Rating: 
Summary: For those who understand
Review: It is my own experience, in asking other people who have read this book, that it is much more appreciated by those who share an experience similar to the author's. Alice tells the story of how she was raped, and how she fought back. Reading it was an inspiration to me, as i was raped 2 and a half years ago, and I found myself comforted knowing that it is possible to fight back against such a crime. Unfortunately I cannot ever do what Alice does in her book, but I was overjoyed to know that it is possible. When I asked a friend of mine what she thought of the book, she told me she found it quite self-centered. Being able to relate to the book made it a much better read. My friend didn't totally understand it. I would recommend this book if you can easily put yourself in the author's position. If not... it might not be the book you think it will be. Happy reading.
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Summary: this book was so honest, beautiful & frightening*
Review: Alice Sebold writes an astonishingly honest and hauntingly true recollection of her life surrounding her rape. i was moved to tears;
both because her words resounded so much of my own experiences myself being a rape and incest survivor and young woman. She is so brave in her account, and speaks candidly of her conflictual emotions, gives a raw depiction of her truths and shows us as the reader the roller coaster that she rode and will continue to ride as a very beautiful woman and survivor. She makes me feel like i am not alone, and her words helped me to validate my own experiences as i feel she must do for all readers who may have experienced something similar & i find myself nodding my head and identifying with her reality and feeling her hurt and relishing in her victory when there is those few moments. It is a very intense memoir but her words are carefully selected and articulated showing her obvious genius and intellect. Thank you, Alice, for giving a sounding board for readers to understand this experience or to relate and feel validated and heard.
Rating:
Summary: Gutsy
Review: I am full of admiration for Alice Sebold and her ability to find the words to describe her ordeal in such detail. (Alice's pain was so real, I was doubled over during her description of the rape.) The fact that she pursued the prosecution of her rapist and put herself through so much grief in order to gain his conviction is not only awe inspiring, but a public service. (Thank you, Alice!) This is a survival story, but Alice does not glorify herself--she shows her humanity, warts and all. Alice has tremendous talent, and I hope to read many more of her books.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I have ever read
Review: I would never have imagined that I would say that a book about rape would be one of my favorite reads but then I read Lucky. It is brutally honest, raw, graphic - my first instinct was that I wanted to slam it shut. However, Alice Sebold's writing style makes you eager to turn the next page. This is an amazing story. While the content is sometimes difficult - whatever you may have thought you could imagine about the act of rape is, I assure you, nothing like what you'll discover in this book - I highly recommend that you buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: As a Syracuse resident, reading this book was all the more difficult because Sebold does such an excellent job of bringing the city to life. Not only did I feel "there" during the attack, the investigation, and the court scenes, I now look at my city in a completely different way. The beautiful amphitheater at Thornden Park is now foreboding, the cultural center of Westcott darker, somehow. That is how real this memoir is. Alice Sebold sucked me into her world in 1981. This memoir was nail-bittingly intense, and, at times, poignantly funny. I couldn't put it down.
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Summary: Warning to rape survivors
Review: This is a well written book that brings the reader along and allows them to feel like they are living out the story. That being said, it was a really hard read for me. I am a rape survivor, and this book brought out a lot of feelings that I thought I had left behind me (with the help of plenty of counseling!). My situation was completely different from Ms. Sebold's, but it seems that many of the feelings associated with rape are universal. I felt revictimized for a few days after reading the book. Also, I had to take many breaks while reading because panic attacks would come on during some of the more intense moments. This was a great book, and I don't want to discourage anyone from reading it. However, I think that it is important for other survivors to know what they are getting into.
Rating:
Summary: A captivating work of art
Review: Lucky moved me in a way that no other book had. I am not a very emotional person but this book brought out emotions I never even knew I had. When Alice cried so did I. While she was on the stand and after she got off the stand I too felt exhausted. I read this book three times and can't wait to read it again. This book is truely amazing. Alice Sebold holds nothing back and shows how much talent she really has. This book is not only disturbing but also very full of hope all at the same time. I urge you to go out and read this book. Alice is a brave soul and deserves great recognition for this piece of art. I love the book more each time I read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Worthwhile but flawed
Review: I was raped. My experiences during and after (the hospital, police, life) were far different from Alice Sebold's. The thing I liked least about this book were her generalizations to all rape victims, or survivors if you choose. She writes sentences such as, "When you're a rape victim you become a celebrity," referring to all on her college campus who knew of her rape. The sentences she writes in the second person, "When you're raped..." are simply her experience. She presupposes we all had her experience. I didn't become a celebrity; I was not treated by the police nor the hospital any way close to how she was; and, my life that followed differed very much from hers. However, the passages in the book--however brief--that did describe emotions I feel or felt were powerful for me. I reread a couple of paragraphs as I was reading, just to see again - someone else knows *this* feeling, has *this exact* feeling. Some of the sameness of emotion made me feel connected. Most of our emotions, reactions, and actions--and those of the people around us--were very different. I feel resentful when I read or hear people speak of rape victims (and perpetrators) in finite and discrete categories of human behavior. Choice, too, is huge - many of us didn't have the opportunity even to pursue a criminal case. Many victims don't have supportive families or friends. She was indeed lucky in many ways. While this is one woman's story, and I respect it as that, it is written as a more universal story than it is. I am not like Alice Sebold. We were raped at a similar age and are close in age now, yet we are very different. This is one book for/about a rape victim, but it's a memoir and not a guide. If every sentence that she wrote in the second person, or that purported to generalize her situation to others', were changed to be simply in memoir format, the book would be greatly improved. As well, but less important, I was unimpressed by her writing skills to the point of distraction. Nevertheless, the read is fast and easy, and the book not overly long. Take a look - it's a glimpse into one woman's experience; but, for the sake of the rest of us, don't take it as gospel.
Rating:
Summary: Emotionally Involved
Review: I was so emotionally involved with this book; I read it in 2 days. Sebold writes in a way that makes you feel you are the main character. When she was running; I felt out of breath. When she was crying; I wept. When she spoke of her parents; I saw my mom standing there. This book was probably the best I have ever read. I thought it would be too disturbing for me; but instead it opened my eyes to the trials others face in life. MUST READ
Rating:
Summary: The most harrowing piece of non-fiction have ever read
Review: This book says it all about the misogynist judiciary, police and society that women have to live in.
I thought about this book for days after reading it.
Nothing I say here can do it justice.
I urge you to read it.
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