Phil Preston
Read this a long time ago now. Heck, it aint the greatest piece of writing, but it sure was a page turner.
Not a page turner - but it's not trying to be one. The insights of a craftsman and musician are peppered through the book. You have to do a bit of work to find them, but that's fair I reckon.
What a fantastic depiction of a terrible situation that poses all sorts of questions about the parents' role (or not) in Kevin being Kevin. I loved Eva's stinging wit and observations about American society. Would have given 5 stars if not for the fact I found it really hard going over the first 120 pages or so.
Whether you agree with the objectivism philosophy or not, to create a work that delivers on a firm idea and gives you a different lens by which to judge your own view of the world is why we enjoy reading, is it not?
Loved it, partly because of its simplicity of writing style and relevance of the situation to challenges today - even though the cause of the holocaust is unknown - easy to suspect it is a global warming scenario; regardless, to live out what things would be like if social structures break down and animal instincts prevail is a scary place to go.
A lot I liked and a lot I struggled with so parking it with a 3-star while I think it through!!! Looking at other reviews, I do find it interesting that many people say unlikeable characters = bad book, exposing them for what they are is surely the writer's craft? And I may be on a different warp factor because I found the first half more interesting. :)
Exquisitely written ... however I have two gripes. Firstly, the back cover mentioned the spy angle and it didn't amount to anything except a cursory sentence; and secondly, there was no real tension in the story, and felt like a linear family saga that didn't make any substantial point. I did like Claude though!