The Lovely Bones: A Novel by Alice Sebold Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Lovely Bones: A Novel
Book Review: The Lovely Bones- Alice Sebold
Summary: 5 Stars
A truly moving, beautifully written piece of work. This work explores many issues surrounding death, life, relationships, and heaven. The ideas and possibilites that this author presents to the reader is extremely thought-provoking. Well worth a read. Very emotional and intense.Book Review: Half good, half bad
Summary: 2 Stars
Starts off really well, written in a style that compels you to read on. A story narrated from heaven - nice idea (if a little too nice). At times very emotional - I read it whilst on jury service, and was nearly crying in the waiting room in a few places. Then, suddenly about 1/2 way through, the book becomes tedious and annoying. Don't know why, the style remains the same. I think the idea behind the book just gets eked out to far.Book Review: whats with all the hype
Summary: 2 Stars
I first about this book from someone who had to read it for her studies, I thought the plot sounded good so i decided to get a copy and read. The first chapter or so were great but after that I feel the author had lost her interest in writing - there were so many questions unanswered at the end and i felt dissapointed by the outcomes.this book has been hyped too much and I was struggling to finish it. It will definately be heading to my local charity shop
If you want good stories and plot try M. Atwood who has won many awards for her writing style
Book Review: Disappointing
Summary: 3 Stars
Having heard critics raving about this via richard and judy, I gave this book a go. It starts off really well with an interesting style and way of looking at the afterlife. Halfway through it gets boring and tedious, and gradually descends to the ridiculous with a half hearted ending. Maybe my expectations were too high, but this really disappointed me.Book Review: A novel of life, loss, and love
Summary: 5 Stars
In the first chapter of this amazing novel, we find that our narrator, a 14 year old girl named Susie Salmon, has been murdered. Susie's life is brutally ended by her neighbor who is actually a serial killer. But this is not a story of death or the hunt for a serial killer, although that is in this story. This is a story about the healing power of love.
Susie narrates the story from heaven, a place much like her home town with a high school like the one she didn't live to attend. From heaven, Susie can watch her family, friends, the detective trying to solve her murder, and the killer himself. Susie tells us a little about what heaven is like but the real story is in the world she has left behind. We watch as her family slowly dissolves and evolves from the pain of losing a child. Each person in the story deals with the tragedy in their own way. Her father tries to solve the murder but soon finds that solutions will not bring back his daughter. Her mother discovers that this loss only intensifies another loss that she has been avoiding dealing with for years. Her younger sister and brother each find their own way of dealing with the loss of a sibling that they loved deeply. Ray, the boy Susie wanted desperately to kiss and Ruth, the girl who was never close with Susie but who Susie passed on her way to heaven, find their lives forever changed because of the murder.
The narrative is built by the melding of these stories into a patchwork. As the years pass, we see how Susie has changed so many lives both through her life and through her death. And as all these people deal with the events of that tragic winter day, they all find that only through love and forgiveness can real healing begin. It is the absence of love that drives Mr. Harvey to rape and murder. It is the desperate avoidance of love that drives Susie's mother into the arms of another man. It is the need for love that pulls a family back together and opens up heaven.
I found this book hard to put down, but at the same time I found it hard to pick up. There is so much pain in this story that it is hard to endure at times. But ultimately the story is uplifting. This is a story of how love can overcome any obstacle. Sebold writes beautifully and her characters seem to come to life, even those who are no longer living. I can strongly recommend this book.