The Lovely Bones Author:Alice Sebold When we first meet Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. As she looks down from this strange new place, she tells us, in the fresh and spirited voice of a fourteen-year-old girl, a tale that is both haunting and full of hope. In the weeks following her death, Susie watches life on Earth continuing without her-her school friends trading rumors ... more »about her disappearance, her family holding out hope that she'll be found, her killer trying to cover his tracks. As months pass without leads, Susie sees her parents' marriage being contorted by loss, her sister hardening herself in an effort to stay strong, and her little brother trying to grasp the meaning of the word gone. And she explores the place called heaven. It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing sets. There are counselors to help newcomers adjust and friends to room with. Everything she ever wanted appears as soon as she thinks of it-except the thing she most wants: to be back with the people she loved on Earth. With compassion, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie sees her loved ones pass through grief and begin to mend. Her father embarks on a risky quest to ensnare her killer. Her sister undertakes a feat of remarkable daring. And the boy Susie cared for moves on, only to find himself at the center of a miraculous event. The Lovely Bones is luminous and astonishing, a novel that builds out of grief the most hopeful of stories. In the hands of a brilliant new writer, this story of the worst thing a family can face is transformed into a suspenseful and even funny novel about love, memory, joy, heaven, and healing.« less
This is a great book. It was difficult for me to read, because my sister died at the age of 14. Although she was not raped or murdered, it still gave an eerie perspective of the possibility that she may have watched us dealing with the grief and aftermath of her sudden and tragic death.
If you have lost a loved one at a young age, this is a difficult book, but you won't be able to put it down!
This novel requires much suspension of disbelief, as it is written from the perspective of a child who had been brutally murdered, and who is watching what is happening to her family and friends from her own heaven. I couldn't put the book down, I was hooked from the first page.
Though this story dealt with horrid violence, it may leave the reader feeling a sense of... peace. I'm not sure if peace is the right word, or if there is another word that could define the feeling exactly. Whatever the word, it replaces the anger,the unfairness,the heartache that bubbles up after reading the first couple of chapters. Sebold slowly takes you by the hand and leads you through a tragedy of a young student and how it affects her family and friends. More remarkable, she lets you see it through the victim's eyes and heart. Great book, soon to be a movie in 2009.
The novel is about a young teenage girl who is raped and murdered by her neighbor. She spends the story watching her family from heaven as she narrates, and wishing that she could help them as they all move through separate periods of grief. I know, sounds depressing and awful, right? It's not! It's poetic and beautifully descriptive, and you get sucked right into the story. I would go so far as to say that it's an important book about grieving, but even so, it is a worthwhile read. Wonderful story. I won't be posting my copy, as I can't part with it.
This is a depressing book about a girl named Susie Salmon whom is 14, that is murdered by her next door neighbor, Mr. Harvey.
She is the narrator of the story from the moment you begin reading the book. Susie tells you how she was murdered, about life before death, and what her heaven is like. The book is rather slow going from start to finish. I often found myself wondering when it would pick up the pace. It was also pretty predictable with most of the characters being rather annoying.
The ending could have been better as a few things could have been changed. The mother in the book needed to be slapped and I wished her other daughter Lindsey would have done it. I was cheering Buckly on when he told her off. If you want to be depressed and frusterated then this is the book to pick up. Otherwise move on as it will just waste your time.
A beautifully tragic story about a life, a death, and everything that came after. "My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973." With these opening words, you are catapaulted into a heartwrenching and yet ever hopeful story about a family trying to cope with the worst tragedy imaginable.
Alice Sebold crafts her story brilliantly. From the father who loves his daughter too much to let her go without getting justice, the mother who is too devastated to cope, the sister who desperately wants to get out of her shadow, and the brother too young to understand beyond knowing an important part of his life is missing, this could be any family after a tragic loss. The emotional range and power are tremendous as you take an inside look at a family and community forever altered in some way by a horrible crime.
Narrated by Susie Salmon, the reader is given a unique perspective on events, as Susie tells about her life and relates to us what happens on Earth in the aftermath of her death. While it is almost unbearably tragic, it is also full of hope. Life does continue, wounds don't disappear but they do heal, and those left behind can find happiness without forgetting those who they lost. It's a hard book to read in the beginning, but an amazing book to finish.
I read this book in one sitting, I could not put it down. It was excellent. It challenges traditional ideas of the afterlife and death and delivers a story you cannot walk away from until you know what comes next. It did find myself skimming over some of the details in points - as though the descriptions were so detailed it was hard to absorb but overall the book was very good. You will probably cry.
While the story kept my interest, i can see why some would find it disturbing. While there is only one graphic sexually violent scene in the beginning of the book (one can see it coming - i skipped over it to the next chapter with little plot consequence)if the reader has a child it would hit close to home. I enjoyed the style of writing and the perspective (written in the 1st person of the deceased child) but this book isn't for everyone. Good story, intense, emotional, even funny at times, but can be a bit disturbing, especially for those readers with children.
An abstract story with a murder mystery underneath. One of my absolute favorite stories. Compeltely seperate from the movie. It's almost something that I wouldn't know how to translate into a movie, so I give them credit for trying. This definately isn't a light-hearted story, but a great read that never leaves you bored.
I couldn't finish it once I started reading it. I had great expectations because of all the good press and hype about the book. I found it strange and not my style at all.
This book started out so strong and intriguing. I was excited to read it through the first couple hundred pages. I enjoyed the point of view from "heaven" and found Susie to be a good storyteller. However, the book reaches a point where it is just dragging on and then at the very end moves quickly into this bizarre, and very unbelievable, place. By the end of the book I was just glad it was over and disappointed at how such a strong start became so lack luster in the end.
"Inside the snow globe on my father's desk, there was a penguin wearing a red-and-white-striped scarf. When I was little my father would pull me into his lap and reach for the snow globe. He would turn it over, letting all the snow collect o the top, then quickly invert it. The two of us watched the snow fall gently around the penguin. The penguin was alone in there, I thought, and I worried for him. When I told my father this, he said, "Don't worry, Susie; he has a nice life. He's trapped in a perfect world.""
Thus begins The Lovely Bones. Susie is a young girl of just fourteen years when she is taken, raped, murdered and dismembered. Instincts tell her father who committed this crime against his child whose body is never found. He goes to the police with his suspicions and though they investigate the man they need evidence which they are unable to find.
One would think this a difficult book to read but this reader did not find it so. It is told from the perspective of Susie, the victim, who is in heaven. A heaven such as I, who believe in heaven and hell, have never envisioned. It is rather a casual place and Susie's enjoyments on earth are also her enjoyments in heaven. And Susie can see and hear what is happening on earth, within her families and others, even her murderer. But she doesn't spend all of her time in this way. There are times when those remaining on earth feel the presence of Susie near them.
As Susie tells her story the horror of it does not become negligible but she tells it in a way that one can accept and move around it and remain within the story. Not just the event.
This is the story of how a family deals with and yet cannot deal with the tragic loss of a beloved child. And Sebold tells this tale in a masterful way very different from those you have read on like subject matter.
The climax of the book may not be what you expect, need or desire. But it suits what comes before.
This is my second Sebold read. I am only saddened that there is only one more currently out there to read. I highly recommend The Lovely Bones and rated it 4 stars.
Great story and a great read! This is very hard to put down once starting. Alice Sebold's story is told from a young girl who has suffered a traumatic event and is now viewing the lives of family and friends from above. This is such a beautiful story, and although there were some places towards the end that were disappointing, overall, I would highly recommend and the story itself will not let you down!
this book was highly recommended to me, I don't know if I'd say it was a great read, it was a different read! Had to look at it from the "girls" eyes in heaven! I liked it, had to stick with it to figure out the ending!
Loved the first part of the book, fast paced and kept my attention, didn't want to put it down. But as I got close to the end, the book began to drag and I found myself ready to finish the book so I could start another. But overall, it was a good read.
I bought this book before I had children but didn't read it until before the movie came out. I should have read it before I had my daughter. This book was hard for me to finish. It's sad and scares me. Its written beautifully, just not my cup of tea anymore.
Good book. Read it when I was in high school for the first time. Then thought I'd give it another try and now that I'm a mom with a daughter the same age as the girl in the book, I had a really hard time getting through it the second time around.
A murdered 12 year-old's view from heaven as she observes the family and friends she had while still alive. It's a story of terrible tragedy that manages to transform into something hopeful and redemptive. A+++++
I loved this book. A murder mystery where you know who the killer is. The deceased victim is telling the story as she watches over her family and her murder. Well written and a very quick read.
I will not be reposting this audiobook because I want to keep it forever and re-listen. THE LOVELY BONES is a fascinating story told with unbelievable beauty and skill. Character development is masterful, yet the plot never wanes.
For some reason I had expected not to like this book. Instead, I loved it. It is rare for me to dread a book ending because I have enjoyed it so much, but that happened with this one. I thought the reader was excellent.
Incredibly moving-have tissues handy! In some ways this book is extremely sad, in other ways not. I think it is one of my favorites I've read or listened to this year.
Susie Salmon is, was, a fourteen year old girl who was raped, murdered, and dismembered just before Christmas 1973 - that is not a plot spoiler, it is the first sentence of the book. Susie is telling her story from her heaven - everyone has their own heaven. She tells the story of her murder; she watches her murderer; she watches her family and friends.
This novel is the story of those people she watches and the effect that her death has on them. the
A second story line is the search for Susie's killer - Mr Harvey - who for most of the novel is hiding in plain sight. Susie's sister breaks into the house trying to help.
The third story line is Susie's coming to grip with her heaven and how she can move on.
A charming and sometimes funny story of a teen who was brutallly raped and murdered. Seems impossible, but somehow Alice Sebold Turns a gruesome subject into an uplifting story.
This book starts out by grabbing you and not letting go. Some places it seemed to kind of stall, but then again I was sick when I was reading it so it might have been the drugs. I hightly recommend it. It sure gets you to thinking!
I have not been able to finish this book. I really don't care for scary books. This on is not to bad but, I just can't get into it. So, the friend that gave it to me says it is a great read.
I really enjoyed this book although it made me rather sad. I cannot imagine losing one of my children. But the perspective that the book was written from I found very interesting. A very good read.
I was actually very disappointed with this book. It was well-written and kept my attention, but the ending of seemed to come right out of the blue. I ended up feeling depressed by the conclusion.
That being said, technically, it was a "good" book. It seemed to do everything right-- great characterization, a very driven plot, and was just written well.
However, overall, it wasn't what I was expecting at all. It is nothing I will read again nor suggest to anyone else.
