The Lovely Bones

Rating:
Summary: How Not to Write a Novel
Review: In addition to the comments my co-readers have already made, I'd like to point out that the book takes place in an unmemorable suburb of a nameless (?) town in ???Ohio? Illinois? Idaho? wherever it is, it's completely devoid of any identifying details. Similarly, what era is the story supposed to take place in? Is it the 50s? 70s? 90s? By trying to be universal, it ends up being nowhere.
There's a gauzy wishful curtain over the whole book, with the repentant mom redeemed by her husband's brush with death...For a contrast, read "The Corrections," which is vivid and clean and unsentimental, and seems real.

Rating:
Summary: recommended
Review: I can honestly say I haven't read a book in a while that I found so endearing. I didn't want to put it down, and when I finished reading it I was disappointed it had to end. I would highly recommend this book, it was an emotional and thought provoking read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Rating:
Summary: interesting, but that's it
Review: The first 2/3 of the book are interesting, fast paced (let's face it, it's a one afternoon read). The last 1/3 of the book breaks down and falls apart and gets into territory that isn't consistent w/the rest of the book. And the last 1/3 crams too much and changes the pace of the rest of the book just to wrap up the story.

Rating:
Summary: What was all the hype about?
Review: After hearing several reviews from friends and family, I couldn't wait to get my own copy. Luckily, I didn't have to buy it myself - a good friend, who was also unimpressed with the book, lent it to me. While an easy read and not totally boring, it was not the emotional and exciting journey I was guaranteed.

Rating:
Summary: Make No Bones About It
Review: Please don't waste your time on this un-original sensationalistic novel. Unless you were enthralled with the OJ trial, it will not interest you. Borrowing special effects from several movies (b-movies), it has nothing uplifting to say about the human condition. I only completed it, because I was expecting something to redeem it. Alas, I was disappointed again. Since it was a best seller, I can only equate the interest to the OJ spectacle.....

Rating:
Summary: Depends on the reader
Review: Some may find this the best book ever written, others will not not like it all. I think I fall in the middle, it was interesting, different and entertaining, but it didn't leave me in awe afterwards like other books have.

Rating:
Summary: Comforting portrayal of the life beyond.
Review: I was definitely not going to buy this book. I thought that I am not ready to torment myself with such a dreadful subject; standing in the bookstore I found myself reading the beginning pages with interest and by the next day read all of Amazon's sample pages. Then I just had to read the rest.
I would like to start out by saying that I have mixed feelings regarding the "Lovely Bones" on which I will elaborate, but in any case I think this is a reading that is worth your time and only if to raise this important issue. I read the "Lovely Bones" during the days when Elizabeth Smart, the missing girl, was found alive in Salt Lake City, Utah. My thoughts about this happy event were entangled with the thoughts I had during "The Lovely Bones" reading and its issues which deal not only with the dead and the living, family coping strategies and survival methods in general but also brings to mind the issue of missing children and child abuse and even something about the world beyond. Something comforting I might add.
The major surprise of this book is that it is not horrible. The author is able to overcome the major "awfulness" of the issue by giving you the main facts right out front. Susie is dead. She tells us how it happened and who did it in the beginning pages. The reader will be spared the suspension and the feeling that something bad is going to happen and the hopes that the family will later have ("even if they found an elbow...she can live without a hand..." ). I think that being able to deal with this issue in a some-what-matter-of-fact is the major achievement of this book. Not to say that the book is not very emotional, it is.
Also, the book portrays quite well the different coping mechanisms that each family member develops and how such event throws people totally out of balance. Also what an effort it is to continue living - this is especially well portrayed in the father's character that is the most endearing and is very reliable. So is Lindsey and the way having a dead sister affected her growing up and life decisions. However, some of the other relationships (father and mother for example) are not totally reliable and understood (especially not the final reunion).
The book has a major "gimmick" - it describes the life beyond. The heaven is "your personal heaven" and I must say this idea has something very comforting in it. However, this is also a major flaw of the book as once you understand this "gimmick" you want more. I for example had more questions about Susie. Does she grow up in the world beyond or does she always stay 14? Susie is not critical of anything that goes on in "our" world although she sees it all. Is this accepting also a part of heaven? She is happy when she is remembered but is she upset when she is forgotten? Or does she learn to control her wants because the frustration of not being able to affect the living will be too great? My questions remained unanaswered. Also, there is some "Hollywoodish" sense to some parts of the book and especially in the way things fall into place in the end. A good example for this will be Susie "falling of the sky" - I have to admit I was satisfied for her being "alive" if only for a few hours, but it was too much for me to take. I can accept "mystical" but I cannot accept easy solutions. I also have to say that the ending had a sense of "life goes on" and "Susie and family were able to seperate from each other". It is surprising to see this notion in a book that understands grief and mourning so well. People say that the pain only grows with time - not the opposite. These are the low parts of the book which do not match the ability to understand the dynamics of the mourning family, the impact of the dead on the living, and the author ability not to judge and not to condemn anyone for his reactions. In this regard I thought that "not catching the murderer" was a just decison from the author's side and lends to the books credibility.

Rating:
Summary: And I am not a fiction reader
Review: This was the first work of fiction I have read in 4 years. I can't say I loved it, it was disturbing to read while stuck in a hospital on bedrest, but it was very good. I have already loaned it out and have a list of people waiting to read my copy. For a person that doesn't typically read fiction, I did enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: More Alice Sebold Please!
Review: I started reading this book on Saturday night and finished it by Sunday afternoon. I could not put this book down. With this storyline, you will hate yourself for reading such a great book so fast. It has both the mystical and reality ends of life intertwined into a story you will never forget.

Rating:
Summary: Don't bother
Review: I can't believe I did. And I can't understand why this book has stayed on the best-seller list for as long as it has. I finished it only because I hate to not finish books. I didn't care a hoot whether or not the murderer was caught. And guess what? He wasn't. What a lame ending.