The Lovely Bones: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Shed a tear for Susie Salmon
Review: They say that a ghost remains tied to the world of the living either to avenge its death or to comfort those left behind. The heroine of Alice Sebold's haunting, sweet novel "The Lovely Bones" isn't out for revenge, but her ties to the living family and friends make this an amazing book.

Susie Salmon is dead -- she was raped and brutally murdered by a seemingly harmless neighbor, who hacked up her body and buried it. Now she exists in a surprisingly simple and pleasant heaven, watching her family and friends after she vanished. Her parents cling to hope that even though a lot of blood and part of an arm has been found, that Susie is still alive. But eventually, they must give up hope. Susie watches the police investigate her death, while her father pokes around to find out whodunnit. And as her family and friends stumble through the various stages of grief, she lets the readers see into their minds as they try to deal with this horrible event.

One of the nice things about "Lovely Bones" is that it doesn't have the self-consciousness that a lot of bestsellers have. Most of them feel more jaded, like the author is writing this because he/she knows that people lap it up. "Bones" is different, often disturbing, and both saddening and uplifting. It doesn't fit easily into a slot, and its quiet, comforting tone is unusually pleasant. And while some may not like the happy note of the ending, in some ways "Lovely Bones" isn't an entirely sad book.

The last year had a lot of kidnapped young girls, some (like Susie) never coming home again, and even if you aren't connected to girls like that, this book may help with the sort of stunned feelings that people get when they hear about it. A lot of the time, the news focuses on the criminals and the investigation, but never on the girls themselves -- the girls and their lives are sort of smothered behind the gory pictures and articles. Sebold's warm portrait of Susie watching and wanting to comfort her family from heaven is a reminder about lost loved ones -- even ones who died in horrible circumstances. And her vision of heaven is delightfully uncomplicated. At first it seems a little too mundane, but the everyday heaven overflows with a sort of innocence and and security that the real world doesn't have. It's very... well, very heavenly. Brilliant idea.

The writing is very beautiful (except for the gritty rape-and-murder scene in the first chapter) such as Susie trying to make a flower bloom for her father, and filling a heavenly room with petals. The characters take awhile to completely come into focus, but they are almost all very endearing, and all are well-drawn. Even the killer is presented very matter-of-factly, and the worst part is that I imagine real serial killers are like this. And Sebold doesn't keep the characters in one place, even when they're grieving. All of them -- the parents, the siblings, the boy who had a crush on Susie, the teachers -- have different thoughts and actions, and their lives keep moving despite the tragedy. Their responses can be weird or confused, but they ring quite true.

Alice Sebold's "Lovely Bones" is haunting, beautiful, sad and happy, with memorable characters and beautiful prose. And though the plot sounds rather creepy, it's not creepy at all. Very lovely, disturbing read.

Rating:
Summary: Great.
Review: I loved the originality. This book was a great read and a wonderful departure from the standard.

Rating:
Summary: Just as good as they said.
Review: I found this book on the SF Chronicle's Best of 2002 list. It sounded interesting and it sure made the cut. Great idea for this book. Engaging story. It really makes you think. To sum up my vague review I will just say one thing: Read it.

Rating:
Summary: Well worth the reading
Review: When I first started reading this book, it was difficult to place myself in the position of viewing the continuance of life from Susie's heaven. I couldn't imagine this story line holding my attention for very long. However, with every new chapter was a new character with a different plot making me want to read further to find the ending.

Susie Salmon is a 14-year-old who finds that her life has violently and brutally been taken away from her by her neighbor, Mr. Harvey. Susie is now in the position of looking down from heaven and watching what used to be her life continue without her. She finds out that she is not the first one of Mr. Harvey's victims and meets some of the others while in heaven.

Susie finds out what heaven is all about and even makes friends while there. She has the help of Franny, a sort of counselor to help with her journey there.

Her family is in denial that she is dead and holds onto any shred of hope that they will find her alive. When her family finally realizes that she is not coming home, Susie sees her family falling apart. Her father is obsessed with trying to find her killer, sure that he knows that it is Mr. Harvey, yet unable to find the evidence to convict him. Her mother cannot deal with the loss and eventually leaves the family to cope with it in her own way. Her brother is trying to cope with losing both his sister and his mother. The younger sister is trying to keep the family together as best she can. As she watches her sister and her best friend, Ruth, grow to womanhood she realizes that she will never have the experiences that they are having.

With the help of her sister, Lindsey, evidence to convict Mr. Harvey has been found, but too late. Mr. Harvey has disappeared and cannot be found. However, he is closer than anyone expects.

Susie does get to come back to earth for a short time occupying Ruth's body and is able to fulfill a dream and that was for a final kiss from her boyfriend, Ray Singh. With the first kiss, Ray knows it is Susie. Susie finds that it is harder to leave those she loves the second time around.

This book will have you crying, laughing, angry, scared and hoping for revenge against her perpetrator. Payback does happen, but not as you would hope or expect to happen. There is some truth to the old saying "what goes around comes around."

I wonder if this imagery of Susie being dead, yet still an active part of the story isn't a metaphore for our sense of how we are sometimes seeing the world from two different perspectives. Sometimes when you see the world, you are living in it yet seeing it from a self-reflective distance. I think this novel could be interpreted as a metaphor for this kind of experience.

Rating:
Summary: Not a story of rape and murder
Review: On her way home from school on a snowy December day, Susie Salmon is lured into underground burrow in the cornfield by her neighbour, Mr. Harvey. Susie is then brutally raped and murdered. When we join Susie she is already in her heaven, watching her family and friend deal with her disappearance and then slowly accept her death though they have found no body, no leads and no killer.

This story is not about Susie's rape or murder but rather about her family as they cope with losing their daughter and sister. It is about Susie adjusting to her new home. Her father embarks on catching her killer, her mother strays from her family, her sister engrosses herself in sports, studies and her boyfriend, her little brother Bucky, just tries to stay out of the way.

This novel has had a lot of hype this year and made all the bestsellers list, like it should. It was an excellent debut novel by Alice Sebold, she told a story that didn't focus on the rape and murder but of the life after. The story opened my eyes to what heaven can be and how that won't be the same for everyone. The idea of that my deceased loved ones are watching me brings me great comfort.

Rating:
Summary: Thought-provoking
Review: I read this book never having heard of it, so I had no preconceived expectations going in. In my opinion the book is very well-written and has been hard to get out of my mind since I finished it a week ago. It was very unsettling to experience Susie's death with her. To hear her describe the disposal of her own remains was quite chilling. I felt that the author's depiction of how such a tragedy can tear a family apart was very realistic. Statistics show that a broken marriage often follows the death of a child. However, the most disturbing thing of all to me was the fact that this book followed Susie for eight years in heaven and never once mentioned God. I also find it contrary to what one expects of heaven to feel the longings and sense of loss that she did. None of us know what to expect of heaven, which I believe to be the author's point, but I rather hope for more happiness and sense of peace. It's good to read a book that shakes you up a bit and makes you think.

Rating:
Summary: Memorable and Moving
Review: My daughter-in-law gave me her copy to read, and I had no preconceived ideas, since I had not yet heard of it. I could not put it down, and found it different from anything I have read for a long time. It was chilling in its matter-of-factness about her death, yet the voice was perfect for a young teen girl. I have been one, and raised three, and it rang true in every way. I would recommend it to any woman over 14 or so, and look forward to reading more by this author. My daughter-in-law is so cool! She turned me on to Harry Potter before she even had a child! We love sharing our strange literary tastes. Only Shakespeare and Twain get 5 stars...well, maybe Asimov.

Rating:
Summary: Heaven's Bones
Review: Has there ever been a time were you wondered, if we all go to different Heavens? On December 6, 1973, Susie Salmon answered that question, after being crucially raped then murdered. The Lovely Bones novel is an excellent choice for a mature reader. Alice Sebold tells a great story of a young girl who was murdered and continues to watch over her family in "her" Heaven. She gives great description of Susie Salmon's sort of Heaven, and the gazebo that Susie watches over her family in. The book shows how each of the characters are connected, and how each are coping with the death of Susie.
The Lovely Bones, was wrote in simple/technical format, in 2002. Alice wrote a very powerful book, full of very descriptive writing. I thought this book was well written, gave a lot of edge, that would make one want to keep reading. In this book she showed that she was an author that could get a readers attention, and keep it. The Lovely Bones was a well thought out book, and even though Susie narrates the story from Heaven, it was very realistic.
liked this book because it was a murder story. If I could change one thing, I think I would have ended it differently. I recommend this book to a mature audience of readers who are interested in an excellent murder story.

Rating:
Summary: I don't get it
Review: I agree with others who find the premise of the book interesting. However, I couldn't help thinking while reading this book that the author was creating the story line as she went along. In my opinion the plot is quite haphazard, with arbitrary meaningless subplots, pointless plot contrivances, and no real sense of closure at the end. If it's meant to be a prolonged "slice of life" type of story, then it's not a very good one. I forced myself to listen to the entire book in the hopes of discovering the magic which is keeping it on the bestseller lists. A complete letdown.

Rating:
Summary: A remarkable book!
Review: Alice Sebold came up with such an original plot, resulting in a wonderful book. Often sad, sometimes funny, the book is ultimately a love story that gives the reader a sense of hope. I loved the book!