We Need to Talk About Kevin Chapter 19: February 18, 2001 Summary

How It All Goes Down

  • Eva speculates that the fallout from "Thursday" (19.1) would have been bearable if she'd been able to keep Celia. But she's with Franklin, wherever that is.
  • Eva goes on to talk about when Celia was born.
  • Celia: the opposite of Kevin.
  • Kevin treats everyone like crap. Celia is nice.
  • Kevin breaks things. Celia plays with broken toys.
  • Franklin likes Kevin (inexplicably); he calls Celia "clingy" (19.10).
  • Kevin torments Celia by leaving worms in her backpack or carrying her into a tree and leaving her there.
  • When Eva is around, Kevin acts "sour, secretive, and sarcastic" (19.23). But he turns on the charm for Franklin, staying on Daddy's good side.
  • At school, Kevin writes purposefully banal essays to bore his teachers.
  • One day, Kevin gets sick, and Eva has to take care of him.
  • Strangely, Kevin acts like a normal person. He lets her take care of him. He doesn't act like a jerk.
  • Kevin also drops the "Gee, Dad boisterousness" (19.38) of that act.
  • Eva thinks this is the real Kevin, too tired to put up the front he normally does.
  • Eva reads Kevin Robin Hood and His Merry Men and it seems to be the first—and only—book Kevin actually loves.