Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
The novel is set specifically in New York State, but that doesn't matter. What does matter is the social and political climate of the entire United States during the two time periods of the book: t...
Narrator Point of View
The first line of the book shows us that Eva is writing a letter: "Dear Franklin, I'm unsure why one trifling incident this afternoon has moved me to write to you" (1.1).As the epistolary style dev...
What's Up With the Title?
It's a little-known fact that Lionel Shriver went through ten alternate titles before she came up with We Need to Talk About Kevin. Here are the rejects:What We Talk About When We Talk About KevinW...
What's Up With the Epigraph?
A child needs your love most when he deserves it least.—Erma BombeckErma Bombeck (1927-1996) was a newspaper columnist and humorist who published books with titles like If Life is a Bowl of Cherr...
What's Up With the Ending?
After twenty-eight letters, Eva doesn't seem any closer to figuring out her son than she was when he was born. But she has decided to accept him, for better or for worse. Okay, there is no better....
Tough-o-Meter
Eva Khatchadourian likes to use words that have as many, or more, syllables than her own very long last name. You might find yourself looking up the definitions of some words early on, like triflin...