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Kevin Khatchadourian killed several of his fellow high-school students, a cafeteria worker and a teacher, shortly before his sixteenth birthday. He is visited in prison by his mother, Eva, who narrates in a series of letters to her estranged husband, Franklin, the story of Kevin's upbringing. A successsful career woman, Eva is reluctant to forgo her independence and the life she shares with Franklin to become a mother. Once Kevin is born, she experiences extreme alienation and dislike of Kevin as he grows up to become a spiteful and cruel child. When Kevin commits his murderous act, Eva fears that her own shortcomings may have shaped what her son has become. But how much is she to blame?
'an outstanding reading by Lorelei King who captures all the anger, shock, dismay - but never denial - that Eva Khatchadourian experiences when her 15-year-old son slays nine people at his high school. 'Gripping' is an over-used adjective - but not here, as Eva explores her feelings in a series of letters to the husband who hasn't lived with her since the day of the killings.'
Kati Nicholl
DAILY EXPRESS
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