We Need to Talk About Kevin

When I started reading this book, I appreciated the prose: it's been a long time since I've had to reach for the dictionary so much; but by the time I hit my first stopping point at 20ish percent, I was over it—it's pretentious and I found it unbelievable that anyone actually speaks like this. And who includes this much detail when recounting things to someone who was there?

I've long been interested in abnormal psych, and I've long wondered about what's experienced by the parent of a mass murderer. From that perspective, the story is fascinating. But it's also infuriating! It's not like Kevin just snapped one fine day. There were signs his entire life that had been excused, overlooked, or ignored. Argh! But there isn't a single likeable character, which makes getting through it tedious. Except for the murdered teacher. She was pretty great. There's something particularly grating about Eva, especially in the beginning. It felt like a male voice speaking through her—odd, since the author is a woman.

I really wanted to like this. But it just thinks it's so much more than it is. It didn't help that I wanted to throttle the entire Khatchadourian family.