Fiction Books

Last updated 12 November, 2006

We Need to Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver (a woman, incidentally, despite the first name) is presented as a series of letters from a woman to her ex-husband. Eva details her ambivalence about having a child, yet her decision to go through with it, partly because of how much he wants one. The resulting son is a difficult child, to say the least, and Eva is shocked at how hard he is to love. We soon find out that the son is responsible for a Columbine-style school massacre, and Eva looks back to the start of his life to try to figure out why.

As is clear from the premise, this is a very dark novel. Still, I had trouble putting it down. The bits of foreshadwoing proved irresistable; I too wanted to figure out why. Not only why the massacre, but also why the estrangement from her husband, why the ambivalence about motherhood. The ending is shocking, yet fits perfectly with what came before. And the glimmer of hope at the very end is welcome.

Shriver is an excellent writer; if you can stomach the plot, it's definitely worth reading.

See also: To Breed or Not to Breed, which covers Shriver's book along with Emily Griffin's Baby Proof and the non-fiction Childfree and Loving It!.

Well, I finally read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Illustrated Edition. I borrowed it.) And, you put me in that apparently small group of people who didn't particularly like it. The incredibly bad writing was, admittedly, good for regular, hearty laughs, which ought to be good for my health. And the story was enough to keep me reading to the end. But I didn't really get that caught up in it, and I didn't find the ideas particularly new or astonishing.

Much better, much more enjoyable, was Douglas' Coupland's Hey Nostradamus! Now here is a man who can turn a phrase. I've read several of his books before, and enjoyed them all, but this is one is his best. Set in the aftermath of a Columbine-like school shooting, it tells the story from the point of view of four different characters over several years.

Other rather good fiction reads of late were Barbara Gowdy, The Romantic—good writing style, well fleshed-out though damaged characters, and David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty One Day. This is an earlier collection of his essays based on family experiences, by turns funny and touching.

Previous Fiction reviews

Rush Home Road
by Lori Lansens

A potentially depressing novel saved by the author's skill with voice and characterization.

A Widow for One Year
by John Irving

A Widow for One Year was often amusing, sometimes alarming, and the characters had depth. If you are able to read John Irving, then you should enjoy this book.

The Ash Garden
by Dennis Bock

This is a beautifully written book. While not exactly a page turner, the characters, sense of mystery, and flowing writing make this a compelling read.

Chocolat
by Joanne Harris

It's different enough from the movie that I stayed interested in the story for its own sake, and became interested in discovering this version of Vianne for herself. The novel switches between Vianne's and Reynaud's voice — in the novel, Reynaud is a priest — and there is no doubt who we are meant to sympathize with.

Reading list:

• Phillip Pullman, Dark Materials series book 2 and 3
• Barbara Gowdy, We So Seldom Look on Love