom to behave). I think the illusion is despised by Kevin, even when he goes along with it, and think there is a sense in which Eva and Kevin team up as 'the ones who know it's a lie' when Franklin is doing all his 'father and son' activities.

Of course, you are right, Seraphina, to have doubts about the reliability of Eva's account. We do hear this story from one point of view only.
I assumed from the start that these letters were not being posted, and were being written purely as a way for Eva to deal with her own feelings of guilt and failure, and possibly to justify her actions. or inaction, as Kevin's mother.

Well, we were supposed to talk about Kevin at my RL bookgroup last night.

We meet quarterly and talk about three books. Rarely has the whole group read all the books, but we usually talk about them all, anyway, and decide whether or not to read the one/s we've missed based on the discussion.

Last night only 3 of us had finished WNTTAK, two were halfway through, and 3 had yet to start. Although we who had read it were eager to talk about it we felt we shouldn't, as we couldn't ignore the events of the penultimate chapter and didn't want to spoil it for the ones still reading it.

We did manage to intrigue the others, 'though, and enthuse the ones who had been discouraged by those difficult first chapters. So, it has been held over until the next meeting...in February!

Seraphina,

How frustrating!

Recovered thread
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Mungus
22nd December 2005 10:02 PM

Hi Leese and thank you for 'dragging up' this thread again, I'm always interested to read other people's views on this powerful novel.

Like you, I have no children (by active choice) and was drawn to the book partly for this reason. Your reaction to Franklin was interesting. I realised that I hadn't really give him a lot of thought but you're right, he is a bit of a drip. Kevin obviously realised this and used it to his own advantage. I originally resold my book on ebay but have put it on my Christmas wish list as I want to re-read it. Here's hoping!