Ratings121
Average rating3.5
This deluxe trade paperback edition of Alice Sebold's modern classic features French flaps and rough-cut pages.Once in a generation a novel comes along that taps a vein of universal human experience, resonating with readers of all ages. The Lovely Bones is such a book - a phenomenal #1 bestseller celebrated at once for its narrative artistry, its luminous clarity of emotion, and its astoniishing power to lay claim to the hearts of millions of readers around the world."My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973." So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on eath continue without her - her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable traged and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy"A stunning achievement." -The New Yorker"Deeply affecting. . . . A keenly observed portrait of familial love and how it endures and changes over time." -New York Times"A triumphant novel. . . . It's a knockout." -Time"Destined to become a classic in the vein of To Kill a Mockingbird. . . . I loved it." -Anna Quindlen"A novel that is painfully fine and accomplished." -Los Angeles Times"The Lovely Bones seems to be saying there are more important things in life on earth than retribution. Like forgiveness, like love." -Chicago Tribune
Reviews with the most likes.
I previously rated this book three stars. Later when I decided to read it again I could not help but wonder what “possessed” (you will realize after reading the book that this is in fact, a pun. ) me to give it three stars.
The idea behind the book is brilliant. A girl Susie is raped and murdered on her way home from school by her neighbour. She is then stuck somewhere between Earth and Heaven, watching her loved ones cope with the grief of her death while her attacker goes unpunished. The blurb was interesting enough for me to read in spite of not having any romance in it. It sounded like such a promising read.
And it was too, for the first ten pages or so. It starts with Susie being attacked and the scene is powerful and realistic. This scene is probably the highest point of the whole book beacuse it goes entirely downhill from here. There are a bunch of flat cliche characters with equally flat thought sin the head. Susie's father starts to neglect his family and his wife finds comfort in the arms of the detective with a tragic past. And then there are metaphors that make no sense : “The snow was falling lightly, like a flurry of small hands...” Hands. Not cotton or clouds or a million other things that are white or cold or both. I previously rated this book three stars. Later when I decided to read it again I could not help but wonder what “possessed” (you will realize after reading the book that this is in fact, a pun. ) me to give it three stars.
The idea behind the book is brilliant. A girl Susie is raped and murdered on her way home from school by her neighbour. She is then stuck somewhere between Earth and Heaven, watching her loved ones cope with the grief of her death while her attacker goes unpunished. The blurb was interesting enough for me to read in spite of not having any romance in it. It sounded like such a promising read.
And it was too, for the first ten pages or so. It starts with Susie being attacked and the scene is powerful and realistic. This scene is probably the highest point of the whole book beacuse it goes entirely downhill from here. There are a bunch of flat cliche characters with equally flat thought sin the head. Susie's father starts to neglect his family and his wife finds comfort in the arms of the detective with a tragic past. And then there are metaphors that make no sense : “The snow was falling lightly, like a flurry of small hands...” Hands. Not cotton or clouds or a million other things that are white or cold or both. And a lot of people have already pointed out this quote in their reviews but I will do it again because of its sheer ridiculousness: “Her pupils dilated, pulsing in and out like small, ferocious olives.”
But the worst part of it was the ending. I'm ashamed to admit that I did not catch it the first time I read it. What would you do if after you died you were given few more minutes to live by possessing someone? Would you like to say goodbye to your family? Help catch your murderer preventing other from suffering your fate? Or maybe you would take advantage of this wonderful situation by
having sex with your childhood crush. That's right. Susie Salmon, victim of rape and murder, uses her precious last few minutes to have sex, with her childhood crush, Ray by possessing the body of a lesbian friend, Ruth. And this is not the kind of voluntary possession where you need to ask permission or anything. So after an out of body experience, Ruth awakes to finds herself raped in a bike shop (I'm not sure why Susie chooses to go there). You would think that being raped herself, Susie would be a tad more considerate. But, obviously the path the true enlightment and nirvana by forgetting all earthly pleasures is by taking in the most earthliest pleasure of all.
For the most part I enjoyed this book. Put me out of my comfort zone. Made me wonder how many children met similar fates through the years. It was interesting to see her stuck in a sort of limbo while she watched everyone else move on with their lives. It was also interesting to see how each character processed the MC's death. Her father was obsessive. Her mother ran. Her sister shut off emotions. The potential boyfriend. The cop. The murderer. The perspectives were the strength of this novel. Unfortunately, it all fell apart towards the end. Pieces tied up too neatly and the possession is absolutely ridiculous. First of all, the possession itself was unnecessary, but the actions during the possession was far worse. Imaging the girl who was possessed. What would she be feeling? No, because MC trumps all and she needs the closure. The beginning is the strongest part of this book. The rest went on too long. And honestly, though the movie wasn't perfect, I preferred some of the changes they made. Especially the ending.
I have started this book more than once, and as predicted by others, I could never get past the first horrific chapter. This time, I perservered. Sebold wrote a very popular novel that is lyrical, compelling, and interesting. Getting through that first chapter is still a trick, though.
I hated this book. I had to read it for English class and I hated every part of it. All of it made me want to curl into a ball and wretch.
The depiction of heaven sounds like my absolute worst nightmare - hell, if you will.
The only sympathetic character in all this was the mother because I could relate to her desire to escape the whole situation that is this book.
I imagine there will be plenty of people who like this book but the best I can say for it is that even years later it still has he capacity to stir me to incredible ire.
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