corner corner We Need to Talk About Kevin

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We Need to Talk About Kevin
by Lionel Shriver | Literature & Fiction
Registered by wingBookAmblerwing of Colchester, Essex United Kingdom on Saturday, January 06, 2007
Average 8 star rating by BookCrossing Members 

status (set by candy-is-dandy): travelling


This book is in the wild! This Book is Currently in the Wild!

3 journalers for this copy...

Journal Entry 1 by wingBookAmblerwing from Colchester, Essex United Kingdom on Saturday, January 06, 2007

This book has not been rated.

I'd seen this recommended in the Book Talk Forum. Armed with my book wish list, Mum & Dad bought this for me, amongst others, as a birthday pressie :-)

From the back cover;

Shortly before his sixteenth birthday, Kevin Katchadourian kills seven of his fellow high-school students, a cafeteria worker and a teacher. He is visited in prison by his mother, Eva, who narrates in a series of letters to her estranged husband, Franklin, the story of Kevin’s upbringing. For this powerful, shocking novel, Lionel Shriver was awarded the Orange Prize for Fiction.
 

Journal Entry 2 by wingBookAmblerwing from Colchester, Essex United Kingdom on Sunday, January 07, 2007

9 out of 10

This book was totally riveting!! A great start to the reading year due to it being an excellently, and very cleverly, written book, though depressing in content.

I was interested to hear that Lionel Shriver has not had any children herself, which, perhaps, makes the book an even more striking accomplishment.

In the early stages I thought the ‘monster-child’ scenario was overstated (hence the loss of a star in the rating) – we were being fed the biased opinion of a mother stretched by her overcommitment. But beyond that, pure chilling! I can’t say any more than that without danger of spoilers. So don’t talk to anyone about it, or read any reviews, until you have finished it!

Not an easy read; intense, long sentences with many polysyllabic words. However, I think that I lost focus only half a dozen times in all. Also the chapters could be quite lengthy, so I was pleased to be reading it over three (holi)days, since I find it hard to stop mid-chapter. (It’s also 468 pages long.)

Reminders for Pakasanelly: Eva, Franklin, Kevin Katchadourian, Celia.

I will definitely look out for more Shriver to read. 

Journal Entry 3 by wingBookAmblerwing at Caffe Nero IP1 book-crossing zone in Ipswich, Suffolk United Kingdom on Friday, January 12, 2007

This book has not been rated.

Released 5 yrs ago (1/13/2007 UTC) at Caffe Nero IP1 book-crossing zone in Ipswich, Suffolk United Kingdom

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

 

Journal Entry 4 by wingcandy-is-dandywing from Braintree, Essex United Kingdom on Sunday, March 11, 2007

This book has not been rated.

Hi Pakasanelly - bet your wondering how many books I 'collected' at the Ipswich meet yesterday. Well, here is one.

I too have seen so many people recommend this book and give it a 10. I have been avoiding it a bit as I have a teenage son who we are having some problems with currently and I don't really want to give myself more to worry about but everyone says how well this book is written.

I'm not sure whether I can read this book, it may be too much for me but I'll have a go.

It looks as though this book has been sitting at Cafe Nero for 2 months which I find a bit surprising. It was actually with the pile of books on the table during the meet. 

Journal Entry 5 by samwiseuk from Ipswich, Suffolk United Kingdom on Saturday, March 17, 2007

8 out of 10

I picked this up at the Ipswich Caffè Nero OBCZ meet-up on 13/01/2007.

I'd been looking to read this ever since I first saw it on the Richard & Judy stand in Waterstones a long time ago. I never got round to picking it up, having a groaning to-read pile already, but when it cropped up at the OBCZ meet I had to snap it up!

It didn't disappoint. Once you've read the sypnosis from the cover, you should have a pretty good idea where the book is going - there are no major surprises, but the journey is compelling.

The first few chapters are hard work, but are required to set the scene and really build up a picture of life with Eva and Franklin from the beginnings of their relationship, in order to better understand the horrific conclusion.

There is one line which particularly stood out for me, when Eva meets Kevin on a visit to him some years after the event and asks him "why?" ... His reply struck a chord, at least for me, which has stayed in the memory longer than I would expect.

Definitely recommended ...

I'll return this to the same OCBZ meet on 10/03/2007.

P.S. Apologies for the delay in journalling ... bookcrossing.com is blocked from my work!! 

Journal Entry 6 by wingcandy-is-dandywing from Braintree, Essex United Kingdom on Monday, January 11, 2010

This book has not been rated.

This has been in my possession for nearly 3 years and comes well recommended. However, I just can't bring myself to read it. Have now decided to move it on to find another reader. 

Journal Entry 7 by wingcandy-is-dandywing at Hoop & Grapes in Blackfriars, Greater London United Kingdom on Monday, January 11, 2010

This book has not been rated.

Released 2 yrs ago (1/11/2010 UTC) at Hoop & Grapes in Blackfriars, Greater London United Kingdom

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Left on the bookcrossing shelf at this OBCZ - a pub not far from Ludgate Circus and St Paul's Cathedral.

Released for the Bookcrossing Monopoly Game - this week's challenge to leave a book at an OBCZ. As the landlord of this pub is called Kevin thought this would be an appropriate book to release. 



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