The Lovely BonesBy Alice Sebold
'These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence : the connections-sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost, but often magnificent- that happened after I was gone'.
This book is set in the suburbs of America in the 1970's , and is a thought-provoking story, about the death of a young teenager, Susie Salmon. However the interesting thing about this story, is that Susie's death is just a small part at the beginning; it's mainly about the aftermath of her murder, and how her family, friends, neighbours and her killer are dealing with her absence.
The book opens with this short epilogue: '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. My mother liked his border flowers, and my father talked to him once about fertilizer.'
When we are introduced to Susie's character, she comes across as a lively, chatty and creative teenager; a young person who is keen to explore and live life to the full. Her story starts when her life ends, on December 6, on her way home from school. It was late and getting dark, as her parents and two younger siblings were beginning to wonder where she was. They had no idea that she had been taken underground and killed in the saddest way by a strange and peculiar man, yet more importantly, a chary neighbour of theirs - Mr Harvey.
Susie narrates the story, and informs the readers of her life before her death, and her family's life after her death. She is now in 'the inbetween', a place between Heaven and Earth. It seems like a paradise, however it is still full of her loneliness and anger, as she watches her family grow up, especially her sister Lindsay, as she experiences things that she herself will never be able to experience. It provokes sympathy from the audience towards Susie, as she expresses the sad truth that she is literally frozen as a person, unable to move forward or grow old.
Although she watches her family intently, and misses them dearly, she fails to understand that they can never fully move on until she fully moves on. For me, the most poignant part of the story, was when Susie finally 'leaves' her family, and goes on into Heaven. Here she meets those whom she had loved and lost years before, aswell as those poor young girls who had lost their lives under the hand of the phsycotic Mr Harvey. Here she is finally free.
I enjoyed reading this book, as it was something different to the genres that I usually read. It was a poignant and moving read, and I would recommend it to those looking for an emotionally-gripping and heart-rending story. Also, if anyone has seen the filmic version of this story, I would thoroughly recommend this book, as it gives you a much deeper understanding of the emotional journey that the characters go through whilst dealing with stress and grief , however if you are quite a sensetive reader, youmight not enjoy this book.
Star rating: 4/5 stars
Susie narrates the story, and informs the readers of her life before her death, and her family's life after her death. She is now in 'the inbetween', a place between Heaven and Earth. It seems like a paradise, however it is still full of her loneliness and anger, as she watches her family grow up, especially her sister Lindsay, as she experiences things that she herself will never be able to experience. It provokes sympathy from the audience towards Susie, as she expresses the sad truth that she is literally frozen as a person, unable to move forward or grow old.
Although she watches her family intently, and misses them dearly, she fails to understand that they can never fully move on until she fully moves on. For me, the most poignant part of the story, was when Susie finally 'leaves' her family, and goes on into Heaven. Here she meets those whom she had loved and lost years before, aswell as those poor young girls who had lost their lives under the hand of the phsycotic Mr Harvey. Here she is finally free.
I enjoyed reading this book, as it was something different to the genres that I usually read. It was a poignant and moving read, and I would recommend it to those looking for an emotionally-gripping and heart-rending story. Also, if anyone has seen the filmic version of this story, I would thoroughly recommend this book, as it gives you a much deeper understanding of the emotional journey that the characters go through whilst dealing with stress and grief , however if you are quite a sensetive reader, youmight not enjoy this book.
Star rating: 4/5 stars