Aside from the extremely uncomfortable rape and murder descriptions, I could not quite latch onto the idea of a girl from heaven narrating the story. Or not heaven, excuse me, but wherever she was. It was awkward, and the awkwardness spread as the story progressed and the narrative focused on characters in the girl's family and in the girl's neighborhood that honestly I did not care as much about. I gave up. ( )

Interesting book. I enjoyed the narrative viewpoint, which was a High School who was killed and looking at her family from heaven. There were some disappointing aspects of the book, perhaps the most disappointing was the author's viewpoint that complete fulfillment could only come through sexual activity. That whole point fo the book seemed rather sophmoric to me. Not a piece of great literature, but better then a beach read. ( )

The narrator is the murdered girl speaking from heaven. I found this premise awkward, intrusive, and cutsie. Some characters I found unbelievable. Despite that I thought the description of various people's efforts to deal with the loss of a young girl, well done. Various attempts to portray and explain the serial killer was all so credible. ( )

This is undoubtedly one of my longest reads (it took me nearly 3 weeks to finish the book). I guess it was because of the novel’s excruciatingly slow pace. Despite that, I actually enjoyed the book.

The entire book chronicles the life of Susie’s family, friends and murderer after her death, and is narrated by Susie, who watches from heaven. The story starts off captivating at first, but then the pace becomes draggy and slow. The subplots are aplenty, and while they help make the story more complex and intriguing, it also becomes somewhat difficult to follow.

Ultimately, it was the writing style that kept me reading the book. The whole narration was descriptive very beautifully written. There is a kind of depth and quality in Sebold’s writing that is thought-provoking as well as heart-warming. I was impressed at how Sebold presented Susie’s heaven. It was similar to the mortal world, yet unique in its own way. The ending was quite satisfying, though I’d wanted George Harvey’s death to be more epic.

Overall, this is a very memorable book that will touch readers’ hearts. That is, if they even finish the book. ( )

A wonderfully clever idea to address the difficult matters of child abuse, murder and grief... infused with the right amount of hope and humor.
An entertaining and well-written book, but lacking somewhat in depth, becoming less and less interesting with every page towards the end of the story. The last pages seem to have been hastily written to finish off the book... not the ending we would have expected after such a brilliant start. ( )

This is a fantastic book and way better than the movie (sorry, Peter Jackson). An unput-downable read about living, love and coming to terms with loss, following Susie's murder by a serial killer. Despite the rather awful scenario, it is a book about hope and acceptance. ( )

http://ritareviews.blog.com

Alice Sebold weaves a powerful family drama . The Salmons are your everyday family of the seventies. They go on about their everyday lives unaware there is a serial-killer living just a few houses down. That is until December 6, 1973 when fourteen year old Susie is raped and murdered by him. Her family is left to deal with her death anyway they can while Susie watches from her heaven.
Her father, Jack, is openly torn between bringing Susie’s killer to justice and loving his two surviving children. Both of whom lose their childhood innocence. Lindsey at thirteen is a constant reminder of Susie and is forced to become an adult before her years. Yet she manages to find happiness and her own identity in life not just the “sister of that murdered her”. Buckley at the young age of four isn’t old to completely understand and yet manages to understand more than anyone thinks. He becomes somewhat invisible to his family although they are not to him. Susie’s mother, Abigail, becomes lost in herself and her need to put it all behind her until she is finally forced to faced not only her daughter’s murder but life itself. Grandma Lynn, Abigail’s mother, who is an eccentric alcoholic, comes to live with the family in their time of need brings her set of baggage into the mix et manages to become close to her grandchildren and manage her own demons.
Susie watches and waits while Mr. Harvey, her killer, carries on with his life and his “work”. She watches while he eludes police and her father. She watches her family grieve for her and grow older has the years pass. She watches while Ray (the only boy she kissed in her young life) grows and finds love with Ruth (a girl Susie went to school with and with whom Susie’s spirit touches as she leaves the earth). All the while wishing she could still be alive and have the chance to experience the one moment she would never be allowed to have. Her experience with her rape and death define how she views relationships for many years as they are in heaven.

Alice Sebold wrote a beautiful book. While you grieve with the lost of Susie you find joy in moments of happiness the Salmon’s manage to find. It is very easy to become lost in their world. Sebold’s idea of heaven is fresh and different. Almost child-like in the way everyone has their own personal heaven, different for each depending on their own ideas of heaven. She shows you a typical family that could be your or mine and then show’s how one horrific moment in time changes everything and everyone. No one is left unaffected by the events that take place. The fact that the story takes place through the eyes of Susie is refreshing in that through her you are allowed to see and understand everyone. While some of the actions the characters take is maddening you understand them as the story unfolds. I found myself captivated and unable to put the book down. There were times when I was so angry at the police for not catching Mr. Harvey or at Abigail for the choices she makes that I could have scream. However Grandma Lynn brings the much needed down to earth common sense and comedic relief at all the right moments. In the end I found myself both crying and cheering for the ironic turn of events. ( )

In response to lmojo2001's comment about the killers demise:

I would have normally agreed with you. In the books I read and the movies I see, I'm all for "the bad guy paying the price of what he's done", in the end, one way or another.

But I think, that in this particular case, in this particular book, Sebold convinced me that this was the best way to put him to rest. Had she given him a "big exit", an almost "heroic" death or an arrest, she would have done two things that (from what I gather) really didn't care to do:

1) Make him important
2) Take time from the characters we actually care about.

By the end of the book, I really didn't care what happened to him. At first, I wanted him caught, killed even. But as the book progressed, I realised that this was not a "revenge" story, rather than a "moving on" story. Susie, her family and friends, had moved on after a lot of trouble and effort, with their lives. He was no longer "needed" as a villain, because the book had become something more than just your average "murderer/victim" story.

And, in a way, I liked the way Sebold chose to end him. In just a few words, like he did not even deserve the effort to write something about him, like he didn't even matter.

And as Susie puts it "But now let me tell you about someone special". ( )

Susie Salmon, a young girl headed into high school the next year, is violently murdered early in the book. The ensuing story revolves around her family and friends as they cope with the loss as well as delving into the murderer's story. Susie as narrator provides a unique perspective on their lives and thoughts as a sister/daughter/neighbor as well as am omnipresent being.

This is an interesting take on what happens in the afterlife, especially for violent victims. Sebold's version of heaven is not uniform and is easily modified by the person dwelling there, but not all deceased reside there (as Susie's grandfather shows up later, after spending time in some other version of heaven).

This book does "jump the shark" toward the end with some questionable activities (although I wish I was a good enough kisser to make someone see heaven). The end is kind of abrupt but leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling.

Very interesting narrator perspective. ( )

If it is possible to write a "beautiful" novel about rape and murder, then The Lovely Bones is it. Susie's voice is loud and clear after her death, and she has much to say. Sebold gives us a fantastic novel that blurs the line between life and death. ( )

http://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2010/03... ( )

This book starts out riveting. The horror of Susie's death and the resulting pain felt by her family. The book is supposed to be about how a family heals and how they deal with an event like this. There were too many holes for me and many unanswered questions.
SPOILERS BELOW!!------
1. how the drawing found by Lindsay is not followed up on by the police. ( Not to mention why in the world a man would send his daughter into a house where he thought his other daughter's killer lived). You would think the police could see the drawing was of the same area that the blood and elbow were found. Surely, that would be enough to get a search warrant for his house? Especially since he skipped town right after??
2. The mother's abandonment and why the result of that is not given more attention especially coming only a year after Susie dies and with her brother being only 5. There is no mention of Lindsay's other aspect of coping which is not only her school friends but also coping at home with a little brother who needs attention and a grief stricken father. Sure, Grandma Lyn comes but she is a drunk and not exactly the loving, demonstrative type. You would think most of the work and comforting would have to come from Lindsay.. The mother's return gives more questions as to why no one confronts her and everyone just accepts that she's back. There was never a "you left us here to deal with this while you ran off and now I'm pissed" moment.
3. Taking over Ruth's body. HUH?? You'd think you would use that time to tell you friends what happened to you and where your body was. Not to mention that the killer is driving by your house with you sister home alone. Give your poor family some closure especially your beloved father whom she claimed to love so much.
4. The killer's demise. It made no sense. How big was this icicle supposed to be? I can understand not wanting the ending to be the normal bad guy got caught but this was just rediculous and really far fetched. ( )

The Lovely Bones is a number one best seller and the debut novel of Alice Sebold. The Lovely Bones was the second book to be published by Alice Sebold, but the first novel however, before this she written a memoir called Lucky recounting her own life as a young woman and the experiences of rape and the effect it had on her in future life. Yet Lucky was not the book that got Sebold recognised, but the novel in question The Lovely Bones. This novel has raised many controversies and talk among the reading population and has become such a popular book that it was adapted into a film by director of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson.
I haven’t seen the film adaptation of The Lovely Bones yet but I intend to . . . I was actually meant to go and see it on the day it came out but I couldn’t because of the crappy weather . . . it was actually because of the new film that I heard of The Lovely Bones. When my Mom was in London a couple of months ago she went to the film premiere of The Lovely Bones just because it was showing, when she came back from London she told me that a new film called The Lovely Bones had been made and that it was based on a book, so I went on tinternet (yes, tinternet, with a T) and found out about this book, I couldn’t wait to read it and see the film. Then, last week I saw the TV Spot on the tele and that was when I planned to go and see the film . . . but I wanted to read the book first so I ordered it from Amazon and two days later it was through the post . . . the day after that I’d finished it and it was MINT!!! But I didn’t even see the film so it didn’t really matter when I read it.

Susie Salmon was murdered when she was fourteen years old. Her murderer lived in her neighbourhood. Her parents had talked to him about his garden. But when Susie takes a shortcut home one night across a cornfield she stumbles upon her killer, who lures her into an underground den where he rapes and murders her . . .
Susie tells her story though her own eyes, how she watches over her family after her cruel removal from the world, how she watches from her heaven. She tells her story in the ‘Inbetween’ and flashbacks to the past about how she shared her first kiss with Ray Singh; the fun she had with her siblings when she lived . . .
Years pass and still the body and killer of Susie Salmon has not been found. Susie who her murderer is – George Harvey, her neighbour and family acquaintance. Susie also knows where to find her body – in pieces in Mr Harvey’s basement.
Susie’s father, Jack, cannot face the fact that his daughter no longer walks the Earth and the death of Susie brings along the deterioration of the Salmon family. Soon, her mother has left Jack and her children, Susie’s younger sister Lindsey has a boyfriend and the youngest of the family Buckley claims to see Susie as he watches him from Heaven . . .

I loved this book, it easily one of my favourite books. I know sometimes I say ‘I loved this book’ but if I was comparing that book to The Lovely Bones I’d be like ‘Meh, it was ok’, that’s because this book was the best everrrr. Although, this is very different to the kind of books I read; I like the gore, the horror, science-fiction, fantasy kind of books . . . pretty much ‘weird fiction’ in general (weird fiction was the term used in the eighteen/nineteen hundreds era which referred to pretty much all fantasy, sci-fi, horror and supernatural kind of literary works). However, this book is nothing like the books I like to read, it does have some fantasy elements like Susie living in Heaven and Susie (in a sense) possessing (sort of) Ruth’s body for a short time. This book is the kind of book that could be called a ‘memoir’ . . . but we all know that it isn’t a memoir. Although Alice Sebold did write a memoir, Lucky.
The Lovely Bones is obviously spawned from Sebold’s own experiences, but of course there is nothing wrong with that in my opinion as Sebold is able to show she has experience of living as a human in the world. With there being murder involved in this book there is inevitably going to be some kind of murder investigations concerned and there was investigations happening in the book but it weren’t a major element . . . also, Sebold is not a thriller writer, if it was James Patterson writing The Lovely Bones it would be a completely different book and nobody would take notice of it because it would shit (not saying Patterson can’t write but he’d make this a bad book). Basically what I’m saying is that Alice Sebold has not tried to overstretch herself by putting all the technical murder investigation stuff in when she doesn’t understand it.

This book has some really interesting and somewhat ahem touching scenes in it such as Susie’s first sexual experience is unpleasant and nightmarish and with her murder . . . her first sexual experience is also her last on Earth. Later, Susie watches over her younger sister, Lindsey, and watches when she loses her virginity (Pervert, I’m joking I love this book) willingly to Samuel Heckler, this is when Susie compares how Lindsey’s sex had been pleasant compared to her own. And towards the end of the book, the reader feels sympathy for Susie that she had lived such a short life and had died after getting raped; I mean really that’s quite a bad way to go to be fair.
But then, finally, Susie gets her wish, Ruth Connors after years of obsessing over Susie Salmon has become close friends with Ray Singh and allows Susie to use her body for a short amount of time. Within in this time Susie gets to feel what it’s really like and has sex with Ray and in the final moments of her limited time on Earth, Susie has a short conversation with her young brother Buckley.

One thing I must pick out of the book before I finish this review. George Harvey, a murderer and sexual predator of young girls, clever and quick-witted, for years after his gruesome acts on Susie he has evaded police and has murdered many more. By the last fifty pages of the book the reader begins to wonder when Harvey is going to be captured or killed off and suddenly he just dies of an accident on a slippy, snowy path . . . this intimidating, powerful figure gets killed by a falling icicle . . . I mean c’mon WHAT THE HELL!

Overall, The Lovely Bones is probably the best book I’ve ever read and if it isn’t it’s definitely in the top three. Alice Sebold has only written three books so far; Lucky, The Lovely Bones and The Almost Moon. The Lovely Bones was so good that as soon as I can I’m going to get The Almost Moon . . . I might even get Lucky but I’m not so sure. ( )

I swear to goodness for years I thought this was a book of poetry :)

The Lovely Bones begins when Susie Salmon - Like - The - Fish, walking home from school one day, is accosted by a neighbor, taken to his underground structure, raped and killed. As the constant narrator of this book, she tells us this immediately. The description of her death is graphic, more so because it's the description of a death in the first person. Also more so because it's the language of a 14 year old girl. Harrowing, and made me want to go hug my now-adult children.

What follows is Susie's narration of her family after the crime. Their discovery that she's missing, their discovery that she's likely dead, and their discovery that they likely will never find her body, and never see anyone pay for the crime. Her father, who knows in his heart who the killer is, whose need for revenge and justice very nearly destroys him. Her mother, unhappy that her life is confined to wife and mother, and who cannot process the bare facts of her daughter's loss, the two mindsets likely intertwined, seeking hurtful outlets for her grief. Her sister Lindsey, so much like her, who cannot stand the idea of being The Sister of the Murdered Girl. And her baby brother Buckley, simply too young to understand what's going on, who brought - to me - one of the most poignant moments of this whole story, by saving for years his sister's favorite Monopoly piece as a reminder of her. And I still want to know who got that shoe - did I miss it? Susie is also able to see the present and past of her killer.

At the same time Susie is watching her family process her death, we see her process it as well. This is evidenced in her heaven and her activities there. Heaven here is described as individually designed - whatever you want your heaven to be, that's what you get. At first, Susie is limited to buildings and areas she enjoyed while living - the high school she was looking forward to attending, for example. There is both a mother and sister figure there, exemplifying what she missed most from her life. As her family suffers through the grueling process of losing her, she begins to understand what motivated her killer. As this happens, she gradually meets his other victims. As things worsen, then gradually even out on earth, Susie finds heaven opening up as well. In the final acts, we see her reunited with some family, a parallel to her own acceptance of what happened to her, along with some peace at last coming to her family.

I know a sticking point to many people with this book is "the scene." I won't spoil it here (even though I think I may be the last person standing who had never read this, but like I said, poetry) but I think that scene was necessary for Susie to accept her own death. She was a 14 year old girl who died after being raped. She needed to be able to understand that all adult activities are neither that awkward nor that terrifying.

I enjoyed this book immensely, and its messages have stayed with me for way longer than most books do. Highly recommended. ( )

This book was quite odd. The beginning was really awesome, reading about how Susie was murdered by Mr. Harvey. But the rest of the book was quite boring...especially towards the end. Why are they all suddenly grown up? It makes no sense. But still, I like the concept of the story, just if Alice Sebold made it a bit more interesting, that would've helped....A LOT! ( )

I didn’t feel this book lived up to the hype surrounding it. It was an interesting concept and I was ready to give it 4 stars until I got to the end. The way things played out completely ruined this one for me. ( )

I am fairly certain that I did not love this book, but there were aspects that were quite touching and different. I went into the story with a few misconceptions and I think that may have been the reason for a more average rating. First off, this is not a 'who done it' crime novel. This is a story about death: the aftermath, coping, love, hate, heaven and earth. Within a few pages, the main character dies and the rest of the story describes the struggles of the family and how they deal with this tragedy from the perspective of the deceased, from heaven. The authors 'heaven' is unique, as it is whatever you want it to be and different for all. I would recommend this book, but remember this is not a crime thriller. If that is what are you looking for, read something else. ( )

As a mother, this book was difficult to read. It starts right off with the murder of Susie that is horrific to read. As a parent, I felt the heart stopping fear of Susie's parents as they waited for her to come home and then later as a body part is found. The rest of the story is told from Susie's perspective from heaven. This is a different heaven than I have always imagined so this part of the story was hard for me to grasp. But I did understand the idea of Susie's inability to let her family go and why her heaven was different. I thought the storyline of the family Susie left behind was very realistic. Many couples that suffer the death of a child have difficulty remaining married. Unfortunately, I have seen that within my own family, but have also seen others who have gone through it and it made their marriage stronger. I won't spoil the ending by saying which way Susie's parents ended up, but I did like how the author ended the story for them. Watching Buckly, Susie's younger brother, grow up was an interesting storyline. I realized how everything in a family can change after something this terrible happens, no matter how old the family member is. My heart ached for both Buckley and his sister Lindsay as they were frequently left out because their parents were in deep grief. This story left me with the question,When is it time to let someone go and move on? Can you ever move on? I can't say I loved this story, but it did hold my interest and kept me turning the pages hoping that at some point, the murderer would be caught. I am planning to see the movie and am looking forward to comparing the two. ( )

This book pulled me in from the start. I saw the previews for the movie and like everything else i checked out the book first. I started reading this book and could not put it down.
This story is told bout Susie Salmon and is told from her point of view about her murder, family and friends and even her murder dealing with and living after her murder.
This book for me was a heavy read , it pulled me in , i could see everything feel everything.. this book made me feel grief with this family , the stress of her parents, siblings and how this family changed and was brought back in the end.
This book has love , loss, child romance, longing for , and a family dynamic that is truly wonderful. ( )

Wow! This book really moved me and will surely be one of the only books that I ever read more than once. ( )

The Lovely Bones is an interesting read for sure, however, it took me a few days to form an opinion about it. I wasn't really sure, what my feelings were and it had me thinking for quite a few days. It was a new version of what a heaven could be and what a dead girl might feel like up there. Susie was the most average girl in the history of literature, until she was killed. (really, no spoiler here! she says that in the second sentence in the book, that she was killed). Her story began in heaven and that's where she experienced most of the things in life (she was really young and hadn't gotten around to living yet), mostly through her sister, but also friends or family. Her death changed so many lives and touched more people than she could have imagined.
Her story was touching and the writing was good. However, I'm a bit haunted by how matter-of-factly she mentioned that she was dead. It was good that the book didn't only concentrate on the murder and the after-math, but on the family and friends and how they dealt with their loss. How her siblings dealt with their pain and ultimately started healing from it (though never quite 100%). How the father's instinct to protect his family versus getting his dead daughter's killer had an inner-strugle and how a mother grieved and a grandmother stepped up to fight for her family.
The plot was quite compelling and even though at times I felt it was a bit too out-streched, it never got boring! ( )

I absolutely loved this book. It is a engaging as any crime novel is supposed to be , maybe more so... you tend to feel the family's pain acutely. The desperation in the father to find the daughter , the hope that nothing bad has happened. The disbelief of the police. Its all more or less real . We read about this everyday in newspapers .. about the child who never returned home. The terrifying Mr Harvey, someone whom no one would ever suspect to be the guilty one. Alice captures the feelings so well. the mother's reactions are so cold that you will get angry at her. I liked the entire other world feel that has been given - Susie's heaven . I think we would all want that .. the knowledge that our loved ones remain by our side, watching over us . I would suggest that people should read this. ( )

I know this book is getting a lot of mixed reviews, and I can understand why. However, I loved it. It reminded me a great deal of Young's "The Shack," though darker and perhaps a bit more honest. It is also thought provoking in ways similar to the writings of C.S. Lewis, i.e. not terribly complicated writing, but deep. What I really loved about this book was the originality of it -- first of all, having the entire story narrated by a character who has already died, and secondly, of her idea of Heaven. While it is controversial in nature and I'm not sure I entirely agree with it, it was quite captivating to read of a Heaven in which the afterlife is NOT perfect, and a soul in Heaven still continues to grow and change even after death. I think this will cause most people to examine their own ideas about the afterlife and what they think it may be like. This, to me, was most fascinating about the book.

The only things I didn't like about the book were the sometimes tedious descriptions (Ms. Sebold paints beautiful pictures, but sometimes she uses too much paint) and what I felt was an unjust resolution of the murderer and the rest of the world. In that regard I would have preferred a more satisfying ending, but other than that, I think it was well wrapped up. ( )

A true love story told by Alice Seabold. This story stretches the amount of love the family has to stay togther after the dealth of their daughter Susie Salmon. Susie a 14 year old girl get murdered by the most unsuspecting person her neighbor Mr.Harvey. Her father will do anything to proove that he was the man who murdered his daughter and it seems to eveyone that he has gone too far except, his daughter Lindsey and son Buckey. With no proof of Mr.Harvey doing this violent act Susies father cannot say anything other than his gut feeling tells him that he is the man. This truely is a heart wrenching story and will leave you on the edge of your seat. A truly mistical tale of the inbetween world Susie lived in.This is a great read for about anyone. ( )

Grim story about the murder of a young girl and her view of her family and friends from heaven. ( )