We Need to Talk about Kevin - Lionel Shriver

This book is without doubt my favourite book that I have read. With many Psychology books I often find that, for me, there is either not enough fiction or non-fiction. However, this book has the perfect balance between the two... it is incredibly entertaining and despite being completely fiction is very realistic in the way the confessions of Kevin's mother unfold. I don't know quite how to talk about a book that left me speechless so firstly, I will briefly paraphrase about what the book is about...

This is an epistolary book of a woman/killers mother who writes a series of confessions to her husband about the way she treated their son and how she may be guilty in contributing to his fate, the murder which is referred ominously as 'Thursday'. Until the last chapter, I presumed that her husband was her ex husband, however as the novel unfolds, the 2 others in addition to the 7 classmates who were murdered as revealed to be her daughter and Franklin, her husband who she writes to. I found this incredibly moving and felt as if I had been given direct insight into the foundations of a relationship. The readers attention is constantly held and is an all-round incredibly enthralling read!

A simplified model of SLT, was Kevin
and his character to blame and Eva
as a mother innocent of negligence?
Or did Eva and the previous school
murderers act as a model as they are
seen as powerful, of similar age and in
Eva's case, a care-giver?

On a Psychological level, this book really brings to life the importance of Social Learning Theory and the adverse effects this can have on a child's development. Was Eva, as a powerful, care-giver acting as a model to Kevin who imitating her violent behaviour and hatred? Could the way that people were so interested in the other school murders being committed being shown on the TV of acted as vicarious reinforcement for Kevin? However, Eva (the writer) writes in a fashion that states that Kevin had always been mischievous and found no pleasure in any activities expect for archery and computer viruses. This brings up the ever controversial nature-vs-nurture event. Was Kevin born to kill or did the treatment of his mother lead him to? Or even did Franklin's love lead him to fight back because he could not deal with the mundane attention given by his father? It is hard to tell. Was Eva to blame for being a negligent parent or did she just go a step too far in dealing with the innately 'evil' Kevin? Or was Kevin an innocent victim of the wrong upbringing?

My favourite moment in the book in particular is the insight into a killers mind, although at the end he confesses to his mother he is currently unsure why he even did it. But at first, he stated, to paraphrase, that in life you are either the watchee or the watcher. Boredom in itself and perfection in a world where he could not see a place for himself led him to commit this terrible crime. He states that everybody is watching him on TV, if there weren't cases like him nobody would have anything to watch on the news and no investigators would have a job. He takes a pride in the crime as the people making the documentaries try to make money of his character which they are dependent on.
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3341655065/ Although I have not managed to what the film myself, the trailer features my favourite part as in the background we can hear Kevin's complaints of how mundane life is...

I would strongly recommend this book to anybody who has ever questioned humanity, criminals actions, the constructs of the  family and the development of a child in to what extent we are fated by the chains of experiences we are exposed to at a young age at a time where morals are built.

The questions which arose from this book on nature and nurture led me to go on to read Genie, a non-fictional extraordinary case...