The Lovely Bones

This post originally published January 4, 2010.

Author: Alice Sebold
Published: 2002
Publisher: Back Bay Books
372 pages (mass market paperback)
 
Summary: On December 6, 1973, Susie Salmon, 14, decides to take a shortcut across the old cornfield on her way home from school when she encounters her neighbour, George Harvey, who, after convincing Susie to follow him, rapes her, then murders her. When Susie ‘wakes’, she is in heaven. Unable to separate herself from her life on earth, Susie watches everyone from above. Her family falls apart following Susie’s death, with her father stuck in the past and her mother trying to run away from it all. Her school friends trading rumors about what might have happened. And her murderer, trying to remain hidden and cover his tracks.

My Thoughts: First, yeah I know, the original paperback cover is prettier, but it was also $10 more expensive than this version that came out with the movie. The choice was obvious.
The Lovely Bones is an incredibly sad tale, and at the same time, very hopeful and optimistic. This story’s received a lot of attention ever since it was announced that it would also become a movie, not to mention a few friends of mine praising it highly, so I decided to pick it up to read.

I enjoyed this book very much. It starts off very hauntingly. The actual murder of Susie is, thankfully, not described in full but it becomes apparent that he dismembered her; it sent a chill down my spine, mainly because I am very queasy with the idea of body parts not connected with one another. The murderer puts Susie’s body parts in a sack (save for an elbow of her’s, the only part of her body that was ever found), locked the bag in a safe, and then unloaded the safe into a sinkhole. As her family grieves, I grieved too. It was just so sad. I normally don’t cry when reading books or watching movies — and I didn’t cry for The Lovely Bones either — but I felt choked up. I felt very heartbroken reading this. I took comfort with the character of Susie’s father, Jack, the parent who was stuck in time, desperately trying to figure out Susie’s death, who her murderer was. I have a soft spot for father-daughter relationships and it just pained me to have to read about how miserable he felt. Then there was Lindsey, Susie’s sister — whenever people looked at her, they didn’t see Lindsey anymore, they saw a dead girl’s sister. Poor little Buckley, the brother, confused by everyone trying to protect him from the truth of Susie’s disappearance. The author did a marvelous job writing about the family falling apart, even if it is an incredibly sad thing.

But this is by no means a depressing book (especially since Susie’s grandma, Lynn is a hoot). It starts off in a gloomy way, but this is a story about how everyone, Susie included, learns how to deal with her death and find new hope in life, albeit difficultly.It is a hopeful story, and optimistic one.
I enjoyed the writing style for the most part, though something about it, I can’t quite put my finger to it, didn’t quite agree with me. The ending, with Ray, Ruth and Susie, was kind of bizarre, with the body switching thing. It didn’t feel like that part of the story was obeying the laws of this story world. However, overall, The Lovely Bones has captivated me. It touched me deeply.

My Rating: 4.5/5