Rating: 
Summary: intelligent and devastating
Review: I am grateful to Alice Sebold for sharing her story of the rape and trial she endured when still so young. It is an important story to share and a gift to others who have also survived a violent crime. It is a cogent, well-written, fast-paced read. I was rooting for her the whole way and devastated by the end. This is a story of coping when life takes such a tragic turn in such a young life.
Rating:
Summary: A stunningly honest book, written in a clear voice.
Review: Even before I write a commentary about Alice Sebold's book, I know that a mini-review like this could never do it justice. "Lucky" is an incredible book, written by an incredible author. What struck me most about Sebold's writing is her unadorned honesty. A previous reviewer stated that she found the characters to be cliche. I found the book and characters to be exactly the opposite. While reading "Lucky", I wondered to myself if I could be as open and honest as Sebold writes. Probably not, was my answer. "Lucky" is a book that is written with a clear and honest voice; a voice that stayed with me for weeks after reading the book. And there was humor. Humor which both surprised me--because it struck me that a book about rape shouldn't contain humor--then made perfect sense to me, because Alice Sebold is a human being and humor is one of the functions that human beings employ in dealing with pain. This could have very easily have been a "poor me" book, and maybe some readers have the expectations that it should be more that type of book. One of the main reasons that I found "Lucky" to be as compelling as it is, is because of what it isn't. "Lucky" is not a book filled with self pity. I don't want to say that Sebold's book isn't emotional, because it most certainly is, but the emotions aren't worn on Alice Sebold's sleeves. She writes in a way in which a reader can understand some of the pain and trauma she has gone through (and I can only imagine, still deals with), but that emotion and pain does not get in the way of her being an excellent narrator. The narration in unnerving at times, because of how concise a writer Sebold is. She writes the story of her life and rape (as they are intertwined) in a very straight foward and matter-of-fact fashion. Maybe time and distance have allowed that type of narration to occur. But Sebold's straight fowardness has not resulted in a cold narration. "Lucky" is an incredible book written by a fragile human being; a human being who has bravely written what would have to be one of the most painful experiences ever to occur in anyone's life. In writing "Lucky", I feel that Alice Sebold has presented a gift to all of us. A gift of her pain, honesty, humor and fragility. I thank her for this gift.
Rating: 
Summary: Kind of Disappointing and Incomplete
Review: Did I read the same book as these other reviewers? I think not. I am also a rape survivor and I look for sustenance in the stories of others who share my experience. I found this memoir to be pretty badly written and just plain, well -- overblown. Overblown with the author's self dramatization and sense of self importance -- yes, she wanted to grow up and be Ethel Merman. The me me me tone was annoying, and I found myself disliking a woman I ought to be having an affinity with. Why? She comes off as a very spoiled, very sheltered upper middle class white girl from a "My Mommy and Daddy Love me Ver Much" type of environment who never gave any serious thought to anyone or anything outside of her immediate orbit, either before or after her incident. No wonder she found her brush with reality shocking. She mimicks a "potpoiler" style, which just didn't work for me. Everything she wrote about herself may be true, but she and other characters seemed to behave like cliched characters in a T.V. movie.I got the feeling that this book was constructed from diary entries immediately following the unfortunate incident, jottings which haven't been fashioned into a real memoir. Much of it is just documentary -- her mundane undergraduate social life, a lot of day to day, when what this memoir really demanded was PERSPECTIVE -- after all, she wrote it about 15 years after the fact. I was much more interested in how the event affected her relations with men, with women, with society, with her own sexuality, with her choices of jobs, with her concept of herself as a success or failure, her career, personal and life choices. Time frame references from the early eighties to mid-nineties? Sexual and racial politics? Feminism? Bosnia? Hello! Anyone there! We got a little afterward on the progress of her life, which ought to have been the main story, which makes me sense that the author is still stuck in time, still immaturely obsessed with whether or not she's ugly or has fat thighs, or if guys like her. Everything is viewed within the lowest common denominator framework of her own life. There's just not enough intelligent or spiritual reflection and analysis. She prefers simple melodrama, which to me detracts from the seriousness of her story. The book is worth reading, because she has some good insights, here and there, buried beneath the potboiler style, such as that she wound up living in New York because it's a place that wears its violence on its sleeve -- but there's so much more she could have said. I'd like to hear how she approached life after, how her experience affected her modus operandi: Did she hook for her heroin habit? How did she manage grad school and adjunct teaching, financially? Were her parents paying for her the entire time? Did she in fact ever grow up? I get the sense not. Finally, teaching NYC ghetto students, she gets a sense of perspective on something she's clearly let define her life. But from all I hear from her, I intuit she would have wound up a self-obsessed mess, even if she hadn't been raped. We get a lot of the self centered persona of adolescence, but no adult reflection on who she was, then and now. She seems not to have evolved. Bottom line -- you have to wade through a lot of irrelevant junk to get a few pearls of insight here. If you are a survivor, I recommend Nancy Venable Raines', "After Silence: Rape and My Journey Back."
Rating:
Summary: lucky cali gurl
Review: The message of this book, save yourself, is a good one...especially since empathic "help", not pitying or egotistical help, is hard to find. How tragic this story is. This writer drew me in for one sitting. Mostly I was struck by the mega community of writing teachers who seemed to circle Alice and bring her through this horrible ordeal. I wonder, however, if Alice ever experienced any of her "teachers" as predators eager to embark on her story? If so I would think this might have added to the heavy burden and stigma of being a "victim". Perhaps this is why the book took so long to write; finally getting a safe distance at the artists colony she salvaged her own story. Because of her courage maybe other women will write their story too. To paraphrase feminist author Charlotte Kasl who writes on internalized oppression, "to rescue and help a woman in need and to never see her as an equal or set her on equal footing, then another abuse/crime has taken place." May this published book will give Alice good footing
Rating:
Summary: Sebold is a champion for a women.
Review: Reading this thriller brought back painful memories of the abuse I've received from men and how I was left feeling powerless. My hope is that men will read this book and begin to understand. Sebold is my hero.
Rating:
Summary: Sebold shows courage and grace
Review: Sebold's wrenching story is told with such wit and style that it's hard for the reader to remember that it's a true story and not a great work of fiction. It is not just one woman's story, but also a searing commentary on a society that chooses to ignore rape and its consequences all too often. A handbook for any woman who has been assaulted and asks "now what?" I'd suggest it for every first-year law student and every 18-year-old heading off for college.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: I had trouble putting this book down - it was powerful. The tension Ms. Sebold creates in her narrative is palatable, and I found myself rooting for her. Her courage throughout the rape itself, fortitude during the trial, and the mettle she has shown should be an encouragement to all women, even in our daily lives.
Rating:
Summary: smart, strong and so honest that it hurts
Review: This book is a gift. Alice Sebold underwent a nightmare, but rather than offer herself as its victim or its hero, she offers her self--growing up, growing strong, and becoming a woman who can teach us all about dealing honestly and bravely with what happens to us in our unpredictable and sometimes frightening lives. Her rendering of the rape itself, its violence and her continuing recovery make me feel like I know her, but I am sure knowing her would be an even more awesome experience. Honest, scary and illuminating. It is her family, her friends and her readers who are truly lucky.
Rating:
Summary: A compelling narrative
Review: _Lucky_ is more than the story of a rape...it is a compelling story, beautifully written. Sebold's ability to pace her story, draw the minor characters with an insightful brushstroke or two and to force us to read on even when its painful makes this a book worth reading. There isn't an unnecessary word or a word out of place. I couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: "a fierce young Joan Didion"
Review: "Sebold is too full of news to slow down for self-pity. Her commanding skill as a narrator (at her best, describing the crime itself, she calls to mind a fierce young Joan Didion) forces you to relive her terror. Yet somehow, she makes it all seem educational rather than sensational. This is a brave and modest work of demystification, a builder of sympathy."-- Sarah Kerr, VOGUE
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