Books - Review

The story of an American family, told via letters from Eva, the mother, to the now absent father. Kevin, the son, is in prison for the school shooting he carried out, killing several fellow students, a teacher and a cafeteria worker. In her letters Eva attempts to unravel what led her son to go down such a tragic route, and considers the contribution she may have made to Kevin's downfall and their family's fate.

Brilliant. Everyone portrayed so vividly and realistically. and Eva's debates all seem so relevant to a normal family life in spite of the extreme circumstances her family endures. Won the Orange prize for fiction.

The Mandible family mostly enjoys a comfortable middle-class American lifestyle, with everyone waiting for the elderly patriarch to die so they can inherit his fairly substantial wealth. However, with US national debt through the roof and fierce competition from a new currency, the dollar goes into freefall and fortunes are lost all over the US as the country sinks further and further into depression. Survival becomes the order of the day.

Great story and pretty convincing.