The Lovely Bones was my first read from Alice Sebold and I was not disappointed. A copy sat on my bookshelf for about a year when I saw a preview for a movie based on the book. Of course, it was time to read it if I was ever going to get to it. (Because, as any reader knows, the book is always better than the movie.) The Lovely Bones is told from the perspective of Susie Salmon after she has been raped and killed by a neighbor. I think I was sold on the book when she names her assailant within the first chapter. I was expecting the identity of her killer to be revealed throughout the book in some sort of predictable manner. Susie was killed in 1973 when she was 14 and she narrates the next decade of her family's life as she observes from "her heaven" but is not able to interact with them. Ms. Sebold writes from Susie's perspective with a genuine voice for a young teenager gaining clarity on what has happened to her. Although sad at times (obviously) the story is also funny and thought provoking.
1 comment:
I definitely need to read this one. I read one of Alice Sebold's other books (I can't remember the title) which is about her own rape. I didn't expect to like it - thought it would be depressing - but I really did. I liked her voice. Based on the plot alone, the Lovely Bones doesn't sound like something I'd like, but I think I would.
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