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divorce would deny him a final victory over his mother, or to avoid being trapped in performing normalcy for
Franklin. She believes he selected the people he chose for his victims because he resented them for having interests about which they were passionate. Kevin ensured himself a light sentence by timing the attack for three days before his 16th birthday in order to be charged as a minor, and used a prescription for
328:
negligence) brought by the mother of one of Kevin's victims. She sold the family home to pay for legal expenses, but in order to be near
Claverack Juvenile Correctional Facility where Kevin is incarcerated, she still lives in the same town in which she remains shunned by the community. She regularly visits Kevin in prison, wherein they have a cold relationship.
384:. Subdued and frightened, he gives Celia's prosthetic eye to Eva and apologizes. Eva asks Kevin for the first time why he committed the murders; he replies that he is no longer sure. They embrace, and Eva concludes that, despite what he did, she loves her son, and she awaits the day he is released so that she can welcome him home again.
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Even before her son Kevin was born, Eva
Khatchadourian struggled with parenthood. As Kevin was a difficult child, she gave up her successful career as a writer in order to concentrate on raising him. Her son has developed sinister psychopathic traits, though his father, Franklin Plaskett, refuses to
359:
Franklin defends him, convinced that his son is normal and just misunderstood. Kevin plays the part of a loving, sensitive son whenever
Franklin is around. Eva's apparent dislike for her son and the equal distrust between Eva and Kevin, as well as between Eva and Franklin, create a rift between the
368:
It is finally revealed that
Franklin and Celia are dead. Kevin had killed them both at home with his crossbow before going to his school, where he trapped nine classmates, a cafeteria worker, and a teacher in a gymnasium and attacked them. Eva speculates that he did this because separation in the
364:
disappears; the sink in the children's bathroom becomes clogged, which Eva clears with a caustic drain cleaner. While Kevin is babysitting Celia, she supposedly finds the cleaner and accidentally destroys her eye. Eva is certain that she put the cleaner away and that Kevin attacked Celia with it.
327:
committed by the 15-year-old Kevin, Eva begins writing letters to
Franklin in November 2000. She reflects on her relationship with her husband and on Kevin's life. She also relates her current life: she was involved in both her son's criminal trial and a civil action against her (for parental
348:. As he grows older, he also takes an interest in manipulating his sycophantic friend Leonard, engaging in vandalism, and collecting computer viruses on floppy disks. He unsettles his peers, expresses disdain for convention by wearing uncomfortably undersized clothes, and follows news of
331:
Kevin seemingly regards everyone, especially his mother, with contempt, yet pretends to be manageable when
Franklin is around. Eva perceives him as deliberately antagonistic, with his behavior ranging from petty sabotage to possibly encouraging a girl to gouge out her
343:
When Kevin is severely ill as a child, he briefly accepts Eva's care for the first time and rejects
Franklin, seemingly too tired to put on an act of apathy. Kevin takes pleasure in learning archery after he recovers, yet seems otherwise unable to relate to
412:
and "high-hopes-crushed" as one of the novel's primary themes, as represented by
Franklin, the narrator's husband, who serves as "the novel's self-willed optimist about the possibility of a happy family."
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as Eva
Katchadourian. Ethan Brooke and Nathan Nolan played Kevin at various ages, while Richard Laing played Franklin Plaskett. It is occasionally repeated on
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married couple. They have a second child, Celia, whom Franklin believes Eva favors. Kevin is aggressive towards Celia. When she is six years old, her pet
356:. In high school, Kevin, Leonard, and two others accuse their drama teacher of sexual abuse; Eva is convinced he orchestrated the false accusations.
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character and behavior, primarily in regard to Kevin. The book is particularly concerned with the possibility that Eva's ambivalence toward
340:, which caused Eva to lash out and break his arm; Kevin told Franklin this was an accident and has since used the secret to manipulate her.
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acknowledge the problem. As the situation turns catastrophic, Eva tries to figure out where she and Franklin went wrong.
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The novel ends on the second anniversary of the massacre, shortly before Kevin will turn eighteen and be transferred to
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perspective of the teenage killer's mother, Eva Khatchadourian, and documents her attempt to come to terms with her
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This accusation leads Franklin to ask for a divorce, intending to take custody of Kevin; Kevin overhears them.
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to argue that he was experiencing violent psychotic episodes as a side effect.
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had signed on to star in the film as Eva. Filming began on location in
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acquired the rights to adapt the book as a film. Director
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signed on to direct. It was announced in March 2009 that
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in 10 15-minute episodes and was broadcast daily as the
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plays Kevin. The film premiered In Competition at the
296:son Kevin and the murders he committed, as told in
58:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
626:"Festival de Cannes – From 16 to 27 may 2012"
476:From January 7, 2008, the story was serialized on
468:, where it was met with praise from film critics.
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394:innate characteristics and personal experiences
392:Shriver focuses on the relative importance of
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606:. guardian.co.uk (Guardian News & Media)
303:The novel, Shriver's seventh, won the 2005
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553:"Ramsay needs to shoot a film about Kevin"
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561:. Guardian News & Media. p. 21 (
118:Learn how and when to remove this message
19:For the film adaptation of the book, see
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408:. Shriver also identifies American
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