Lucky

Rating:
Summary: Openly honest
Review: The author deals with the story of her own rape in an honest forthright manner. The reader will feel as though he is alongside Ms. Sebold as she recounts events of her childhood and young adulthood. I found myself cringing for her as she related the reactions of friends and family to the news of her rape. It was disconcerting to see how being the victim of rape led to circumstances in which the victim continues to be victimized. My daughter just started college and I gave her the book to read. While I don't want her to live her whole life looking over her shoulder, I think this book provides a graphic, long-term look at how events can unfold in an innocent person's life.

Rating:
Summary: Horrifyingly Detailed
Review: Sebold tells the story of her being raped at 17, its aftermath, the case, and how it affected people surround her and the rest of her life - socially, sexually, emotionally.

The horrifying details made me cringe in disbelief, but she does it without imposing too much drama - matter-of-factly as if she's detached from it.

She actually suffered from the trauma for many years and didn't even realize that. She went through it all and journeyed the recovery. And the brave soul finally found home.

Rating:
Summary: A great writing that goes deep into the soul.
Review: From the moment I started reading, I couldn't put this book down. There was just something there that kept you holding on, wanting to know more.
This book is a definate read! From the beginning you feel like you are standing with Alice, going through the same emotions and feelings that she writes. It's a heavy book that weighs on your mind and gets you thinking and feeling.

Rating:
Summary: another amazing book by alice sebold
Review: This is another dark, haunting book by Alice Sebold. The author decribes her brutal rape while in college and how the police tell her she is "lucky." The story follows Alice as she and her family deal with the aftermath and the profound effect it has on all aspects of her life. The pain and trauma just goes on and on through many twists and turns of the story.
This is a graphic story that may be difficult for many to read.

Rating:
Summary: Disturbing, real, haunting
Review: This book is so many things, but the one that comes first to mind is "brave." For Seabold to have written this is amazing--the courage it must have taken. But that aside, it is well-written. I read "Lovely Bones" first, and then this one. While the premise of "Lovely" was great, I found "Lucky" to be a better book. Don't get me wrong, I like both of them, but "Lucky" was by far the more "real" tale. Try them both and then decide for yourself.

Also recommended: McCrae's Bark of the Dogwood, A Boy Called It

Rating:
Summary: Unbearably Unlucky
Review: All I could say when I was reading this book was: "God help me," It was horrible. I had just come off of the cusp of The Lovely Bones (Which was breathtaking beautiful) and I greatly looked forward to reading her first novel. I was quickly sorry for that longing. How could an author stray so differently. This was just a yawn through of her rape to which to projected unrealist characters (her family and friends) while she gave off the aoura that nothing was wronge and then all of the sudden she would burst into tears and we- the reader- would have no idea why. The chapter with just the rape in it was captivating, but that's pretty much it, and toward the end theirs a courtroom chapter that drags on forever and is completly dry when it comes to feelings and emotions. I can only hope that when Alice Sebold's next book comes out that it swims into the same vain as The Lovely Bones and not this strange and dry work that was its predecessor.

Rating:
Summary: Incomplete but still a useful read
Review: The majority of reviewers here are rape survivors, as am I. But my rape occurred 30 years ago and I thought I 'was over it'. Thirty years ago there was no counseling; woman generally kept it a secret and just got on with life as best they could.

I bought this book because I was interested in reading about how someone else 'got on with it' and found that she apparently didn't. What I gained from reading this material was the personal discovery that having been raped was still affecting my life and relationships and, I resolved to cover this old ground with a therapist so I could really move past it.

I agree with one reviewer that the ending felt like being dropped from a ten-story building - it was incomplete and sudden. The book contains the author's recollections of this horrific event albeit written in a curiously detached and emotionless voice and she never really fleshes out the story or provides a satisfactory conclusion. I sincerely hope that she finds the resources to help her really come to terms with her rape and to see her family in a more realistic light - they don't deserve to be thanked at the end of her book - and see damaging and isolating dysfunction in its true light.

In the end, the book is a useful read for anyone who's survived the violation of rape. Because the book is not 'about you' it's easier to see that it's illustrative of what to avoid, how to recognise when people are supportive or not, putting blame where the blame belongs and recognising the cathartic value of real anger.

I disagree with some of the reviewers here that she was too self-centered. A memoir, by definition, is self-centered and I didn't get the sense that she wrote this for anything other than catharsis. It has the same value as listening to someone else's tale and recognising in yourself what you could improve, change or acknowledge.

Rating:
Summary: A survival story
Review: Lucky is an amazing book. Although it was difficult for me to read about a young woman's rape, I thought it was extremely interesting. The fact that it was a true story and she had the strength to write about it and tell the whole world just made her a greater author. The book sends out a strong message to females that have been victims of rape.
The book had a very strong beginning and a very shocking but interesting ending. The book had only one problem, it was too detailed especially during the prosecution of the rape trial. I couldn't understand the defense that the prosecution lawyer was trying to make. I am also currently trying to find out if the rape of Alice's friend (Lila) was linked with Alice's rape and the person who assaulted Alice.
Overall the book was definitely worth reading. The book gives rape victims a sign of hope and courage, which will help them go on with life. I strongly recommend this book for men because I want all males to think twice before forcing sex on any female. When someone says no to sex and the other person violates it, it's called RAPE.

Rating:
Summary: Rape Survivor's Take
Review: I read this book strictly because I am a rape survivor. I was raped in June of 2003. My attack and rape were so similar to Seebold's that it was eerie. One aspect of rape therapy is to re-tell your own story; re-write it. However, when you are attacked so brutally and aren't 'supposed' to be alive, the re-telling is difficult. Events are lost in memory almost as quickly as they occur. The brain is too preoccupied with dying as painlessly as possible, while simultaneously looking for any escape (at least in my own case).
Because of the way that my brain functioned under such duress, I am finding this book to be a useful tool lately. As I re-read Seebold's account of her own rape, I am better able to remember. I can say, 'yes! exactly what happened!' or 'no, I did this instead.' I write in the margins. I do it for personal use, to better help in my own recovery. If you are a survivor, I would ask your counselor if she recommends this for you. It is helping me now. Hence, on that score, this book has been invaluable to me.

However, I must agree with previous reviewers regarding the rather selfish tone of the author. I also found her to be overly self-centered and amazingly insensitive to others around her. I did get the impression that she really believed that she was the only one that had been hurt and even if she wasn't, her pain was the only pain that mattered (not just to her, but in general.)

Yet, it is important to remember that this is a *memoir* and not fiction. Therefore, Ms. Seebold can only tell the story as it is. If there is not much written on recovery, well, perhaps this is because there hasn't been much experience in the way of recovery.

I would certainly not have picked this book up had I not shared a similar experience. I read it the first time (within a week afer my own rape) merely for company. To survive such an ordeal absolutely leaves you as a complete alien, walking in a daze in a world that you never expected to see again. Merely associating with people around you -- co-workers, neighbors, your grocery store cashiers, etc., leaves you lonely for company of someone who has been just where you are. Books like this one can fill this need initially.

To those who have survived such a rape and are interested in reading more, I must recommend the phenomenal book by Susan Brison called Aftermath.

Rating:
Summary: Laura H - Review on Lucky
Review: "Lucky" by Alice Sebold is a memoir of her own freshman year at Syracuse University where she is brutally raped near the campus. Sebold describes the trauma, mental and physical pain inflicted upon her that night, the response of friends and family and the police that helped her after the attack. One policeman told her that a young woman was raped and murder at the same place she was attacked so she should consider herself lucky. Sebold was unsure of whether to consider herself lucky after the attack. Her post-rape trauma affected her whole life. She remembers her parents' addiction to alcohol and relates it to her own addiction to heroin after the rape. Despite the fact that her attack occurred at Syracuse University, she returns to the school. Sebold describes how many people pretended to be friends with her and acted like they knew her just because of the tragedy. Even years later a woman told her she was writing a book about the rape. Unaware she was talking to Sebold, the woman claimed she was the victim's best friend. Sebold had no idea who she was. The book shows Sebold's courage at being able to return to Syracuse and to find her attacker. She addresses rape and how it affects not just the victim but everyone surrounding the victim as well.
Sebold identified the issue in a way that someone who has not experienced a rape cannot. She shows understanding of the issue, having been a victim herself where someone who had not dealt with rape couldn't possibly know. She explains how she got through the trauma, heroin, alcohol and all and managed to carry on with her life. "Lucky" was touching and memorable and helped me to think about how a victim might feel and how they would want to be treated.