I read We Need To Talk About Kevin a while back and am not sure why I never wrote up about it. This was a very powerful book for me and for whatever reason I never wrote anything up about it. Maybe the story hits too hard or maybe I don’t know how to put it into words. Still, I’m going to attempt it, so bear with me. I was going to write this in the form of my other reviews but I can’t, I have too many opinions and thoughts about this.

This story follows Eva through letters she is writing her husband after her son was put in prison for a school shooting. She is coming to terms with who her son really was and what he was to her. In her letters she talks about how she got pregnant and suddenly realized it wasn’t what she wanted. She talks about the evil things her son does and how there seemed to be something inherently wrong with him from birth.

But is there something really wrong with him? Did she just resent him for taking away the life she loved so much before he arrived? Did she grow to hate him because he forever changed her relationship with her husband? Or was he in fact as evil as she believed he was but maybe it was all because she never wanted him to begin with?

There are no answers.

However I believe it’s impossible to read this book and be able to like Kevin. I also found the husband infuriating who never seemed to support his wife and always responded with “he’s just a kid!” It’s also difficult not to get annoyed with Eva, who clearly resents a situation she put herself into.

This book will make you angry and will probably leave you feeling sad but it will make you think. It takes a very uneasy look at motherhood, one that most might rather not even imagine.

ps. This is currently in pre-production to be made into a movie, watch out.

[rating:5]