The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Lovely Bones
Book Review: "They Saw the Future and it was Loud..."
Summary: 3 Stars
The basic premise of Alice Sebold's most famous novel is (in my opinion) the reason for its success. A girl is murdered, and watches from heaven as her family and friends continue on with their lives without her. Such a hook is so unique, so fascinating, so painful and poetic that it's no wonder that this book has been a bestseller. Unfortunately several flaws in the storytelling mean that the tale itself doesn't always live up to the golden premise (and often the prose is awful!), but ultimately "The Lovely Bones" is a poignant and unforgettable read.
Susie Salmon tells the story in first-person narrative after her death. At fourteen years old she was lured into an underground cavern, raped and killed by her neighbour Mr Harvey - now she watches her family cope with her disappearance, her presumed death and the years that follow her passing; all the time desperately longing to be amongst them once more.
She watches all her family from above (her parents and her siblings), as well as other friends, acquaintances, pets and various objects that go astray; the boy she first kissed, the friend who felt her passing, the detective investigating her case, her missing charm bracelet, her dog and - most importantly - the man who took her life. As she watches time passes; her mother handles her grief by having an affair, her sister Lindsay falls in love, her grandmother returns to take control of the family, and her little brother - too young to understand or even remember Susie's death - grows up in a world without her.
Sebold nails the family dynamics; the fear, anxiety, horror, guilt and grief that comes with the death of a family member, as well as the denial, pain and surrealism that follows as they gradually adjust to her absence and the anniversary of Susie's death approaches. Susie's father's guilt, her mother's detachment, her sister's anger - all are captured to perfection. Nothing will ever go back to normal for the Salmon family, and things are churned up further when Mr Salmon begins to suspect Mr Harvey was involved in his youngest daughter's death. The haunted memories of the family are wonderfully balanced with moments of transcendence and beauty found in life; giving the sense that both life and death are not that far away from each other.
Sebold's treatment of heaven was (in my opinion) unsatisfactory, with her only original idea being the thought that each person gets their own personalised heaven - Susie's is a high school and playground. But beyond this, her images of heaven seemed quite flat; there is no mention what it actually feels like to be in heaven, what revelations and inner knowledge one might gain and (strangest of all) no mention of God at all. Susie is focused entirely on earth-bound matters. This of course was Sebold's decision, as an author she perhaps simply wasn't interested in exploring the heaven-side of her story, but I felt that it was oddly lopsided to focus so much on the life of Susie's family rather than what heaven is like.
With the exception of Susie herself, the most vivid character is Lindsay (though perhaps this is because I'm also an older sister) who goes through the coming-of-age that Susie missed out on. It is Lindsay who Susie is most interested in watching from heaven, riveted by her changing form, her growing love for her boyfriend and her deep-seated sadness at the death of her sister. Out of all the characters and storylines portray, it is Lindsay and her quiet struggle that was most memorable to me. Creeping through Mr Harvey's house, running through the rain with her finance, visiting the scene of her sister's death - Sebold is at her best when dealing with Lindsay.
However, the second half of the book is severely weakened as Sebold changes in tone too drastically so that she can fit in a rather strange episode concerning Susie and her first crush. Sebold tries to compensate for Susie's missed maturity, but in a way that feels as though it belongs in a different book, which also takes much of the bittersweetness out of Susie's heavenly existence. It wouldn't be fair to give it away to those that haven't read it; but those that have finished the book will know what I'm talking about and scanning over some other reviews I can see there was similar disappointment at the conclusion. (However, the last paragraph is so poignantly beautiful I almost forgive her for the previous misstep).
Book Review: 1 star is rating this book to highly
Summary: 1 Stars
This was absolutely the WORST book I have ever read. Hopefully no one will waste their time reading it. I can't understand how this book was even published, what an embarrassment to the publishing company to put their name on it. Honestly I can't describe how much i hated this book. Don't make the same mistake I did by buying or reading it.Book Review: 230 interesting pages, then rubbish 'til the end
Summary: 2 Stars
The book starts out fascinating and well written, but completely falls apart 2/3 into it. I devoured the first 230 pages without stopping and then could barely finish it. Maybe the author had a page total she needed to achieve in order to get her paycheck. Besides becoming dull and longwinded, the writing turns sloppy in the last parts and you need to keep re-reading passages (if you can bear to do so) just to understand what point she's trying to make or even who she's writing about.
The author's concept of heaven was completely plausible until she gave the dead child a vacation day back on earth to make up for lost experiences. That scene is completely ridiculous in the setting Sebold had created.
The ultimate end is so anti-climactic that you WILL feel cheated. The most interesting plot in the book is summed up in 3 sentences with no connection to the other characters. Stupid ending, badly written. I recommend you read to page 230, then skip to the last 3 pages.
Book Review: A Great Book
Summary: 5 Stars
The Lovely Bones is a great book. It is different than all the other books I have read in my live. I really can't say too much because I haven't read it all the way, but I am into the last three chapters. I have gotten to where I have to stay up till midnight or even later just to read it. When you get done reading it, I think you will just want to read it again and again because of how good it is. The thing i would really do is keep it and let others read it so that that they can have the same experice that I have. My friend and I both are reading it right now. She tries to take it, but i get it back. I would hope if you have heard of the book you should read it. Courtney G.Book Review: A Breath of Fresh Air
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Lovely Bones" was definitely something different to read, as it looks and the murder of a young girl and how she views the world after her death. The young girl, Susie Salmon, continues to watch her family and friends (as well as her murderer)from Heaven, as we also get a view of what life after death is like. This book had a very different concept, that I felt worked quite well, although seemed a bit strange at times. It was easy to read, but difficult to put down, and it is recommended you read this book.