The Lovely Bones: A Novel

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Alice Sebold's haunting and heartbreaking debut novel, The Lovely Bones, unfolds from heaven, where "life is a perpetual yesterday" and where Susie narrates and keeps watch over her grieving family and friends, as well as her brazen killer and the sad detective working on her case. As Sebold fashions it, everyone has his or her own version of heaven. Susie's resembles the athletic fields and landscape of a suburban high school: a heaven of her "simplest dreams," where "there were no teachers.... We never had to go inside except for art class.... The boys did not pinch our backsides or tell us we smelled; our textbooks were Seventeen and Glamour and Vogue."

The Lovely Bones works as an odd yet affecting coming-of-age story. Susie struggles to accept her death while still clinging to the lost world of the living, following her family's dramas over the years like an episode of My So-Called Afterlife. Her family disintegrates in their grief: her father becomes determined to find her killer, her mother withdraws, her little brother Buckley attempts to make sense of the new hole in his family, and her younger sister Lindsey moves through the milestone events of her teenage and young adult years with Susie riding spiritual shotgun. Random acts and missed opportunities run throughout the book--Susie recalls her sole kiss with a boy on Earth as "like an accident--a beautiful gasoline rainbow." Though sentimental at times, The Lovely Bones is a moving exploration of loss and mourning that ultimately puts its faith in the living and that is made even more powerful by a cast of convincing characters. Sebold orchestrates a big finish, and though things tend to wrap up a little too well for everyone in the end, one can only imagine (or hope) that heaven is indeed a place filled with such happy endings. --Brad Thomas Parsons

Book Description

On her way home from school on a snowy December day in 1973, 14-year-old Susie Salmon ("like the fish") is lured into a makeshift underground den in a cornfield and brutally raped and murdered, the latest victim of a serial killer--the man she knew as her neighbor, Mr. Harvey. Alice Sebold's haunting and heartbreaking debut novel, The Lovely Bones, unfolds from heaven, where "life is a perpetual yesterday" and where Susie narrates and keeps watch over her grieving family and friends, as well as her brazen killer and the sad detective working on her case. As Sebold fashions it, everyone has his or her own version of heaven. Susie's resembles the athletic fields and landscape of a suburban high school: a heaven of her "simplest dreams," where "there were no teachers.... We never had to go inside except for art class.... The boys did not pinch our backsides or tell us we smelled; our textbooks were Seventeen and Glamour and Vogue." The Lovely Bones works as an odd yet affecting coming-of-age story. Susie struggles to accept her death while still clinging to the lost world of the living, following her family's dramas over the years like an episode of My So-Called Afterlife.Her family disintegrates in their grief: her father becomes determined to find her killer, her mother withdraws, her little brother Buckley attempts to make sense of the new hole in his family, and her younger sister Lindsey moves through the milestone events of her teenage and young adult years with Susie riding spiritual shotgun. Random acts and missed opportunities run throughout the book--Susie recalls her sole kiss with a boy on Earth as "like an accident--a beautiful gasoline rainbow." Though sentimental at times, The Lovely Bones is a moving exploration of loss and mourning that ultimately puts its faith in the living and that is made even more powerful by a cast of convincing characters. Sebold orchestrates a big finish, and though things tend to wrap up a little too well for everyone in the end, one can only imagine (or hope) that heaven is indeed a place filled with such happy endings. --Brad Thomas Parsons

Download Description

This edition of the New York Times best-seller and a Good Morning America "Read This" Book Club pick contains features available only in the electronic version! Included in this eBook edition are a Reading Group Guide, an exclusive interview with the author, and "The Oddity of Suburbia," Alice Sebold's comments on growing up in the suburbs of "Nowhere U.S.A." When we first meet 14-year-old Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. This was before milk carton photos and public service announcements, she tells us; back in 1973, when Susie mysteriously disappeared, people still believed these things didn't happen. In the sweet, untroubled voice of a precocious teenage girl, Susie relates the awful events of her death and her own adjustment to the strange new place she finds herself. (It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing set.) With love, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie watches her family as they cope with their grief-her father embarks on a search for the killer, her sister undertakes a feat of amazing daring, her little brother builds a fort in her honor-and begin the difficult process of healing. In the hands of a brilliant new novelist, and through the eyes of her winning young heroine, this story of seemingly unbearable tragedy is transformed into a suspenseful, touching, even funny novel about family, memory, love, heaven, and living.

Customer Reviews:

Creepy and Comforting?.......2007-09-29

Everyone else is right. Th book is great in the beginning. It contains some odd scenes that are unnecessary and hurt, more than help, the story's momentum and punch. The author tried to wrap up too many loose ends too quickly in the end, and I felt so dissappointed that a book I really enjoyed and that had so much potential ended so poorly. However, I so enjoyed the beginning, that I got over the ending.

The aspect that I think I most enjoyed about the plot of this book, was that the main mystery was solved very close to the begnning.
You do not feel suspense waiting to find out "who did it?" The author tells you who did it right away. Then you don't feel suspense waiting to see when one of the other characters will figure it out, because another character figures it out right away. You feel suspense waiting to see when others will believe and if the murdered will ever get caught. Very non-traditional suspense.

I really appreciate books that make me FEEL. Good, bad, hapy, sad, scared,or totally creeped out. I just enjoy having my emotions provoked by a good book. This book made me feel every one of those things. I laughed and cried, sometimes one right after the other. I definitely felt completely creeped out and oddly comforted really close together. That's why this book is a winner.

This book will make you think. If you don't like to feel sad, or uncomfortable, this book is not for you. If you appreciate emotion and creativity, you will enjoy this different book. I look forward to the movie, hoping they don't massacre the story.

Moving Novel About Love and Loss.......2007-09-19

After fourteen year old Susie Salmon is raped and murdered, she goes to heaven where she is able to look down at her family and friends and the rest of the world. As she is adjusting to life in heaven and making friends there, she is also watching her family deal with her disappearance. She watches as both her parents struggle to accept the fact that she is gone and the affect it has on their marriage; she watches her younger sister Lindsay grow and become stronger as a person; and she watches her little brother Buckley, who is too young to understand what is going on. She also watches her friends Ray Singh and Ruth Connors, as they grow closer after Susie's death. As Susie watches her family and friends grow older and mature, she begins to realize how much she has lost and longs for one more chance for life on earth.

"The Lovely Bones" is a sad, moving, and at times odd novel. Extremely well written by Alice Sebold, it is told in the first person by Susie. This unique perspective means that we not only have insight into what Susie was like as a person, but who her killer was and how frustrating it is for her to not only watch the killer stalk other victims (including someone close to Susie) but watch the police try and find her body and determine who her killer is and prove it. Her ability to look down from heaven to see her family and others (and somehow be privy to their thoughts) adds poignancy to the novel, as each of her family members and friends struggle to cope with their loss in their own private ways. It is heartbreaking to read about how Susie's disappearance and the inability of the police to find her body affects her parents marriage, and how Susie begins to realize she didn't know them, especially her mother, all that well. It's equally heartbreaking to see Susie watch her sister Lindsay grow up and experience things that Susie never will, especially falling in love and having sex for the first time. Sebold makes the characters so believable that at times I wanted to hug them and say "I'm sorry" and at other times I wanted to shake them and make them aware of how their actions were hurting others. Although the book is sad, it's not as depressing as I thought it would be and there are some humorous moments in the book, mostly with Susie's Grandma Lynn. While I thought "The Lovely Bones" was well written for the most part, there was a truly odd section towards the end that felt out of place in the book.

"The Lovely Bones" is a moving novel about love and loss.

All Over The Place.......2007-08-29

I had heard great things about this book so decided to read it. I agree with a lot of the other reviews that say it started out really great and then fizzled out. I think the storyline was all over the place, and I couldn't understand what the point was, other than just to be a fly on the wall in the lives of Susie's family. I was also not happy with the bodily possession (a bit much in my opinion) or the weak ending. I think the concept was interesting, and I think I would have liked it better if it kept the same energy it had in the beginning. I did enjoy the fact that it was based in the Philadelphia suburbs, as I am familiar with that area.

Terrible writing.......2007-08-27

I couldn't finish reading this book after getting about 150 pages in. This turned out to be a fortunate decision. My wife tells me it got worse and worse. I'm shocked at how well-recieved it was... The writing is sloppy, we're given no descriptions of the characters, and the storyline makes you groan with its cliches. What really annoyed me were the incredibly strained metaphors tossed around, dice in a Yatzee game of literature, spinning like Disneyland teapots in the cosmos of ludicrousness. This was one gem: "leaden weights had been tied by anesthesia to the four corners of his consciousness".

Sad and pointless.......2007-08-24

I'm sorry to say it... I really wanted to like this book... but I didn't! In fact, I was quite stunned to discover how disappointing and unproductive this book is, considering the number of people who have read it. I read it on a recommendation from a friend whose book recommendations I usually agree with. Unfortunately, I wish I had gone with my gut instinct and put the book down after getting nowhere in the first 100 pages. Instead, I kept reading just to get through it. I really disliked this book! I'm not a book snob, but I like a book to be somewhat believable if the author is attempting to depict a real life scenario ie: a family's coping with the death of thier murdered child. The whole thing, start to finish, was so contained, so picture-perfect, so annoying!!!

It's funny, the person who recommended the book to me said the hardest part of the book was the first chapter because of the grisly details of poor Susie's death. I disagree. Though I am not a fan of horror or even CSI shows... I at least found the first chapters suspenseful and engaging... I cannot say that for the rest of the novel!

The concept of the narrator being in heaven is definitely an interesting one, but the story she tells is so contrived and meandering and really uninspired that her perspective hardly seems special.

I think this novel has the ability to be interesting or possibly helpful to someone who has had to deal with the death of a close family member because it so plainly shows that a family falls apart around such a loss and that this is sort of a natural process. But beyond that situation... I'm sorry, I would not recommend this book.

Average customer rating:

Maudlin to the max
I Really Tried to Like It
Excellent novel!
Why did the "The Lovely Bones" become a mega-bestseller?
It Will Make You Stronger

The Lovely Bones
Alice Sebold
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0316166685

Book Description

When we first meet Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. As she looks down from this strange new place, she tells us, in the fresh and spirited voice of a fourteen-year-old girl, a tale that is both haunting and full of hope. In the weeks following her death, Susie watches life on Earth continuing without her-her school friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her family holding out hope that she'll be found, her killer trying to cover his tracks. As months pass without leads, Susie sees her parents' marriage being contorted by loss, her sister hardening herself in an effort to stay strong, and her little brother trying to grasp the meaning of the word gone. And she explores the place called heaven. It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing sets. There are counselors to help newcomers adjust and friends to room with. Everything she ever wanted appears as soon as she thinks of it-except the thing she most wants: to be back with the people she loved on Earth. With compassion, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie sees her loved ones pass through grief and begin to mend. Her father embarks on a risky quest to ensnare her killer. Her sister undertakes a feat of remarkable daring. And the boy Susie cared for moves on, only to find himself at the center of a miraculous event. The Lovely Bones is luminous and astonishing, a novel that builds out of grief the most hopeful of stories. In the hands of a brilliant new writer, this story of the worst thing a family can face is transformed into a suspenseful and even funny novel about love, memory, joy, heaven, and healing.

Customer Reviews:

Maudlin to the max.......2007-10-10

Yikes- this was recommended reading for my daughter entering her senior year .... this is written as well as any novel picked off the paper back rack at the airport- NOT an example of intelligent writing one hopes would be recommended for students. The story is disturbing but it is written for pre-teenagers in terms of the language used - and I'd yank it away from anyone under the age of 16!

SO DISAPPOINTED!

I Really Tried to Like It.......2007-10-10

I had heard how good this book was from so many people...and I really tried to like it.
I felt like the author wrote from an interesting and unique perspective, but didn't know what to do with the story once she got it going.
The supernatural parts were unbelieveable to me and distracted from what could have been a much better book.

Excellent novel!.......2007-10-03

Though I don't have time to write an all out detailed review I will say that I finished this book in 2 days! This coming from someone who never read a book in less that 2 weeks is a great deal. Just the way it was written and all the suspense leaves you wanting to not stop reading. Also the end doesn't leave you how some movies leave you today, disappointed or angry, its just right.

Why did the "The Lovely Bones" become a mega-bestseller?.......2007-09-30

On August 14, 2002, I attended an Alice Sebold reading. As an ex-journalist, I'm a cynic. Until that day, I had only read about five novels since 1978. Most fiction involves less research and "rules" than non-fiction.

Yet Sebold spent five years writing "The Lovely Bones." She didn't intend it to be a Great American Novel (awful cliché), a handbook about managing grief. Then astoundingly, it sold more than one million copies in less than two months. Why?

On May 8, 1981, Alice Sebold was raped, an incident that nearly destroyed her. She wrote an explicit, shocking and almost neglected book in 1999 called "Lucky." It was this knowledge, as a non-fiction reader, and not hype or current events, that drew me to "The Lovely Bones." You may not have to know this about Sebold. But if you do, what she writes in "The Lovely Bones" assumes credibility, even if you're shaking your head in bewilderment, having trouble believing what's in it.

"Hype" is a fashionably pessimistic word being used with excess to leverage what in my view are elitist comments against this book. "Hype" is a product of marketing with little relevance to quality. I agree with whomever said the following: People who give into "hype" expecting a seismic shift in their lives before turning to "page one," are doomed to disappointment. Hype doesn't give a book "legs." Word-of-mouth does.

Narrating from the dead, as Susie Salmon does in "The Lovely Bones," isn't new. In the shorthand of cinema, you can quickly point to "Sunset Boulevard (1950) and "American Beauty (1999)." She may seem wiser beyond her "years," but it isn't critical to separate adolescent vs. adult narration. "Real time" exists for the living. Susie's dead.

In "The Lovely Bones," the only thing that matters is what remains in memory. We question what we can't see, yet invisible things like oxygen, love, hate, lust, sorrow and hope are undeniable. After people die, we hear their voices, we remember their touch and the way they look. They're in the next room, watching TV, reading, whatever. Sebold captures our obsession, our "presence of mind" about the dead. This obviously resonates with people, many without the time to read 10 books per year. To denigrate fans of this book smacks of unnecessary snobbery that promotes literary "class distinctions." Conversely, sophisticated readers raise valid criticisms that wouldn't be as intense if they read the "NC-17" horrors of "Lucky."

Sebold creates an atmosphere absent of shrillness or clinically described violence. A "quick read" is not synonymous with shallowness. Expressing the intangible with sentences 10-25 words in length is near impossible. But Sebold's ability to impart abstract thoughts into simple sentences can't be dismissed. This is not a murder mystery. If it was, it'd be ordinary. This is an admittedly broad-brush story about family connections that pushes the thriller into the back seat. Splitting hairs about the plausibility of character motivations misses the big picture of "The Lovely Bones." It's not literature aspiring for greatness, filled with big words, tortuous sentences and the type of false profundities that wins awards. It's a book that achieves something greater for most writers -- a chance to weave a collection of universal themes -- through an accessible narrative that sophisticated readers as well as the greater body of people who have zero desire to read can appreciate.

Perhaps this is why disappointed readers keep using words like "overrated" or phrases like, "doesn't live up to the hype." They're comfortable with authors requiring more words leading toward a revelation that feels closer to irony and "truth" than uplift. Hence what's "familiar" seems trite.

But Sebold isn't trite. We demand logical human behavior, but there's a randomness about everything that lies ahead. Wry observations bring the ordinary to the surface without, in most cases, pretentiousness. Accusations of peddling cheap sentiment ring false because she draws upon her past to conjure up spare, abstract subtext and expressions to carry her tale. She succeeds using observational symbolism without wielding a preachy sledgehammer. Looking for religious dogma in heaven? Forget it. To Susie, "heaven" is just a shorthand for where she "is." It could be anything.

Sebold's idea is that the dead do more than just "think." There are reasons why they suddenly seem near, then disappear. She told ABC News that she doesn't think too much about heaven. But she obviously thinks a lot about the dead, especially victims of violence. Some complain her characters are "caricatures." Composites of traits we've seen in friends and ourselves makes a concept less believable? Susie's "voice," regardless of age, represents her view, however subjectively precocious, illogical or formulaic. Only one chapter goes off the tracks, proffering a scene that comes too close to "Ghost."

Is this a book for the ages? Maybe not. But I'm disturbed that a "commercial" success, even unexpected (as some forget this was), can be disproportionately punished with contempt in forums, unworthy of being labeled a "literary success." If the masses like it, hype is responsible and it must be suspect, despite glowing reviews from respected critics, many with advanced degrees in English and comparative literature.

For me, a non-fiction reader, the restrained poignancy of Sebold's "The Lovely Bones" is a surprise in the aftermath of her uncensored and harrowing memoir, "Lucky." In the hands of any writer bereft of real-life misfortune, concepts about death in a fictional tale, wouldn't have worked. It's impossible for me to ignore the author's history, despite her repeated statements that a huge gulf exists between "Lucky" and "The Lovely Bones."

Yet the success of "The Lovely Bones" proves it doesn't matter. Thirty years from now, people will still be talking about it. I'm convinced no matter how hard Sebold tries -- the legacy created by her non-fiction "Lucky" and her fictional "The Lovely Bones" -- will remain preserved AND inextricably linked. This is why she succeeds in restating, however inadvertent, the universal message that if life is defined by only what we see, our dead remain in the past. But if life is defined by our intermittent recognition of their "presence," they remain eternal.

It Will Make You Stronger.......2007-09-24

I read this novel and was really immersed in the emotional landscape of the Salmon family. I felt like by the end of the book I had gotten to know all of them, and their pain and loss, so well. This book hurts, but by the end it heals you.

Average customer rating:

Elizabeth MacPhearson
Lovely in Her Bones
Amateurish
Too witty
Pleasing lightweight mystery

Lovely in Her Bones
Sharyn Mccrumb
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0345360354
Release Date: 1990-05-13

Book Description

"Who but Sharyn McCrumb can make a skull with a bullet hole funny? Those who like sardonic wit, slightly bent characters, and good fun will love LOVELY IN HER BONES."
Tony Hillerman
The sequel to SICK OF SHADOWS.
When an Appalachian dig to determine if an obscure Indian tribe in North Carolina can lay legal claim to the land they live on is stopped on account of murder, Elizabeth MacPherson -- eager student of the rites of the past and mysteries of the present -- starts digging deep. And when she mixes a little modern know-how with some old-fashioned suspicions, Elizabeth comes up with a batch of answers that surprise even the experts....

Customer Reviews:

Elizabeth MacPhearson.......2006-11-10

This is the weakest book of the series. I have now read them all, through PMS Outlaws. The book has the witty style of the other Elizabeth MacPhearson mysteries, but didn't hold my interest very well. It is important to the series, though, because it tells us a lot about Milo, who is featured in two subsequent books, and it introduces Elizabeth to forensic anthropology. The ending is a bit of a surprise, so I guess that's in the story's favor.

Lovely in Her Bones.......2006-08-29

Reading a Sharyn McCrumb book is never dull, but because I was "hooked" on her characters I liked this book. She starts out with an intriguing plot but simply fails to follow through. Her volunteer deputy is great. The perfect dolt to add humor to murder. I wanted to hear more about the medical lore and was a little disappointed when that character was revealed to be so "human". Perhaps because I have read so many of her books I know what she is capable of expected more. It didn't keep me from going on to the "next" book about Elizabeth Macphereson.

Amateurish.......2005-04-16

I have read and enjoyed several other Sharyn McCrumb mysteries--She Walks These Hills, for instance. However, this book disappoints. The characters are not believable, the dialogue is stilted, and you arrive at the end of the book not much caring how it resolves itself. My error, friends, for not checking the Amazon customer reviews before buying.

Too witty.......2003-02-28

I've read two of McCrumb's mystery novels now and had the same reaction: witty murder is hard to take. I won't be reading more because I seem to take murder a bit too seriously for this light, fluffy sort of treatment, where the author's emphasis is often on cute dialogue and witty repartee.

That said, the story here has three young people dabble in murder detection and forensic science because-naturally-grownups don't care. Several passages are very well written and McCrumb maintains a tongue-in-cheek touch elsewhere. Don't rely on either the science terminology and interpretations to be accurate even for the 1985 paleo-computer age. Other than the pedagogy, this story will entertain young readers and introduce them to an unusual Appalachian setting and the issue of proving Indian land claims.

Pleasing lightweight mystery.......2002-09-28

This belongs at the lighter end of the crime novel spectrum,although this does not prevent it from making a sharp point or two about ethnicity and the way it impacts on the bureaucratic mind,especially in these days of political correctness.
Trying to establish their right to Native American tribal status, and by so doing preserve the land from the depredations of strip mining,the Cullowee people of the Appalachians invite the local University to carry out an archaelogical dig on theor land.When the expedition leader Professor Lerche,is murdered suspects are not exactly in short supply.
A local deputy sheriff does not want the dig to proceed as he stands to gain financially from any mining operation;the professor has broken off an affair with a graduate student ,to her intense displeasure and he has publicly humiliated a pompous undergraduate.Events taken an even darker turn with a second murder folowing hard on the heels of the professor's demise.
Heroine and series regular Elizabeth MacPherson steps in to unravel the case.
it is well written but lightweight and I suspect will be enjoyed mainly by devotees of the cosy and academic mysteries
McCrumb's Ballad novels are brilliant.This is not but it is a polished and professional diversion that satisfies on its own terms

Average customer rating:

Difficult to read on an emotional level, but worth the read!
Lovely Boneas is awesome!!!!!!!!
The Lovely Bones
Do not read when pregnant !!
Extremely disappointed

The Lovely Bones
Alice Sebold
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0330485385

Customer Reviews:

Difficult to read on an emotional level, but worth the read!.......2007-05-08

To start off, I recommend this book to anyone who can stand stories that are highly emotional for the reader. I personally, enjoy those kinds of stories. The only reason why I gave this book 4 stars (really I would have given it 4 and a half if that was an option), is because there is one scene in the book (which is a major scene in a way, but I feel it could have been left out) that is HIGHLY unrealistic. In reality, I know that the entire book is probably not realistic, but this particular part of the book would have made me stop reading if I was not towards the end. The section was a little too sappy for me, and was not what I (nor many of my book club members) would have written if they were the author. It kind of throws the reader off a little. That is just a tiny detail, however. The book covers the emotions and hardships that come with the death of such a young family member. Just the idea that it was a murder makes the book twice as intense. It really does leave the reader wondering what it would be like if dead loved ones could see what we were doing here on earth. I have never read anything like it before! I can see why it got so much attention when it first came out.

Lovely Boneas is awesome!!!!!!!!.......2006-11-01

Lovely Bones is a great book about a fourteen year-old girl named Susie Salmon who was brutally murdered by a neighbor. The story is told by her as she wathches down on Earth from her heaven. She looks down and wathches her brother and sister grow and her parents slowly drift apart. My favorite part of the book was when Susies mother, Abigail, came back home. She felt like such a jerk for leaving all those years. She miised her two children grow-up and it was very akward for all of them. Lovely Bones is an amazing book. it should be read by all. Alice sebold does an incredible job of describing many things like death. I would definitly recomend this book to all. I hope you read it, it's such an amzing book!!!!

The Lovely Bones.......2006-10-05

The Lovely Bones is about Susie Salmon, a fourteen year old girl who gets murdered by George Harvey, her neighbor.Susie goes to heaven and watches how her family and friends are coping with her death. She also watches her killer covering up her evidence, but in the end, they uncover more and more of his tracks.
Susie leaves her family with only clothes and a collection of buttons. She also leaves her crush, Ray Singh with only a picture. My favorite part is when Ruth, who sees Susie dead on her way to heaven, falls and faints and Susie gets put into her body. Susie ends up telling Ray who it is when he comes to her rescue. Her dream to have Ray back comes true and she spends the night with him for one last time. Susie also calls her house and gets Buckley, her brother on the phone. He doesn't believe her and hangs up.
The Lovely Bones would be a great book for any girl in Grade 8 to any age. It makes you really think about if there really are people watching you in heaven. I like how all of the characters cope in a different way. Mrs. Salmon runs away and Lindsey names her baby Abigail Suzanne. Mr. Salmon holds onto her life, wishing she wasn't dead. Buckley goes on with his life like everyone else is. This is a excellent book and makes you feel like you know the whole Salmon family. You also realize how different it is when someone din't just die, but they were murdered.

Do not read when pregnant !! .......2006-03-10

Okay, you can but don't do it without tissues :)
This book is stuck in my head FOREVER! I loved this so much and I cannot stop looking for a similar story line out there.
I hope Alice comes out with a newer book (besides 'Lucky') soon.

Please read! it's an great read people. XOXOXOXOXOXO

Extremely disappointed.......2005-05-09

After hearing rave reviews about this book I had very high expectations for it. It seems to be somewhat hard to believe that any book can be intresting when the most important event in the book, the entire climax is in the first chapter. When I was done the first chapter I wondered what the rest of the chapters would be about...well apparently nothing.
I usually finish books in a week or less but I had to stop reading this book halfway through because it was so horrible. I was often afraid to read it because anything regarding murder and rape is a bit intense for me but the way this book presented such a serious event was horrible.
No strong emotions were expressed through any of the characters, especially not the main character who tells this story. Not only did I think the book was poorly written I was also extremely disappointed by the end. This book left me indifferent and it was a big waste of my time. sorry alice. your characters were too flat and just plain dull.

Bookclub-in-a-Box Discusses The Lovely Bones, the Novel by Alice Sebold (Bookclub in a Box Discusses)

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Bookclub-in-a-Box Discusses The Lovely Bones, the Novel by Alice Sebold (Bookclub in a Box Discusses)
Alice Sebold
Manufacturer: Bookclub-in-a-box
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Lovely Bones

ASIN: 0973398485
Release Date: 2005-07-12

Book Description

While many novels explore the human experience in all its complexity, all Bookclub-in-a-Box discussion guides help to interpret the authors' approach to that human experience. The Bookclub-in-a-Box guide to Alice Sebold's novel, The Lovely Bones Bones is no exception. In Sebold's Story, fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon is murdered. Many readers might stop reading right there, but that would mean missing Sebold's unique perspective on life and death, and not getting to know her unusual narrator, Susie, who tells the story from heaven.

Average customer rating:

The Lovely Bones
Sebold Alice
Manufacturer: Little Brown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JPIB8Y

Average customer rating:

Very Good!
Sebold told a great story
Broken but lovely (bones)
Not enough of what you want or need

The Lovely Bones (Reader's Companion)
Alice Sebold
Manufacturer: Barnes & Noble
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1586638661

Book Description

A heartbreaking but ultimately life-affirming tale of a young girl's tragic death at the hands of a serial killer, Sebold's novel appeared in American bookstores just at the time several child abductions made its message painfully timely. Delve into the intricacies of this wrenching story through these questions:
* How is Sebold's vision of heaven unique? Why have some readers criticized it?
* Why does Susie haunt her friends and family after her death? What is she looking for?
* Why has The Lovely Bones resonated so strongly with American readers?

Customer Reviews:

Very Good!.......2004-03-25

I thought this was one of the best books that I have ever read! I really enjoyed this book because it was so different. I never put this book down. I would read it again and again. This book is amazing and touching.

Sebold told a great story.......2004-01-07

The story of Susie Salmon starts out with the description of her death and a killer still at large. As she watches from heaven the reactions and healings of her family, friends, nieghbors, and an unsuspecting girl she passed on her way to a new world, you start feel as if you are watching youself. You will become so involved with the pain of Susie's family as well as begin to wonder about the heaven you may see someday. What will it be like and will it be what you imagine today? I could not put this book down. And will be worth the time to read it again.

Broken but lovely (bones).......2003-09-10

This novel opened with a murder being committed... with the murderer getting away with the crime. But it's just the beginning to a long (8 yrs.) healing process for a girl named Susie (whose bones have been literally broken), her family (who suffered from broken familial ties after her death) & some friends/relatives/neighbors (who are involved with the Salmon family & affected by their sufferings). Like bones, they are all connected with one another, with Susie serving as 'joints' to hold them together. Like limbs, each character moves independently, only to realize later on that his/her actions is part of a bigger body. Like a disease, grief rots the bones & destroys its connectivity. But like blood, love washes over them, brings hope & heals. Susie, Lindsey, Buck, Jack, Abbie --- broken in their own way --- healed by time & love for one another --- lovely.

Not enough of what you want or need.......2003-09-10

This book promises a message of hope after an obscene crime is committed. The descriptions of the crime hit you at the beginning of the book, and as the mother of a young daughter, they haunt me vividly a month later. But the subsequent descriptions of "heaven" are not overly comforting or hopeful, nor do they provide any particular insight or conclusion. The other characters in the book were not overly compelling to me, and of course there's no justice in the end for the criminal. Finally, the resolution that the main character receives does not appear to me to be something worthy of supernatural feats.

Don't get me wrong, I couldn't put this book down once I started it, but I just don't know if I'm glad I read it.

Average customer rating:

Why did the "The Lovely Bones" become a mega-bestseller?

Lovely "Bones"

Intense

Moving and memorable

WOW!!!!

The Lovely Bones
Alice Sebold
Manufacturer: Large Print Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literature & Fiction | Large Print | Formats | Books
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The Lovely Bones

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Back to Black

ASIN: 159413023X

Book Description

A New York Times Bestseller

When we first meet Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. As she looks down from that strange new place she tells us, in the fresh and spirited voice of a fourteen-year-old, a tale that is both haunting and full of hope. Susie watches life continuing after her brutal death: her loved ones holding out hope she'll be found, her killer covering his tracks. As months pass without leads, she sees her family contorted by loss. With compassion, longing, and a growing understanding, she sees them face the worst -- then, in time, pass through grief and begin to mend.

Customer Reviews:

Why did the "The Lovely Bones" become a mega-bestseller?.......2007-09-30

Lovely "Bones".......2006-06-30

They say that a ghost remains tied to the world of the living either to avenge its death or to comfort those left behind. The heroine of Alice Sebold's haunting, sweet novel "The Lovely Bones" isn't out for revenge, but her ties to the living family and friends make debut an amazing, uplifting story.

Susie Salmon is dead. On a day like any other, she was raped and brutally murdered by a seemingly harmless neighbor, who hacked up her body and buried it. Now she exists in a surprisingly simple and pleasant heaven, watching her family and friends after she vanished, and watching their lives unfold even after hers has ended.

Her parents cling to hope that even though a lot of blood and part of an arm has been found, that Susie is still alive. But eventually, they must give up hope. Susie watches the police investigate her death, while her father pokes around to find out whodunnit. And just as importantly her family and friends stumble through the various stages of grief, trying to deal with a horrible, senseless crime that has touched each of them.

When someone is kidnapped and/or murdered, the news usually focuses on the criminals and the gory details. Not much attention is given to the victims and the lives they once led, or how their loves ones are dealing with the tragedy. Other books would be self-conscious or miserable dealing with that kind of story, but "Lovely Bones" is something very different.

Instead, this book possesses a quiet, comforting tone and a poetic style. Sebold's writing has an innocent charm; one enchanting scene has Susie trying to make a flower bloom for her father, and filling a celestial room with flower petals instead. The only really gritty scene is the rape-and-murder, which is all the more shocking when you realize that things like this happen in real life.

Susie herself is a truly unique character, a narrator completely removed from the events she describes, and yet so wrapped up in the people she loves, and has left behind. And Sebold explores the many characters as they go through the grieving process, with different thoughts and actions as they try to deal with it. The parents, the siblings, the teachers, and even the kid who was enamored of Susie.

Alice Sebold's "Lovely Bones" shocks you at the beginning, and spends the rest of the book drying your tears. Beautiful, enchanting, disturbing and very unique.

Intense.......2006-05-02

I hear everywhere, that the beginning of this book is the best but honeslty, I think it's so boring. The whole first 15 chapters seemed as if the book was going no where. But....I stiked to it and it got sooooo much better. It's a very intense book and opens up a lot of doors. Ironicly, one of my schoolmates died while I was finishing this book. It really eases my mind about where she is now. I definatly recommend this book to those who have lost someone in there life. (It's not religious at all).

Moving and memorable.......2005-11-25

Susie Salmon tells us the story of when she was raped and murdered. Of course, such a story must be told from the Afterlife, as the narrator is, well, dead. The story has two emphases: the never-quite-completed investigation into the crime, and the massive ripple-effects of the crime upon the victim's family. The author, Alice Sebold, also has Susie describe an interesting version of Heaven.

George Harvey, the rapist/murderer, is interesting in just how uninteresting he is. Most stories of serial rapists and/or killers depict the villain as a monster whom everyone should recognize as such. George Harvey, to those who do not know what he has done, comes off as boring, slightly eccentric, and even mildly pitiable or pathetic. The evil is well-hidden in this villain, who is slowly destroying himself as he quickly destroys the lives of his victims and severely damages the lives of their families.

The turmoil of Susie's family, following her disappearance, is pretty realistic, given my own personal experience with losing a family member, and from my work, as a child psychologist, with children and families recovering from traumatic losses. The shifting alliances, the drifting away and coming together, the emergence of hidden strengths and hidden flaws, and the conflicts, are all not uncommon.

The writing of "The Lovely Bones" occasionally gets slightly bogged down in detail, but is generally good. Given that this was Alice Sebold's debut novel, it is a triumphant debut. If she can grow as a writer, and come up with more stories that are out-of-the-box like "The Lovely Bones," we will be treated to some interesting reading material. If you enjoy this book, try "Hey, Nostradamus" by Douglas Coupland (and if you already enjoyed "Hey, Nostradamus" you will like "The Lovely Bones").

WOW!!!!.......2005-07-31

I don't even know where to begin with this book. A friend of mine had been telling me about forever, so I borrowed it from her. Wow! I have never felt so connected to characters in a book. The author makes you feel like you have known these people your whole life. I can't even put into words the emotions you go through reading this book. I reccomend it to everyone now. It was a fast read which was the one thing that disappointed me the most. I actually bought my own copy of this book because its one I will read over and over again.

Desde Mi Cielo / the Lovely Bones (Literatura)

Average customer rating:

Hermosa historia

Desde Mi Cielo / the Lovely Bones (Literatura)
Alice Sebold
Manufacturer: Grijalbo Mondadori Sa
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Spanish | Foreign Language Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Caribbean & Latin American | History & Criticism | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

Hermosa historia.......2005-05-19

Les confieso que la compre porque me intrigo el resumen que lei pero cuando la recibi y comence a leerla como se dice en ingles "I fell in love with it". La historia es muy conmovedora pero vale la pena leerla siempre y cuando tengas una caja de tissue al lado o te aguantes las ganas de llorar con la historia de esta nina. Ojala no haya un cielo para que asi los muertos no sufran mas viendo lo que hacemos aqui en la tierra los que quedamos.

Average customer rating:

The Lovely Bones
Alice Sebold
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEDB8K

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