Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #376310 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04
• Format: Large Print
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 511 pages

Customer Reviews

the lovely bones
You don't have to believe in heaven to enjoy this excellent book, but you do have to believe in the premise that good writing ( and I include The Lovely Bones in this category ) is more than the sum of its parts.

From the opening lines, you know that this book presents a unique perspective. I am an atheist, but confronted by the statement "My name was Salmon, like the fish, first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973. My murderer was a man from our neighbourhood"
I was hooked, and willingly suspending all disbelief. I immediately stepped over the threshold into seeing the world from Susie Salmon's Heaven. Yes this book is occasionally sentimental, but I was carried through those few moments by the engaging literary style and the writer's empathy for her characters. The majority of the book is profoundly moving and the moments when it slips are miniscule by comparison with the times when it soars.

If you want a good read that will move you to tears and pull you along at the rapid speed of a thriller; if you want a well crafted portrait of a grieving family, coming to terms with loss and getting on with their individual lives; if you want a book that is essentially life affirming, then you must read The Lovely Bones.
So don't believe the bad reviews

Lovely Bones - Lovely and Life Affirming!
I choose this book without having read any reviews at all. I am so pleased that my speculative choice resulted in one of the most satisfying, moving, life-affirming reads of my life.

Death, and particularly death of children, is a taboo subject, yet Alice Sebold allows the reader to face the finality of a young girl's murder with honesty. I was hooked from the opening line and read and re-read this book, because it resonated with me so deeply. All the characters affected by Susie Salmon's murder are realistic, and their grief is palpable and affecting.

Yes, this is a book that will move most to tears but my tears felt flushed with a sense of the redemption offered by the final chapters of the book. Cry heartily and know that death is final but only for those who sadly pass away. Those left behind can rebuild their lives and that's a positive message for us all. Thank you, Alice.

The Lovely Book
This is one of the most heart wrenching books I've come across in a very long time. I know some readers would argue that the somewhat far-fetched idea of having a main character narrating from Heaven is not a good one, yet I personally found the concept new and refreshing. I hasten to add I am an atheist. The Lovely Bones is the gritty portrayal of grief and the struggle of a family coping with loss, and it is the fact that Susie Salmon is both the murdered party AND the narrator which gives the novel its original flavour. Beware of this novel if you are afraid of a good cry - I was reading it on the bus on my way to work with a large tear wobbling on the end of my nose. Despite the sentimentalities of the story, and the perhaps unbelievable setting and ending, the book still fails to disappoint and it is beautifully written. The key to enjoying this is to read with an open mind. What makes The Lovely Bones work is that it deals with a very prickly and disturbing subject matter in a sensitive way. My only tiny complaint is that if I had been Susie, I would have been a bit more angry with the man who took my life. Like all novels, this cannot please all its readers, but whether you enjoy this book or not the haunting story will stay with you for a long time.