The Lovely Bones

Rating:
Summary: A thin, disappointing novel that held so much promise
Review: As a writer, I was very much looking forward to this novel. The hype was incredible and the concept seemed remarkable (Susie Salmon, 14, looks down from Heaven and tells the story of her rape, murder, and observes both her family and the man who killed her). Sadly, the novel falls into one cliche after the other. Alice Sebold tries to appeal to everyone with this novel through the optimistic, peaceful portrait she paints of Heaven, the bizarre recounts of violence and perversion, and the poignancy of a family trying to cope with an unspeakable loss. Unfortunately, what Sebold really needed here was a focus and "The Lovely Bones" really does not have one. It's choppy, far too smart and preachy for its own good, and seems to tell us all we really need as readers in the first three chapters, leaving the subsequent fifteen as unnecessary. "The Lovely Bones" feels either like the master work of an amateur or a severe lowpoint in the career of a writer who may have once been great; I have trouble deciding which. Wait for the inevitable film version I'm sure will be cruising our way in a year or two.

Rating:
Summary: The Lovely Bones
Review: The Lovely Bones is a wonderful read - the setting and perspective are fresh, and Sebold is an artist in her development. Most of us are scared of the whole notion of death, and the only people who want to talk about "another life" are religious conservatives. There are some prophetic remarks, and the metaphor she creates with the title is excellent. I loved it.

Rating:
Summary: What a sophomoric book!
Review: I was completely disappointed in this book that had received so much hype. I was reluctant to read it at first because in my job as a defense attorney, I deal with many child abuse cases and didn't relish reading a book that would deal so personally with the child's death. But, after reading so many rave reviews for the book, I gave in. Alice Sebold certainly had a clever idea for her story, and could have used it to explore real human emotions and the dynamics of the family, but instead she squandered her opportunity and ended up with a ridiculous, improbable and immature revere on retribution/fulfillment from the grave. Don't waste your time.

Rating:
Summary: Enlightening
Review: In addition to others I could not put this book down. Yes, I cried; I laughed; I felt. It is what I needed. I do agree with others that the ending was indeed strange. And of course I would have preferred George Harvey to endure an awful, painful death. If you have lost a loved one and need to understand more, even though this was only the authors interpretation of "Heaven" and the ability to "look down on us" as we all imagine our loved ones being able to do then this is the book for you. I would recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Big disappointment
Review: The reason I bought this is because of a review I heard on NPR stating this was one of the year's best novels. It makes me rethink my annual donation to public radio. It is easy reading and is written from a unique perspective but has an absurd endinging and underdeveloped characters. You should feel sorry for the mother in the story bc she has lost her child instead I thought she should have stayed in her minimum wage job in Napa after deserting her family. The ending was ridiculous with the Susie's reinactment of Ghost where Demi Moore invades Whoopie Goldberg's body. Then the piece de resistance is when the murderer is killed by the icicle. Give me a break. I have never been so interested in selling something on eBay.

Rating:
Summary: Top 10 of all time
Review: Quite possibly the best novel I've read in the past 5 years. I couldn't put it down and finished in two days. Rarely does a book come along that binds the reader so tightly to such a sympathetic narrator. Beautifully written, masterfully plotted.

Rating:
Summary: annoying
Review: The tone and conceit of this book are physically annoying and repulsive. It is completely out of touch and devoid of reality. Please stop buying this drivel.

Rating:
Summary: A Quick Read and Unusual Story
Review: What an interesting story this is! A topic that sounds so awful and distasteful - a story that starts with the rape and murder of a 14 year old girl - but the ensuing tale of the girl coming to terms with her fate, her family's struggle to right itself in the aftermath of her murder and the resolution to the story was so good, I couldn't put this book down. It evoked many strong feelings in me as I followed along with what the family had to go through in the years after her death. I thought the ending, with its super-natural twist, was a risk on Sebold's part, but I think it worked and I felt satisfied. I want to read her other book "Lucky" next.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Believe the Hype!
Review: This week's (1/16/03) New York Review of Books has an excellent article as to why this book is so popular: some post-9/11 need for simplistic healing and soothing fantasy about life after death.
Sebold is more of a poet than a fiction writer. That is, she's adept at spinning pretty images, rather than showing us the paces of a plot. The characters are cardboard cutouts, and by the time the "dead" narrator slips inside the body of her old schoolchum, I knew we'd entered rock-song teen fantasy.

Rating:
Summary: Made For TV
Review: What's all the hub-bub, bub? "The Lovely Bones" is just an extended, R-rated episode of "Touched By An Angel", only sappier. The prose is by turns flowery and convoluted; sometimes it is flowery and convoluted at the same time.