what do ya know, after such a freaking long time... i've finally finished the book.
it took me a great effort to read this book cause the narrative was well boring. however, i have to admit, the only motivation which got me through till the end was Kevin himself.
The staging, the killing and what went on his mind during that time.
This book does not tell us about the boy and how he feels but it focuses more on his mother. The mother of a son who goes on a killing spree.
The book dwelves deep into the frustration of the woman as a mother and as a wife.
However, there are many things the book did not tell us.
it did not tell us whose fault this shooting spree is.
it did not tell us why he did it.
it did not tell us why the boy choose a crossbow instead of a gun.
it did not tell us what went in the mind of that boy.
it did not tell us who destroyed the sister's eye and how?
it did not tell us which is stronger... nurture or nature?
the book did tell us the inevitable though... that from a very young age.. we knew he was someone troubled and we knew he was smart and cunning.
however, i would've preferred a book from the boy's POV. that would've been more interesting. disturbing but interesting.
overall, i'd give it a 5/10
it took me a great effort to read this book cause the narrative was well boring. however, i have to admit, the only motivation which got me through till the end was Kevin himself.
The staging, the killing and what went on his mind during that time.
This book does not tell us about the boy and how he feels but it focuses more on his mother. The mother of a son who goes on a killing spree.
The book dwelves deep into the frustration of the woman as a mother and as a wife.
However, there are many things the book did not tell us.
it did not tell us whose fault this shooting spree is.
it did not tell us why he did it.
it did not tell us why the boy choose a crossbow instead of a gun.
it did not tell us what went in the mind of that boy.
it did not tell us who destroyed the sister's eye and how?
it did not tell us which is stronger... nurture or nature?
the book did tell us the inevitable though... that from a very young age.. we knew he was someone troubled and we knew he was smart and cunning.
however, i would've preferred a book from the boy's POV. that would've been more interesting. disturbing but interesting.
overall, i'd give it a 5/10
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September 29, 2006
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Comments
The book is not non-fiction, so it's all just the author's posturing anyway. The point of the book is supposed to be a discussion on the common 'it's the parents fault' stance of most people when talking about the dysfunctional behavior of children.
As with any other book, the idea is not to give definitive black and white answers (as with life, there is no black and white), but to spark discussion. However, I'll attempt to give some answers to your questions :
it did not tell us whose fault this shooting spree is. + why he did it
Fault cannot be apportioned in most of these killings. But it may be ascribed to the following factors:
a. The mindset of some children - i.e. 'competitiveness' of Kevin, his desire to be known / infamous / different / rebellious
b. Society and focus on school shootings
c. Sometimes things just happen and there is no rational explanation. In the end, the author postulated that Kevin himself did not have a clear sense of why he did it (his gradual sense of remorse). I think all of us at one time or another can relate to this - we behave a certain way and are not sure why we do.
it did not tell us why the boy choose a crossbow instead of a gun.
Access to weaponry? Kevin was put across as being intelligent, perhaps he wanted to be different., i.e. 'stand out'. Alternatively, he found it more of a sport to use a crossbow rather than a gun, which requires little to no skill.
it did not tell us what went in the mind of that boy.
Although authors are omnipresent and omniscient in the fiction they write, the book was written from the pov of the mother - who would not know what was going on in the boy's mind.
it did not tell us which is stronger... nurture or nature?
In my opinion revealing this would have greatly diminished the value of this book (although personally I did not think it a very good book at all).
The question of nature vs. nurture is not a definitive one (nor an easy one to answer), it is mostly a question of opinion. My opinion is that the general majority people are a function of both nature and nurture, with some very rare extremes who are immune to nurture.
From the way the book was written, I think the author is of the same opinion, or at least, undecided.
The author was trying to bring some sympathy to the position of mothers of teenage killers, I don't think she did it particularly well, and it would have been much better if the book had been written in conjunction with a real life mother of a teenage killer.
However, it was a niche that was previously empty (to my knowledge) so kudos to her for making an intelligent guess of it.
anyway, nice insight into the questions but what you provided were not answers because those weren't a question to begin with. you provided discussions and opinions. those that were yours.
i didn't say it's non-fiction and i still would've preferred a book from the boy's POV. it could discuss about the parent's fault stance that you said but it can be narrated through the boy's feeling. like how he felt when he destroyed his mother's maps on her wall. what was his feeling? what angered him and so on so forth.
you know , just to ruffle a few feathers on this issue.
it was a nice book, but the narration couldn't be less entertaining.