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Summary: Loved this book!
Review: I really loved everything about this book. The story was beautifully written. It was wonderfully touching.
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Summary: profoundly moving
Review: I just finished this book which I sped through in two days. It was one of the most moving and beautifully written books I have ever read. I am still thinking about it. I loved the spiritual elements as well , which I found consoling. I plan to read her previous book, "Lucky" next because I want more of this author's voice. Not a light beach read but a life-changing experience.
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Summary: Oh My GOD!
Review: Absolutely the best read in years. Anna Quindlen was right when she exalted this book as the "To Kill a Mockingbird" of this generation. I was sorry to finish this book, I was that involved with Susie and her desires and losses. If I could I would have Alice Sebold to dinner.
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Summary: disappointing for adult readers
Review: I had heard quite a bit of hype for this novel before its release, and so I pre-ordered it. I had even heard one reviewer make a comparison to To Kill a Mockingbird.
I was very disappointed. Writing is such a difficult task and I'm sure a labor of love for the author, so I don't want to say this book is poor, but it is most satifyingly read by adolescent girls (12-17). Although the novel is not "themed" --I bet they'll be sorry when I'm dead--in fact, maybe more accurately--I'll be sorry when I'm dead, the novel does not rise above some awfully trite teenage angst notions.
Although I do not often read crime stories, the elements of the novel dealing with the killer, Mr. Harvey, were often fascinating: his compulsions, his brutality, his thwarted efforts to control his psychotic urges.
So for the right audience, this novel may be satisfying. But it lacks the universal truths of such great novels as TKAM. If you want a superior read in the voice of a child/adolescent, try The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Udall--a much more rewarding and literary work.
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Summary: Lovely book
Review: I have not read a book in years! Shameful isnt it? Well I do not really like reading actually. MY eyes cross and I fall asleep most of the time. But I have to recommend this book. I saw the article in newsweek and bought it immediately. When I got it I couldnt put it down. My husband was extremely jealous of this book taking away his quality time with me. =) Great great book!
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Summary: a touching, wonderful book
Review: this book reminds me of the books that I used to read when I was a child - one of those books that you pick up and can't put down until you finish - and then you feel a bit sad when it is done, because you have become so involved with the characters that you almost feel that you are one of them. I can't say enough good things about this book. The subject matter, murder, initially put me off, until I read an excerpt of the book on Amazon (the whole 30 pages, as a matter of fact) and was completely taken in. THe writing is so crisp. One feels as if he/she is hearing Susie's thoughts, and the author seems to have a perfect recollection of a fourteen year old's mind and what would be important in her world. The book is about death, of course, but it is compelling in that the book's secret is that it is really about LIFE, who we are, the choices that we make, how we live our lives, how the lives of others affect us, and how we are perceived by others. Susie takes us on a wonderful journey through her own heaven and realizations about life, love and family, and we see the journeys of those closest to her. This book is so fantastic! Check it out!!
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Summary: Fascinating
Review: I'm not much of a reader. Manage maybe one book a year. The other day I was wandering around [local store] and picked up "Lovely Bones." At first it was the cover that drew me. Then I leafed through it and found I couldn't put it back down. Found myself sitting in one of the bookstore's overstuffed chairs for next three hours and read l/2 the book. I surprised myself at how quickly and totally this book captivated me. I'm not a reader by nature - but I read this book and glad I did.
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Summary: Read it and cheer!
Review: I bought this book based on Anna Quindlan's Today Show review, "If you read no other book this summer, this is the book you should read." She was right, right, right! Alice Sebold is a first-class story teller - who captures the spirit of a 14-year-old girl perfectly. I look forward to future novels from this talented writer.
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Summary: Great book, really makes you examine your own life
Review: I devoured this book in three days-- a miracle, for me. I loved it! I mean, when you're reading the delicately written phrases that Ms. Sebold spells out for the reader, you really get a sense that you're living in this lovely world, where everyone is bound together, however subtly, by the death of someone that meant something different to each one. She meant constraint to her mother, the world to her father, a blur to her younger brother, and a friend to her sister. She meant nothing to Ruth until her death, and everything to Ray even after she had passed This book made me cry...a fourteen year old male. It's really affecting and moving. Even though towards the end, the story lines become a bit jumbled and unbelievable, the emotions are still real, and watching Susie Salmon's family fall apart, and later reform, is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Seeing the characters change for better and for worse is like watching a family in your own neighborhood, in your own life. Ms. Sebold paints a beautiful portrait of loss and beauty, innocence and lost dreams, friendship and family, responsibilities and remembrance. This is worth your time. Buy it now.
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Summary: The Lovely Bones: A Novel
Review: I was mesmerized from the very first paragraph. I read the book in two days, stopping only for things that absolutely needed to be done, such as feeding the kids. If you have lost a loved one this book lends a warmth to that cold spot in your heart...the possibility that they are still around, explaining the little personal miracles that sometimes happen.
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