We Need to Talk About Kevin

A Novel

By: Lionel Shriver

Narrated by: Coleen Marlo

Length: 16 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Eva never really wanted to be a mother - and certainly not the mother of a boy who ends up murdering seven of his fellow high school students, a cafeteria worker, and a much-adored teacher who tried to befriend him, all two days before his 16th birthday. Now, two years later, it is time for her to come to terms with marriage, career, family, parenthood, and Kevin’s horrific rampage, in a series of startlingly direct correspondences with her estranged husband, Franklin. Uneasy with the sacrifices and social demotion of motherhood from the start, Eva fears that her alarming dislike for her own son may be responsible for driving him so nihilistically off the rails.

©2003 Lionel Shriver (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers

Critic reviews

“Shriver handles this material, with its potential for cheap sentiment and soap opera plot, with rare skill and sense.” ( Newark Star Ledger)

“A slow, magnetic descent into hell that is as fascinating as it is disturbing.” ( Cleveland Plain Dealer)

“Powerful [and] harrowing.” ( Entertainment Weekly)

One for Thinkers

If you are in live with sociological questions, such as nature vs nature, the study of shame, and gender stigmas, this book will make you think. You might not agree with Shriver's views but the questions are there and they come with an expertly crafted story.

Amazing

I couldn’t stop listening. THE DAD IS THE WORST. The fact that I disliked the father the most during the entire book (whether that was Shriver’s intention or not) just speaks to his originality in creating characters.

Loved this book. After the first hour, things just take off and every minute is compelling.

Great book, horrible Voice

Read the book a few times during college. Loved it then, still love it now. Back then I had more time to sit and read, now my partner and I listen to books instead and believe when I tell you, this lady's voice is what you expect to hear when you have nightmares. It is horrible and soo hard to listen to. If you can get pass that, its an astounding read.

long winded

I get it, the writer is smarter than me. Did I enjoy the book, not necessarily, was it poorly written, No. it's long, it takes forever to get where it's going, but it is very well put together. a pretty clever way to tell a story, but it waits til the last few hours to get to it.

Inventive Narrative/ Horrible Reading

Would you try another book from Lionel Shriver and/or Coleen Marlo?

I would by Lionel Shriver

What other book might you compare We Need to Talk About Kevin to and why?

Unique

Would you be willing to try another one of Coleen Marlo’s performances?

No!

Was We Need to Talk About Kevin worth the listening time?

I wish I read it instead.

Any additional comments?

Marlo was not right for this at all, however the story is captivating and the point of view unique to the topic. There is very little dialogue which lends to the books unique structure. Told in letters, I enjoyed the story being unfolded as we went along with the protagonist on this painful journey. The author had me feeling very different about her from the beginning to the end, and it happened in a subtle way. The story is worth the read for sure!

interesting but unusual

format was odd, but it worked & the story was engaging the whole way through. narrator was good.

Movie great, book not so much

I usually feel the book is better than the movie but not in this case. Great plot but too many monologues and analysis of the story and not enough of the actual story. Disappointed

Interesting

This was a good book😳 í couldnt stop listening to it. Very interesting and í recommend

Loved the Movie

We Need To Talk About Kevin is one of those movies that you can’t watch just once. It’s almost a study into the human psyche, are we born this way? Is it the chicken or the egg? Is it nature or nurture? Tilda Swinton brought every aspect of her character alive in the movie, this book just gives you a deeper insight into the workings of her mind.

Stick with it

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

After the first hour or so, i had just about given up on this one, but i'm glad i didn't! I saw the other good reviews and thought it must get better and better it did get! An exciting story of a mother and her son. Is it nature or nurture that develops children's personalities? Stick with it!