The Lovely Bones
by Alice Sebold
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Book Reviews of The Lovely Bones
Book Review: Couldn't Put It Down!
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Lovely Bones" is an astonishing novel that tells of the horrifying death of a fourteen year old girl, Susie Salmon. When we meet Susie, she is already in her heaven, looking down on her life continuing without her. She watches the hardships her family and friends face in trying to make sense of what happened and search for her killer. She sees her parents' marriage falling apart, her sister trying her hardest to stay strong, and her little brother trying to understand the meaning of the word "gone."
As the months and years pass after Susie's death, she continues to watch as she begins to see her loved ones get through the grief and move on to begin mending. She watches as her father and sister embark on quests to find her killer. Her father has a feeling all along as to who the killer is, but he cannot prove it. She watches as her sister undergoes a great feat to prove guiltiness. She looks upon her mother, and the boy she cared for change in front of her very own eyes.
This book not only portrays the horrible death of a young girl, but also the love of the family and the hardships they must face while grieving. This story is then changed from these things into a suspenseful, touching, and even funny novel about family, memory, love, and heaven.
This book would have to be one of the best books I have read before. Once I began reading it I had trouble putting it down. The story of the horrifying death of this young girl is both haunting and sad. Although, hearing of the challenges and feats the family must overcome is both startling and exciting. Overall I think this book is about love and memories. Susie's family will always remember her and the wonderful times they shared with her. The love that her family and friends had for her is what brings this novel to the wonderful ending it endures.
Book Review: The Lovely Bones
Summary: 5 Stars
As a high school student, I think Lovely Bones was a perfect read. Truthfully, I was very hesitant when I started to read this novel. I did not know if I could handle its serious content. As a teenager, my initial reaction was fear and uneasiness. After reading this book, I unexpectedly came to the conclusion that The Lovely Bones is the perfect read for a high school student.
Alice Sebold, the author of this book, writes the story of 14-year-old Susie Salmon who was raped and murdered one day on her way home from school. Throughout the novel, Susie tells her story from her own personal heaven. She also watches over the loved ones she left behind on the Earth. She constantly observes the lives of her father, her mother, her younger siblings, Lindsey and Buckley, her friends, Ruth and Ray, and her vile murderer, Mr. George Harvey. Although Susie continues to live up in heaven as a teenage girl, she grows and matures into a woman through the life of her sister, Lindsey.
Alice Sebold did an exceptional job writing this brilliant novel. The Lovely Bones contains lots of vivid language and strong emotions that are sure to keep the reader turning its pages. It is especially unique because the story is told from heaven. The uncertainty the reader feels as he or she reads keeps their interest. Even though the element of crime, mystery and sorrow are intense components of this book, they do not inhibit the reader from experiencing its thoughtfulness. This novel gives a different perspective on crime in today's world. It touches on the heartfelt mourning and difficult coping that are intertwined in this tragic storyline. It also shows how the heart can heal over time with plenty of love and powerful memories. This touching novel is an excellent read for male and female readers of all ages.
Book Review: Bones Of Contention
Summary: 1 Stars
In other reviews of this novel, I have read the word 'literature'. Anyone who thinks that Lovely Bones is literature must be either braindead, or taking a university course staged by Opra Winfrey's Book Club. Think of literature shot through the lens of a bad telemovie, and you are coming close to what Lovely Bones is in reality. Anyone who reads books even remotely challenging will be able to tell you this.The idea is interesting: that a girl is murdered and looks down upon her family and friends, and watches how they react to that murder. The way in which this idea is executed, though, is moronic. It is soaked in sentimentality, cliche, and injected with great doses of kitsch. Reading Lovely Bones I felt as if I were sucking on a terribly sugary sweet, and I kept wanting to spit it out, which is what I did in the end. That is to say, I couldn't bring myself to finish it.
The fact that Lovely Bones was so popular in the United States can be accepted. Bestselling books, after all, are mostly bad. But that readers think of this as literature is a testament to how far down the track of illiteracy we have all come.
By the way, I'm astonished that the author of 'The Corrections' wrote a good review of this book. My copy has a fragment taken from something he wrote, on the front cover. To quote, 'Sebold has given us a fantasy-fable of great authority, charm, and daring.' Did Franzen and I read the same book? Has Franzen lost his marbles? Did Franzen really write The Corrections?!?! If yes, how could he think Lovely Bones is good? I'm puzzled (and somewhat disturbed).
Undoubtedly this novel will be made into an equally sugary film. I can imagine it as a sort of American Beauty Lite. Undoubtedly, there will also be people who will think that Lovely Bones The Movie is an art film. Undoubtedly, they will be wrong.
Book Review: Not really a literary classic but a nice read
Summary: 4 Stars
I don't know why it is but I always read the literary classics that are known to be classics such as Les Miserables(way too long), or Lord of the Flies(good one) or Animal Farm(cute and well-written). Well on the back of this book, one review says that Lovely Bones is a literary classic so I thought let's check it out. It's a good read but it's not really a page turner like what happened to me and Memoirs of a Geisha or Animal Farm.
Susie Salmon is 14 and she's narrating the story of life for her family. Only catch is she's dead, raped and murdered by her neighbour George Harvey and she's narrating the story of her family grieving and dealing with it from beyond the grave in her heaven. Here she sees her sister deal with it as well as finding love, the boy Susie liked and the bitter breakup of her parents.
There's a book by a Canadian author named Thomas King called Medicine River where each chapter has an event in the past and the present and they have some kind of theme in common. Lovely Bones' structure is similar with Susie mentioning a past memory but they tend to come very random and it's hard to tell whether she's speaking in a past tense or narrating the present and once she mentions the words murder or my body you go "oh ok".
You can tell there's a talent at work when she writes as she's not plodding or meticulous in the language so that it's hard to tell what's happening(something I hated about Tolkien books) but her writing style's easy to follow without being grade 6 material. An event very late in the book concerning Susie pulling a body-snatching is nicely written but it's awkward story-wise.
The book is apparently being made into a film with Peter Jackson directing so it'd be nice to see what he does with it. But in book form, it's a good read.
Book Review: Lovely Bones
Summary: 4 Stars
The Lovely Bones is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Alice Seabold, writes it in such a way that is easy for teens to read and connect to. Stories like this are hard to make so interesting, but she writes in such a way that you cannot put the book down. I loved how well she depicts a teenage girls thoughts, it was like reading a fourteen year-old girls diary. I loved reading about the imperfections she sees' in her family as she is in heaven. It shows that parents are far from perfect. Her mother, for example, you see her as the perfect mom at first, heartbroken from losing her daughter, but as the book goes on you realize she is nothing like what she seemed. As I kept reading, I began to love her father and feel what it really means to lose someone. You read about him destroying his last memories from his daughter and weeping into her pillows, you cannot feel anything but sorrow for him. Another thing that was interesting in reading this book is the extent rapist will go to get what they want. Her rapist, Mr. Harvey, seemed a lonely, sad man that anyone would feel bad for. However, he knows exactly what he is doing, and in the end gets away with it. It kind of brings you into what exactly they are thinking when they do these things, and how dangerous they really are. Though there is much sadness in this book, you also find humor, and happiness, which balanced the book out. It wasn't all about death and loss, but hope and how happy a person can be. An important lesson I learned in this book is closure. If we dwell on the horrible things that happened to us, we will never enjoy the good things. I really enjoyed this book and Alice Seabold has become one of my new favorite authors, and I look forward to reading another one of her books.