"We need to talk about Kevin" is probably one of the best books I have ever read and I've been an avid reader since childhood. A great interview, raises many thoughts. Thanks for posting.
How come nobody blamed the dad tho. Franklin always outright *ignored* Kevin's misdemeanors all his life. He never held Kevin accountable for any of the wrongs he'd done. It was not just one person who misunderstood the kid. Literally at least 10ppl expressed their complains/concerns regarding the kid and you don't even CONSIDER that something really might be a problem?? How can you be so irresponsible. It wasn't blind love. It was some character flaw that he had that made him partial to Kevin and distant to Celia. I'd say if Franklin had maybe tried to really understand his son they'd have had a better chance at I guess keeping him from completely giving into the dark side. Parenting is such a tricky and tough thing but there's gotta be a balance (not of the good cop bad cop kind either). The balance must be between leniency and strictness, within the same parent. Or ur kid's not going to truly understand ur authority. It can't be one parent is the "awh our Kevin can't ever go wrong" meanwhile the other parent is out there suspecting and blaming everything that goes wrong in the family as the kid's fault. Excess of justice and excess of mercy are both detrimental, in parenting, in politics everywhere.
The father was in a state of denial throughout and is unsurprisingly presented by the feminist author as both clueless and selfish (not prepared to give up his own, relatively lowly paid job to look after Kevin). I have time for Lionel but am not on the same page as her with guns.
Very taboo to admit that not every single woman has a prenatal “bond” or instant love of her baby at birth. Many of us have to learn to love their children and some kids are easier to be fond of than others-as an aunt of 14…. Even young people (kids) can get boring and not easy to like.
I just finished reading We Need To Talk About Kevin. I don't even know what to say; it's an amazing book. Actually, I finished it yesterday, on the el, which was very weird, reading an ending like that while surrounded by strangers. There are very few feelings that match finding a new author to obsess over, and I think I just found one. If her other stuff is half as good, I'm sure she's going to be one of my favorites. There's only a handful of not-already-dead writers I care about, and it's always great to add another contemporary writer to my list. I can't get certain parts of it out of my head. The twist I kind of saw coming from pretty far off, but it didn't lessen the impact at all when it arrived; if anything, it made the experience all the more mournful. Not the kind of story that's gonna make you click your heels and go "yeah, Life", but a great read nonetheless. I highly recommend. Then again, I'm sure anybody who'd be watching this video has already read it. Which one should I read next? Hmm?
Have you read other books by her, this book has been on my shelf a long time. I started watching the movie and had to stop early on to find out more about the author.
In advance of buying the book, I heard in a very brief monologue on radio a reason for picking "...Kevin" as one of the reconteur's top 100 reads. It was Christmas and I needed something to read over the break and there it happened to be in a local independent book store. My god. Thus far I have never read a book that has haunted me so much. Boy can she write strong, intelligent, descriptive prose. I'm so glad I looked up this interview. She fits the writer I imagined her to be. I am averse to watching the film. I'm not sure it can convey the back stories, the grueling anticipation of dread, the harrowing, jaw dropping 'letters' that follow the uneasy lines "If we were about to get a divorce, nothing worse could possibly happen. Or so we thought".
LOVE her words on "confinement"! I got a vasectomy 3 years ago because i never wanted kids. I dont hate kids at all, but i dont want any of my own. But every now and then i have thought that i may be "missing out" on the "joys of parenthood". Funny how that works out.
I read her novel "The Post Birthday World". Execrably poor on every level. Couldn't believe it had been proof read, edited and printed. Hugely sceptical of Shriver ever since. Enjoyed film of wnttak though.
I'd heard before about the reaction of the first agent saying the book was "Evil". I thought it was a deeply compassionate & understanding book. Eva's compassion & understanding for the predicament of the accused lady teacher was just one notable example. It's June 2024 now and 12 years later Shriver has become one of the most heroic champions for Free Speech, Artistic Freedom, & Sanity .
Even better it does let that be people despite not good people or very flawed, and not sugarcoating. Ok eva is wrong there but its very human even the teacher and .. . Deeply honest human might be the best term, (and hella funny?!)
She's deeply intellectually refined, intelligent and deep. The interviewer tried her best, but I feel she struggled to grasp, understand or stimulate her properly. I'm fascinated by her and adore her work.
She is so incredibly clever. I think the book Kevin is ultimately about responsibility, wich is not only about asking yourself it something could be your fault, but also the capacity of responding. I have just reread the book and It's puzzling weather she in some way gives birth to a monster with her lack of maternal DESIRE or if she just finds that the child is a total alien.
I suppose the same coukd be said of any literatire. Have great science fiction writers travelled the cosmos? Did Hilary Mantel resurrect the Tudor court? Far better to be a strong enough writer to convey the infathomable, than someone with lived experience but unable to write.
Haven't read the book but the movie was one of top 3 most disturbing films I've ever watched. It's extremely rare to show a child killed in a movie. That image will haunt my dreams and I'm left wondering why did they show it? I kinda feel Shriver is a bit hypocrite 'cause she just can't know what It feels like to love a child even they've done terrible things. My sister did kill someone and I've seen up close what kinda struggle it is for the parents and it will haunt them to their death bed. Yes, a glimpse of that love is shown at the end of the movie, but I still feel that - at least the movie's - perspective lacks one huge part of parenthood. And that is something I learned after becoming a dad. It's a thing you can only share with another parent, and it also explains the fact why so many parents understand THEIR OWN parents better after having kids of their own.
Subsidiarity is an organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralized competent authority. Political decisions should be taken at a local level if possible, rather than by a central authority.
I have also just finished reading the book. Unlike many I am not disturbed by reading about the actions - except when it comes right to the very end. With Kevin receiving only 7 years in prison (he was 15 years and 362 days) when he committed the crime, and the fact that Eva seems to be looking forward to him coming home in just 5 years from the time of the last letter.
Have to say I hate the interviewer and her style. Of course, Shriver is as piercing, honest, intellectual, and interesting as always. It is to her credit that she is willing to engage generously and substantially in the interview despite the interviewers cloying performative style.
I, English (London) lower middle class, dislike Sarah Montague's voice; it sounds affectedly posh to me. But that might be just my own LMC vulnerability the middle class ruling-class affectations, or habits. Was it GBS who said something like "An Englishman has only to open his mouth for a dozen other Englishmen to instantly hate him."
It does suggest that she was evil. It's a pretty effed-up story. I like to think she just had this idea, and went with it, because she's a writer and she's gotta do something and this was some powerful stuff. Which always makes for the best kind of art. And the twisted regret and rage she must have felt at the time of her inspiration for this story was just pouring out of her tortured woman's soul. And if anything, if there's any sort of deliberate social criticism, it's that we live in an effed-up society, and stuff like this happens, and really it's the institution of the nuclear family that is at fault. And there's no protection for both mother and child from such a lamentable outcome. And they're just left to their own devices, and this is what happens sometimes. Especially with a mother like that. Good effin' god.... But it was probably just a cause c'elebre novel. A hoped-for success de scandale that was completely contrived from the beginning. Even deeply man-resenting, hate-filled women like this gotta eat too. Lionel.... In any event it's probably a good thing she decided not to have kids. And where the inspiration most certainly came from, given her reported epiphany AT AGE EIGHT that she would live a motherless existence, and at least she got this book out of it which made her famous, and never had to hassle with loving or nurturing a little boy, which presumably she would have never been up to. And this is how she made her peace with that fateful choice....
She isnt evil, to be clear she isnt good, and a lot of evas stuff is from her unable to confront her issues, but project it on kevin. Eva as character is that to explore that terrain. And why zo ask thst she as not great character but understandable and human, its exploring that. Can we not assume that writers writing very flawed not great cuaracters isnt just, writing a character.. Goddamn lionel doesnt seem to do that, and she definitly isnt eva, hell she didnt even want to be held up apearently. And why is it bad her dealing with darker thoughts in her life a lot of people have productive , thoughtful, to adress who is at fault, does it matter, responsibility, and so on.
A timely book exploring the issue of career women (like lionel) having children. Lots of good ground covered esp nature V nurture. However, if Lionel wants us to believe gun availabilty in the US is not the biggest part of the mass shooting trouble (by having a crossbow as the weapon of Kev's choice) she is insulting our intelligence.
The movie made my mental health situation worse (=chronic anxiety). :/ If I'd known it from the trailer I wouldn't have watched it. Yes, important subject, but very provocative and maybe even sadistic - towards the viewer.
My take on the book was perhaps not considered by either the author or the director: that the mother's lifestyle opened a portal to the demonic, and both souls were lost to the reality of possession.
Just read it, the book is extremely boring, written from a point of view of a despicable person in form of extremely boring long letters. The writting can't be described as nothing else, than kitsch. Don't really know what made this book popular. Wouldn't recomend it. If you want similar dark themes written in an interesting way, I suggest Sharp Objects or Defending Jacob.
I find Lionel's script style tricky to get a handle on, a necessity to make a narrative flow. When I read 'The Mandibles', I was bias to persevere because I found her deep and very interesting. I even constructed the family tree on a separate sheet of paper to assist my understanding. I read the book three times, each time getting a deeper and different context of each family group. The Trouble with Kevin, is a book waiting to be read, with some trepidation.
