Totally loved this book! Couldn't put it down. The subject matter is horrifying and scary. Loved the way it was written.

The book is incredibly deep, profound and visionary. Here is a news item I've fished out on the Internet. Unbelievable! "The father of the gunman and lone shooter who killed 26 people including 20 children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown has released a statement . "Our hearts go out to the families and friends who lost loved ones and to all those who were injured," said Peter Lanza in a statement. He is a tax director and vice-president at GE Energy Financial Services, according to his LinkedIn profile. "Our family is grieving along with all those who have been affected by this enormous tragedy. No words can truly express how heartbroken we are. "We are in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can. We too are asking why. "We have cooperated fully with law enforcement and will continue to do so. "Like so many of you, we are saddened, but struggling to make sense of what has transpired."

This is an amazing novel. Yes, Shriver does tend to use some unnecessarily ornate words, but if you let that distract you from the story she tells, and the exceptional character development of the narrator, you are going to miss out on a great book. The subject matter is dark, but that is part of what makes the book so enthralling. Shriver leads you on a journey though the narrator's whole life, her motivations and feelings, and the apparent consequences of it all. One of the best written, and most developed novels I have read.

Wow. I just happened to be reading this at the time of the Connecticut school shooting. Incredible book!

Very gripping, and extremely eloquent narrative. I enjoyed it all the way through. The writing is so powerful, I enjoyed reading many passages over, and let the message impress me again.

Possibly the most interesting and challenging novel I've ever read. Shriver has written the rare work that forever imprints itself on the reader's psyche. Rarely is motherhood explored with such emotional intensity and complexity. A disturbing and important book.

Page 46

One-half star for being written in English. All other stars taken away for being a pompous windbag. Maybe somewhere the writing turns human, but I could only make it through 3 pages of this dreck. This is supposed to be an epistolary novel but no one, not no one, not no how, ever writes letters like this: "By the time I crept back the coast was clear, and I swept up my cart, abruptly the busy professional woman who must make quick work of domestic chores. A familiar role, you would think." This is a letter to her husband who presumably knows her. You or I would have written something more like, "I sneaked back to my cart and the coast was clear so I moved as fast as I could." Unfortunately, having stuck himself with the epistolary format, the author clearly can't figure out how to familiarize readers with his characters and NOT make them sound like self-impressed twits, and still end up with something book length and, apparently, pretentious enough to impress critics. This is indeed one of Dorothy Parker's books that should not be "tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force."

We Need to Talk About Kevin is a dark, psychological, intimate look at an upper-middle class American family. The book is written as letters the mother is writing to the father, set a couple years after their teenage son has committed some kind of school shooting. Throughout most of the novel we are never quite sure what happened that day which the mother has just dubbed "Thursday." That definitely led me to keep turning the pages to see if we would find out what really happened. The mother is not shy about speaking her mind and the story is told from her point of view. We only get snippets of what Kevin really thinks. The pace definitely gets faster closer to the end of the book and had me racing to finish it. Though some might be able to guess some of what happens, I did not and that made the ending quite intense and shocking. This was a great book club read as there was lots to discuss. Definitely recommend!

I was shocked by how gripping I found this novel-I finished it in a sitting. The epistolary style hightened the tension, and the book wound down to its conclusion in a taut way. I was very pleased. An excellent book club option.