Tenemos que hablar de Kevin

Eva Khatchadourian writes letters to her estranged husband, Franklin, about their son Kevin, who at fifteen killed several classmates, a teacher and a cafeteria worker at his school. In the letters, Eva looks back on her ambivalence about motherhood, her difficulty bonding with Kevin as a baby, and the signs she saw as he grew up. Lionel Shriver leaves open whether Kevin was born that way or shaped by his upbringing, and she does not make Eva an easy figure to sympathize with. Eva also visits Kevin in prison, where their conversations are tense.

It suits readers who can take a disturbing subject and want a psychological novel about parental guilt and responsibility. Those who like unsettling character studies, or who are curious about the school shooting novel, will find it hard to put down.

Deep, inward-looking, contemplative, open-ended and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?