Had this been left as a short story or a novella, it would have gotten a much better rating. I absolutely loved the first 80 pages or so. Affecting, comedic, disturbing, creepy, heartwarming, etc etc. Unfortunately, some the of the characters ended up bugging me too much, and the story went from poignant to afflicting, from comedic to moronic, from heartwarming to dull. The edgy wise-cracking, and apparently omniscient, grandma was a stupid idea for this story. We already have a dead girl up in “heaven” telling the reader what's going on in everyone's mind. The concept of the world-weary granny picking up on nuances that went unexplained to the reader was annoying and messed up the flow for me. That the mom of the dead girl and the emotionally reserved tough guy detective developed a budding romance...C'MON! F'real?! That idea would've best been reserved for an episode of ER or some other crap. The rift that developed between the mother and father could've been formulated much more subtly. Throwing an affair (and a fuck at the mall??) in there was just plain lazy. I quit reading the book shortly after the braniac turned spy-kid younger sister broke into the murderer's basement. And how do we know who the murderer is? Well, the dead girl tells us. That makes sense. But Dad knows who the murderer is, too, because he built a tent with the guy in his backyard...and he just knows...the wind blew in the right direction or some stupid thing. And grandma knows because Dad told her...and because Dad helped the murderer build a tent in the murderer's backyard, and the wind blew just so...well! It MUST be true! And the braniac spy-kid younger sister knows who the murderer is because both Dad and Grandma told her. My interest in this book totally vanished. Dang, too bad, cuz this thing started out so so good. Better luck next time, Alice. I like your writing style, at least.

Alice Sebold
The Lovely Bones
New York: Little Brown & Company, 2002
329 pp. 21.95
0-316-66634-3


tSusie Salmon, a young girl murdered at fourteen, sits in her heaven as she watches her family grieve, suffer and fall apart without her. Susie follows the lives of her family and friends as they struggle to cope with the aftermath of her death. In watching her family on Earth, Susie’s journey to understanding the life she was robbed of becomes the central idea in the extraordinary novel “The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold. “The Lovely Bones” evokes joy and sorrow in its reader, making the whole reading experience worthwhile.
tAlice Sebold delivers originality in her novel by creating a heart-warming story told from the fresh point of view of a young girl in heaven. The novel begins with the protagonist, Susie Salmon, already in heaven. Most novels do not start by introducing a central character that is deceased before the story unfolds, but “The Lovely Bones” begins with the main character saying, “My name was Susie Salmon […] I was fourteen when I was murdered […]” (Sebold 1). The most interesting aspect of the novel is the point of view from which the story is told. The point of view also plays a significant role in the novel. Even though the main character, Susie, is dead, she still manages to evolve throughout the novel, therefore being dynamic. As Susie watches her family from heaven, she matures with them and experiences life by observing. The idea that life continues after death is the central theme of the novel. After the protagonist dies, she manages to stay in touch with her family by appearing at certain moments, almost like a ghost. Susie lets her family and friends know that the dead are here “All the time. You can talk to us and think about us” (Sebold 309). A connection between the living and the dead is established throughout the novel, which ties into the central theme. Eventually, through this connection, Susie and her family gain a better understanding of the love, life, and unfortunate circumstances that often tie people together in the world.
tApart from the viewpoint, Sebold’s writing style adds to the fresh appeal of the novel by contributing vivid descriptions of the setting and characters. In the novel, heaven is said to be different for each character. Susie and other deceased people “Had been given, in our heavens, our simplest dreams. There were no teachers in the school. Our textbooks were Seventeen and Glamour and Vogue” (Sebold 18). Sebold depicts heaven as a young child would depict a colorful candy store. Because Susie is only fourteen when she dies, the novel uses language and ideas that most teenagers would use. However, as the novel progresses, Susie’s thoughts and opinions seem to mature, almost like those of her family and friends on Earth. Just as she would have on Earth, Susie learns that life must continue, even when it seems as if it is the end of the world.
t“The Lovely Bones” offers a new outlook on life, death and the journey in between. It sheds new light on the importance of family and the magnitude of love by focusing on a road to recovery after tragedy occurs. The novel leaves the reader feeling as if they have gained insight, but it also leaves the reader feeling empty once there are no more pages left to turn. Alice Sebold demonstrates originality by seamlessly connecting the living and the dead in her rightfully acclaimed novel. “The Lovely Bones” gives reason to believe that life does not have to end when death takes hold.

یکی دو فصل اول کتاب، با یه شروع طوفانی، نوید کتابی فوق‌العاده رو می‌داد ولی کمتر کتابی می‌تونست آدم رو تا این حد با هر فصل ناامید و ناامیدتر کنه!
داستان در مورد دختریه که بهش تجاوز می‌شه و به قتل می‌رسه و بعد از بهشت خودش، نظاره‌گر زندگی روتین خانواده‌شه.
مهم‌ترین ایرادهای کتاب از دید من شخصیت‌پردازی متوسط، کش دادن خیلی زیاد، نداشتن حرف خاصی برای گفتن و پایان‌بندی مسخره بود.
شروعی قوی و ادامه‌ای کسالت‌بار، نظرم در مورد این کتاب به طور خلاصه ست!