Sullen and intractable at one, at four he destroys his mother's lovingly decorated study before rapidly progressing to tamper with the brakes of a neighbouring boy's bike, blind his little sister in one eye and falsely accuse his drama teacher of sexual harassment. Kevin is a monster, a gross caricature of childhood. Shriver isn't writing about ordinary motherhood or an ordinary boy, however, and this is where the novel begins to feel dishonest. It's partly hormonal, but it's largely natural: who doesn't pause for thought when taking this kind of life-changing step?Įva's sense of defeat at the birth of her son Kevin, her failure to breastfeed and the multiple difficulties she experiences with the sleepless, shrieking infant, are also familiar. Eva's unease about what she is doing and why, and whether she even really wants a child, isn't a well-kept secret. Anyone who has ever expected a baby, or even just opened a pregnancy book, will be familiar with the anxieties associated with preparing for parenthood. Told through letters from the killer's mother, Eva, to her absent husband, Franklin, the book explores the trials of maternity and the traumatic impact it can have on a marriage.Īs such it has been hailed as taboo-breaking, but it is difficult to see why. However, it is not the novel's ostensible subject matter that has made it an underground success in the US.
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