PanThe New York TimesWe Need to Talk About Kevin, which takes the form of letters from the killer's mother to her absent husband, mixes an extreme version of the domestic novel with pop sociology and hard news (real-life school shootings and the Florida 2000 election fiasco figure in the background). A little less, however, might have done a lot more for this book … Shriver overwrites in every direction, but particularly in portraying Kevin as a monster from birth. That she eventually humanizes both him and her narrator makes the book memorable as well as frustrating.
