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Summary: A book to bury!
Review: Unfortunately I bought into all the hype about this book and was sorely disappointed. It reads like a rough draft. It is void of the necessary emotion that should connect the reader to the horror of the crime and the resulting path of destruction such a tragedy would wreak on a family and community. Susie's detached descriptions of her life, death and heaven didn't tug at my heartstrings or give me much food for thought. It is written haphazardly and I quickly lost interest in what I thought would be an engrossing story about healing and help from above. What a waste of time and money!
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Summary: Must have been written in a Writer's Worshop...
Review: Ugh. This was a recent selection in my book club, and apparently everyone else either liked or loved it. I thought it was mediocre at best. In spite of having such a fascinating premise, the execution is deeply disappointing. I felt like it had been written in a Writer's Workshop (or maybe just a fiction writing class at a community college). The symbolism was heavy handed (burning the ties that bind, broken glass/broken lives, etc.) and the writing was very uneven. Sometimes it was careful and well crafted, but more often it was overdone and occasionally it was flat and empty. I'm sure that the scene where she danced with her grandfather in heaven signified some terribly important transition for her, but by then I had stopped caring -- about her or her family, who were a bunch of enigmas. So, her mother is so emotionally fraught that she leaves the family (including her two remaining children) and as far as I can tell pretty much ceases contact with them. Maybe I could accept that. But then, (Spoiler here...skip to next paragraph if you don't want to know) eight years later she finds out her husband is ill, and comes rushing back to them. Sure, the son is sort of mad, but the rest of them embrace her as if she'd been on a long vacation. Would a real family do that? The best-drawn, most believable character in the whole book was the serial killer himself, but his ultimate demise is really kind of silly. Even the people who liked the book found the ending pretty awful. There are so many wonderful books out there. Skip this one and try something like Evening by Susan Minot instead. It's challenging, beautiful and haunting.
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Summary: A stunning twist to a comming of age story.
Review: I thought that this book was wonderful, she lived out her life through the people she lost, and how she comes to terms with her grief through theirs. Her parents seemed to have a picture perfect life, but beneath the surface the waters are troubled. Her sister hardens to dreal with the loss, and her little brother is kept in the dark. She learns through them, and watches her family spiral into a black time.
Everyone is affected by her loss, and her father even discovers her killer, and because he has no proof, they think it to be the ravings of a grieving man. I thought the book showed a freshness and a new point of view than any other I'd read, It was truely a good read.
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Summary: A "MUST READ", for everyone, regardless of age.
Review: My daughter picked up "Lovely Bones", began to read it, and could not put it down until she finished. She insisted I read it...me, Grandma. A busy Grandma who works full time, goes to school at night and has very litte time for recreation. Well I decided to read the book and I am so glad I did. I, too, could not put it down. Read it in one week-end. Absolutely BEAUTIFULY written. I too, did not want to read another, what I considered "exploited" subject on murdered children (especially having three grandchildren). Well, my daughter said I would not be sorry I read this book... and I wasn't. If there is such a thing as writing a beautiful story about such a tragic subject Ms Sebold has accomplished it. Everyone in her story comes alive. She has combined every emotion a person would have, put it all in words and unbelievably, makes the reader shake with fear, cry with sadness, then laugh between the tears. I do not understand the bad reviews above. Anyone who has, who knows, or has BEEN a child would want to read this book. It will make you think (in the event you do not) about people and maybe, just maybe, it will wake you up to the reality of it all. Sometimes we forget to be careful...after reading this book you will be careful I assure you. What a wonderful writer Ms Sebold is. I only hope there will be MANY more books from her. I will be a loyal fan from this day forward. A fan in Atlanta Georgia.
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Summary: Loved it!
Review: This was the first selection for a book club to which I belong comprised of four other women. We all loved the book and thus far, other selections have paled in comparison. We all enjoyed the dynamics between Susie and her sister as well as the relationship between their parents. Of particular interest was discussing our favorite characters. The majority of us decided the father was our favorite. Also interesting to discuss the mother and her relationship with her children and husband. An excellent choice for a book club and an all around great read. One which I will definitely read again.
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Summary: I stayed up all night reading this book, finishing at 6:10am
Review: Regardless of what the first few reviews on this site have to say in their criticism of this book, I'm here to say it is a wonderfully thoughtful book told from a unique and inventive perspective. It grabs the reader, and I mean GRABS..., from the first paragraph, and it unfolds with great detail and sincerity. I think this book will stick with me forver, much the way Lois Lowry's "The Giver" has done. It is so original as to cause me to place it in a category separate from any other book I have previously read. I'm left with a sort of sci-fi / fantasy / parable feeling, but the events (perhaps with the exception of part of the ending, though I think one should even read this part with an open mind) are strongly realistic and based on tragedies that happen in present day, as they have in the past. Susan Salmon will go down in literary history right up there with Holden Caufield. I consider my reading of this book to have been a gift from the author. Thank you for the opportunity to share in your insight and creativity.
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Summary: Learn how to love life again!!!!
Review: I LOVED THIS BOOK. I didn't look up this title with the intention of writing a review but was surprised and disappointed to see how many other readers didn't care for it. Like The Shawshank Redemption or the movie Signs, this novel takes the audience (reader) on a long bittersweet, heartbreaking journey that, in the end, reminds us of the power of love and hope. If you can make it through those first three chapters, you can move past Susie and begin to embrace those who lost her. It is THEIR story, not Susie's, that is told. Each character is both filled with pain and grief and also with strength and love. It is the poignant juxtaposition of these two extremes that shows the reader which, ultimately, is the most powerful. An added bonus is the lyrical prose of Alice Sebold which made me alternately weep and laugh. Her words are so touching and powerful I am ready to read more from her. Give it a try-- it does not disappoint.
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Summary: A thiller turned let down
Review: After hearing several peers talk about this book, I had to read it. After reading the beginning of the book, I couldn't believe this was suggested to me, but as I continued I realized why. The point-of-view from which the book is told grasped and kept my attention. I was intrigued about the characters and their various reactions to the crime. It was told from an intersting persepective and included all spectrums of emotion. At times, as I frantically turned the pages, hooked on each word, I wanted to cry. At other times, I was laughing out loud. I was very disappointed in the ending. The author did a poor job of bringing closure to the events which she creatively put into my head. The most far-fecthed reading I have encountered was the Ruth-Suzie-Ray incident. Also disappointing was the manner in which the killer was himself killed. More could have been done with the ending of this book to keep me a fan of Sebold. As for now, she is not a favorite. More explaination and development of characters is needed.
Rating:
Summary: The Lovely Bones
Review: I loved this book! One of the best books I have ever read.
I honestly could not put it down. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Give it a shot!
Review: This book is worth the read. I agree with some of the other reviewers about the skeptical ending; there are certainly elements that test your limits and moments that transgress the otherwise graceful poetry and become somewhat saccharine. If you can overlook the imperfections in order to appreciate the overall beauty of the story, though, you won't be sorry. It is not a gruesome, depressing tale of murder. Susie Salmon's death is a fact that is confronted bluntly in the very first paragraph, never dwelled upon as more than a framework and the catalyst for events to follow. Susie's story is not about herself; it is an eloquent and wistful observation and a poignant portrait of the life she leaves behind. Her own personal growth, albeit in heaven and not in life, is secondary and almost incidental. Through the unique perspective of a girl clinging desperately to her existence by living vicariously through those who cannot let her go, it is ironically a story of life more so than death. The Salmon family and those who are drawn to them through tragedy tread through their grief in separate ways, and struggle to relocate and redefine their identities in the shadow of insufferable circumstances. As it tears them apart and yet binds them together, what emerges is a very human story of maturation and an almost painful scrutiny of the complexities of family relationships. It's what you would least expect of such an unpleasant premise: funny, touching, and inspiring as much as it is beautifully heartbreaking. I found it to be very compelling and couldn't put it down. While I can't claim it's a perfect literary masterpiece, it certainly has a lot to offer if only as a unique reading experience, and it is worth taking a chance.
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