The Lovely Bones

Rating:
Summary: Forget The Hype and the backlash -- Try It For Yourself!
Review:
The Lovely Bones has received much attention. The basis of the novel sounds utterly depressing. A book, about a murdered 14 year old, told from heaven. Well, it's not a morbid book. Sure, it's sad in some parts, but then so is life.

This book, tells the story of Susie Salmon. A murdered 14 year old. Susie narrates the story from her heaven. The authors idea of heaven is refreshing and new. No clouds, no angels, no fairy tales. The refreshing new idea of heaven is unique. In the book, everyone has their own heaven. Susie who would have been going to high school before she died, is in a high school environment in heaven. Everything you wished for or wanted on earth is in your heaven. Susie liked puppies, gazebo's, duplex's. All in her heaven. If your idea of heaven is the same as other's you'll meet some new friends in heaven. Sweet idea.

You almost don't feel sorry for Susie while she's in heaven.

Susie watches above and with some trans-mediation she helps her loved ones and friends deal with her death. Susie leaves behind a mother, father, sister, brother, and grandma along with a host of school friends.

Through Susies eyes, we get to see how her family deals with her death, and how Susie deals with her family dealing with her death. The narration is witty and at times, heart breaking.

Susie, sees her family move along from heart breaking immobilization, her father can't function, her mother isolates her self and falls for another man, and abandons the family. Her younger brother, who is not told of her death for sometime. And written about the most, is Susies sister Lindsey who was only 18 months younger than Susie.

As time passes, and her family tries to move on, Susie is gripped with love and jealousy of her younger sister, who gets to experience the first kiss, the first act of making love, going to college.

Susie, who was murdered by a psycho neighbor, also follows his tracks, wishing she could help the police and her father who suspects this man, of her death. This is where Susie uses some trans-mediation through the book. She's able to give the people, her father, her friend Ray and Ruth, some clues that this man is the man who brutally killed her. Her spirit leads them to unique places, and when her family and friends feel that strange feeling that Susie was there, they were right, without knowing it, Susie was there.

The author does a great job of not making us feel horrible for Susie, we are amazed of her lack of self pity, her keen insight, her ability to over come judging her family and friends for their actions after her death.

This powerful novel full of unique analogies, fresh narrative writing, attention to detail, will fill you with wonder, peace and hope. Amazing that a very emotional issue, will not leave you filled with hate or pity, or even sadness. You'll be amazed that Susie, comes alive in heaven, full of hope, spirit and spunk. You'll be glad you met Susie. Another Amazon quick-pick I'd like to recommend is The Losers' Club by Richard Perez -- another odd, amusing and memorable read.


Rating:
Summary: Don't believe the hype
Review: I bought the hardcover edition of this book before a flight (my first mistake). If I hadn't been stuck on a plane for several hours, I would probably never have finished it. While the first three chapters are moving, they are not particularly well written. Instead they rely on a kind of emotional shock value. It's difficult to decide whether Sebold's unsophisticated style is meant to reflect the youth of her narrator or if it's simply the inability to produce anything more mature. While the characters of Susie and the her father are probably the most realistic, there isn't enough character development to make the reader feel invested in what happens to any of them. The plot becomes increasingly convoluted as the book wears on. The gritty violence and realism of the first half of the book don't mesh with the spiritual interpretations and fantastic leanings in the second half. The only interest I had in the book was to see if Susie's murder is solved. There's a reason this book was on all the bestseller lists--it's a simple read with no plot depth or value, which seems to be important to a book's success in modern America. Some people have claimed that I just "don't get it"--if "getting it" means enjoying simplistic and contrived books, then I'd rather not get it. If you're desperate to read this book, do yourself a favor--buy paperback. Don't waste $20+ like I did!

Rating:
Summary: Inspirational
Review: I love the fact that this book doesn't have to be specific about god and the heaven that everyone believes to be true. This book is not about religion but faith! I applaud Seabold for daring to write a book with a heaven that doesn't have angels with wings and clouds and god. It leaves you open to decide what kind of heaven you would go to if this is what happens when we die!

Rating:
Summary: wow
Review: i read this book in 3 days. I couldn't put it down. It did make me feel quite depresse din the beginning, so it was hard for me to get through, *that's why it took me 3 days instead if 3* but it's such a great story. Most people wish when they die they can watch their family and the family wishes that their loved ones are watching them from above. This shows you the good and bad about that. The characters are great and I'm sure it's something we can all relate too.

Rating:
Summary: Different from anything I have read
Review: I really enjoyed reading this but had a hard time toward the end. I am usually a reader of suspense/mystery novels. I enjoyed the way it was written and the creativity of the story.
Worth reading!

Rating:
Summary: Everyone should read it!
Review: I thought the Lovely Bones had a fascinating idea for a story line, but the author could have done so much more with it. It is well written, yet the maturity of the narrator is unrealistic. The mother got on my nerves the most. The characters were too thrown together and could have been so much deeper with one another.

The absolute zero reference to God or a higher power was very distracting. I mean, if your entire story is about a taboo like death or an afterlife, you have to mention something about "God". Heaven is such an unexplored area and she had the opportunity to describe it through a child's eyes, yet was reluctant to do so.

I did enjoy reading the book but was fairly disappointed when I had finished. So much potential!!!

Rating:
Summary: The Lovely Book
Review: I was reminded of Mitch Albom's book THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN . . . but only for a moment, for after the idea of someone talking to you from heaven and/or the idea that we'll all "figure it out," the similarities end there. THE LOVELY BONES begins with Susie Salmon in heaven. She was walking home from school through the cornfield on December 6,1973. She is raped and murdered by Mr. Harvey in the cornfield. Mr. Harvey covers his tracks by dumping the body into a sinkhole. When she is leaving earth to go into heaven the last human that she touches is Ruth Connors, and this has some significance which is explained in the book. The Salmon family receives news of the disappearance from detective Len Fenerman. Mr. Salmon suspects that Mr. Harvey murdered his daughter and becomes obsessed with finding clues that link Mr. Harvey to the murder. Lindsey Salmon (the sister) becomes sheltered from the world, because everyone sees Susie in her. She, as everyone else in the family, are in a constant state of turmoil and upset. Mrs. Salmon begins to have affair with detective Len Fenerman. As Susie's mother leaves the family and finds solace with other men, Lindsey refuses to acknowledge the reality of what's happened to keep herself from falling apart. In addition,her father becomes obsessed with finding her killer. I realized, now even more after reading this book, how much I appreciate my family. The sacrifices they make, though sometimes insignificant, shows how much love they can give. Susie's family never let her go because she was a part of their love, something that can never be erased. Because this love still existed, Susie was unable to let go of Earth and accept her heaven. She witnessed her family grow apart only to realize their love will force them back together. It becomes a learning experience from heaven to earth. Overall, this was a wonderful, yet disturbing read. Would also recommend another great work of fiction titled "The Bark of the Dogwood." it's funny, disturbing, and ultimately uplifting. But you should read LOVELY BONES first.

Rating:
Summary: HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE BOOK!
Review: I'm sorry - I know a lot of people really like Sebold's book, "The Lovely Bones," but I think it's one of the most falsely soothing, idiotic and oversimplified narratives in decades.

First of all, how can you write a book about a young girl in heaven without any real mention of God? I'm not saying the book should be religious, but if you're going to put your protagonist in a place called "heaven" and if much of the conflict emerges from her unjust death, why is there no mention of the architect of this heaven? Why is the justice of her early death never questioned? Why is everything so calmly accepted accept for the living's problems with the protagonist's physcial earthly absence?

This lack of any kind of real questioning of the situation is what makes this such a surface skimming of these issues. How can one look at the murder of a child and not question the presence of an all loving and all knowing God? This is THE issue that comes out of the conflict but it's never addressed or even brought up. How false!!!!!

What we're left with is a plethora of pseudo-emotional claptrap. Everyone tries to medicate their pain by flinging themselves into the arms of another - whether that be another lover, another child, etc. Wow - that's deep, Ms. Sebold.

The final possession scene is only saccharine sugar on top of this sour ice cream Sunday. Moreover, just look at the book's friggin' title. Lovely Bones - why "lovely"? Can't we come up with a more descriptive adjective that "lovely"? For example:

Q: How was that piece of cake?
A: Lovely.

Q: How are your dead daughter's bones?
A: LOVELY!!!?


For anyone who absolutely adored the movie "Ghost" and wants to read about the same darn thing with a little girl spirit instead of a guy and for anyone who hates to ask real questions about painful situations, this book is for you. If you actually have a brain and a heart, don't walk - RUN - away from this horrible, horrible, horrible book!!!!!!!!!


Rating:
Summary: if you like The Lovely Bones read Death of an Ordinary Man
Review: If you like the premise of The Lovely Bones, check out Glen Duncan's take on the afterlife in Death of an Ordinary Man, in which a man wakes up hovering over his own funeral and has to piece together the mystery of how and why he died. The NY Times calls it a "superb, uncoercingly moving novel" and says it "plays like an answer to ''The Lovely Bones''" but with a more sophisticated point of view. Definitely worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully, and Frankly, Written Novel
Review: Loved it. Unpredictable and honest. The reactions of the characters to Susie's death were real. Susie herself was a realistic and honest narrator. The author captures human emotion and makes these characters and the chaos surrounding them so believeable that you'll find yourself thinking about the novel's events as non-fiction. I cried more than I'd like to admit and plan on re-reading it soon.