Lovely Bones

[JinxtheCat]

Has anyone read 'The Lovely Bones' by Alice Sebold? Just wondered what you thought of it. Wasn't sure meself if I found it enlightening or downright depressing. Prob'ly a birro both.

[Aschenbach]

I was a bit uneasy with the whole idea of looking down from heaven on everything you've left behind even though it's quite original and solves the problem of an ubiquitous all-seeing narrator who is nevertheless involved in the story. Also Ray and Susie's final physical experience (via Ruth's body) almost as an exorcism was a bit far-fetched.

I found the ending a bit abrupt and was surprised that the murderer got away with it as I wanted him to get lynched.

I think the message of the book was about the healing power of grieving but I think it's idealistic to suggest that good can come of great trauma.

[Lillabet]

I thought that this book was both sad - but not depressing - and beautiful. It was a very accessible read which looked at complex issues such as forgiveness and justice in a deceptively simple fashion.

Having read 'Lucky' Alice Sebold's account of her own brutal rape and her recovery from that there were a number of points where her own experiences seemed to inform the fictional book.

In particular the idea that as long as an attack / attacker dominates your thoughts and stops you doing things then they still have power over you and are still harming you. This means that they win. As such the unnoticed end to Mr Harvey is actually a sign of his weakness and the limits of his power. I found this an interesting idea.

Also her refusal to oversimplify and say that A caused B gave it a lot of depth. It was easy to say that Susie's death caused her parents to grow apart but you also learn of the mother's longer term dissatisfaction from long before the death.

I agree that the ending and in particular the possession scene were the least well thought out sections of the text but that the acceptance and healing that everyone including Susie herself experiences made it more optimistic than anything else. This is no mean feat in a text that starts with a rape and murder!

[natalie_1982]

I really enjoyed this book, I like the idea of still being watched over by loved ones and being able to 'care' for your loved ones when you are gone.

I, too, found the part when Ruth got possessed to be a little strange, but I thought that the way that the murderer in the end got killed was very fitting.

I thought it was a sad book, but not depressing, but was also very happy in parts (if you believe that there is another place after death).  It made me think about things differently.

I have also read 'Lucky' which is a true account of when Alice Sebold was raped, and it is easy to see where she managed to draw the images from for Lovely Bones.

As a side question - does anyone know what happened in the court case against Sebold's rapist?  I think I remember reading at the end of Lucky that she'd be writing a follow-up book of the court case.

[Aschenbach]

I heard the rapist was caught and given a maximum sentence.

Her next book is a novel but she consciously keeps the story to herself in fear that it will 'become confined and die'

[natalie_1982]

He was caught but the book ends as the trial begins I think.

[GucciGal]

I'm sorry but it just made me feel sad. ;-(

[Hgrove]

I only managed the first chapter I am afraid, it made me feel nauseous.  I will try again eventually.

[how2212]

I enjoyed reading the female submissions. Like giving birth: I learned a lot. Michael