The Lovely Bones

Several years have passed since the publication of Alice Sebold's most famous novel, but back when it was released, The Lovely Bones hit the literary world in a perhaps surprising way. Bluntly dealing with the effects of a young girl's rape and murder and her family's reactions, Alice Sebold uses interesting writing techniques to delve into different viewpoints and point out the enormous impact of such a horrifying family disaster.

In case you haven't read this book yet, it is easy to enter it with wrong expectations. Is it a gruesome, horrifying and tear-jerking account of one family's devastating fate? At some points yes, but overall it is written with a rather hopeful undertone, emphasizing the author's intention to balance out the different elements of the story. Early on in the novel, the main character Susie Salmon is raped and killed on her way home from school, with her soul ascending to heaven. Alice Sebold creates a comforting and soothing image of the heaven Susie's soul rests in to compensate the horrible time Susie's family has to go through in the wake of her death. The book has been confronted with very mixed opinions; after all, even on Goodreads you will find about as many 5-star ratings as you can find 1-star ratings.

Susie's voice accompanies the reader throughout the entirety of the novel, yet she often withdraws into the position of an observer; Sebold presents us with the family's reactions and the events surrounding the search for Susie's real murderer, but rarely gives Susie a chance to comment on what she is capable of seeing from her position in heaven. Thus it may be difficult to relate with any of the characters, even though the author still succeeds in painting a convincing picture of a family's mourning and their longing to find peace again which can only be achieved by the murderer's arrest and punishment. In addition, the narrative is difficult to get into since Susie seems to be capable of reading the minds of her family with no explanation given; apparently Alice Sebold expected us to accept and embrace Susie's ability, but it left me disturbed because Susie kept switching between being an observer and a mind reader.


Susie's heaven in the 2009 movie adaption.

If you have watched the movie, then you should give another thought to reading the book since it approaches the story in a more insightful and moving way than the movie succeeded to do. On the other hand, if you only know the book, you will not regret not watching the movie since it isn't an adaption you could necessarily call 'successful' (or you may watch the trailer which spoils everything that happens in the movie).

Even apart from all the criticism this novel certainly deserved, it can still be recommended for quite a lot of strengths: in the writing of her book, Alice Sebold knew how to convincingly portray a grieving family; she knew how to create a heaven without losing herself in religious details and possibly contradicting descriptions which can easily occur with such a difficult topic. As many readers also pointed out, the first 20% of the novel were mesmerizing and intriguingly written, and during the rest of the book it constantly loses its appeal, then picks it up again only to lose it again after another couple of pages. You may love it or hate it, every reader might find a different approach to either embrace the beautiful aspects of the novel (which were definitely present), or to criticize the rather offsetting moments. (To give an example, right before the ending a scene occured which I had to completely block out of my memory because it made me want to throw my book against the wall in frustration.)

One of the book's greatest qualities may be that it somehow manages to stay with you. However, even if the premise interests you there is no guarantee you will love the book, just as you may like it even though the premise sounds dull to you. Personally, I liked the novel (definitely more than the movie), but neither did it convince nor annoy me. If you haven't yet, you may want to wait with reading the book until you really feel in the proper mood for it.

I was really disappointed with this book. The first half was easy enough to read and then unfortunately I started getting bored particularly when Sebold started rehashing the same old lines which was just frustrating after a while. However, if that was the only problem I had I wouldn't be complaining.

There were a bunch of unfeasible "random" coincidences such as Samuel and Lindsey pulling off the road in the rain, running to the abandoned shack then running all the way home only to ... find out at the conclusion that Ruth's dad owns the house. What about Hal, what was the point of Hal's character? To be Grandma's sidekick? I felt like there was no point to these side-line stories and superfluous characters.

I also would've liked to have seen some insight into the mother leaving and completely abandoning her family. So okay, I'm not the author and the author chose to not take that route but I think if you're going to include something as dramatic as that in the novel perhaps touch on it a little more. For me, it would've made it a juicier read. I didn't want know that she was working in a wine factory, I wanted to know what was going on in her head! I mean, she wandered back into the final pages, had a cup of tea with another random character, her son runs past because he has new drumset ... yikes.

I'm not a believer in heaven but am interested in other's perceptions of it. I found Sebold's ideas disappointing. School buildings? A few people dressed up as snowflakes at Christmas time? A very random connection with her Grandfather? To me, this novel felt like a good first draft and just really felt like it needed a good edit, or a heavy rewrite.

The ending was particularly irritating; falling to earth into a body to have sex with some guy who we didn't really care about ... for no reason? I was pretty confused because she'd watched her murderer stalk her sister hours (minutes?) beforehand and didn't use the opportunity on earth to confront her murderer, which is something I, and I presume many people, would've done. But okay, let's just accept that she's not that kind of person, the ending bothered me because the first half really did have promise but then Sebold threw me into an unexpected (and unwelcome) supernatural spin.

Great idea. Poor execution. Maybe that's what everyone got so carried away with. The idea was grand - so grand that they were blinded by the weakness of the actual plot. Further, I guess people find comfort in the idea of heaven. The fact that we mean so much to people that we'll continue having such a huge impact on them once we're gone, that we get to watch them from above after we're dead (voyeuristic much?).

All in all, if people love this book and it affects them, changes their life, their outlook, makes them feel warm and fuzzy, makes them tearful or full of rapture - that's a good thing. I'm just disappointed that such a top seller couldn't do that for me.

3.5⭐

The Lovely Bones is a story told by fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon who was killed while on her way home. She walks through a cornfield on a freezing December of 1973 when her neighbor Mr. Harvey convinced her to check out the underground room he has built. Readers get a glimpse of Susie's heaven and follow her while she watches her family and friends.

I felt it was very interesting to start with the death of the MC. I was hooked at the beginning of the book. It's my mistake to think this is a thriller which it is not, maybe more of a drama? Even though we witness what Susie's family goes through from the moment she was missing to realizing that she wouldn't return to finding her killer, I was not emotionally connected to the story or characters as I had hoped. In no way was this a bad book, but I wish I loved it more. I'm looking forward to watching the movie this weekend.

The audiobook read by the author should be avoided if possible. Alice Sebold literally just reads it to you.

After hearing all the hype about this book, I couldn't wait to read it and discover how amazing it is for myself. I was greatly disappointed.

How has this book become such a worldwide success? It's slow, boring and there is no real connection with any of the characters. I found myself disliking everyone in the book.
The overall idea could have been very good, even though it isn't exactly original, but I just thought the author didn't make the most of this great idea that she had. The best part of the book, without meaning to sound gruesome and morbid, was the death scene at the beginning. I admit that it was creepy and well told, I read that and geared myself up for a good book. But for me, it was as if the story ended there and the rest was a load of slow-moving waffle. The great idea had come along, happened for a while, and then died a painful death with the protagonist. The characters weren't interesting enough to hold up the rest of the story, I was just relieved when I finally got to the end. It was a painfully boring book... and I've lost count of the times people have told me how much they love it - why? Did I miss something? I honestly feel like I've read a completely different book from everyone else... I do not understand it's popularity at all.

"These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence: the connections – sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at a great cost, but often magnificent – that happened after I was gone."

I hardly ever read books when they are first released. I always seem to be a few years behind, for whatever reason. Sometimes this works to my advantage, as it allows me to avoid a degree of hype that surrounds certain books. I do remember seeing the blue cover of The Lovely Bones on shelves in every bookstore when it was released a few years ago and seeing mentions on best-sellers lists. But I didn’t take much interest in it because, sometimes, when a book/movie/album gets so many rave reviews, I’ll expect it to blow me through the roof and will end up disappointed when it’s only mildly entertaining or moving (see: The Time Traveler’s Wife).

I prefer to go in with low expectations and let myself be surprised with greatness. Not that I’m a bitter person or anything. Not at all. Ok, I’m working on it.

Anyway, I was visiting my tiny local library for the first time, searching for a book to check out, when I saw the blue spine peaking out from the shelf. Since I had already read the few classics they had in stock, and don’t really go for Harlequin romance, I took Alice Sebold home with me. Much to my surprise, I finished the book in a day’s time.

It wasn’t so much Sebold’s writing style, which is good but not spectacular, or even the tinges of mystery in the plot that captivated me. It was the raw human emotion that she so perfectly conveyed through each character. The characters felt real—both their positive qualities and their shortcomings. The pain, confusion, regret, and maybe even hope that they each felt in their own ways really impacted me.

The Lovely Bones is the story of a young girl who is raped and murdered in her neighborhood. She speaks to the reader from her version of heaven (it can be different for each person), and looks over her family as they unravel after the tragic event. Perhaps it had something to do with my already delicate state (I was home sick while reading) but the book managed to make me cry. More than once. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that, and the book snob in me would prefer to believe I am “above” sentimental plot devices, but to be honest—the book is just really sad.

I also liked the subtle message of hope that carries through the novel, without reading like a “Chicken Soup” book. The ending isn’t the overly hokey “I will survive” type, and still has a shade of melancholy, but seems to say that even through utter grief and personal devastation, life goes on.

My feelings about The Lovely Bones are mixed. While I was reading it, I found it compelling and remarkably emotional; however, upon completion, I felt somewhat disappointed. It seemed that the wrap-up was too pat in some areas, and totally missing in others. Additionally, there were certain areas that were touched on, when I would have enjoyed more details. Overall, the storyline was original and intriguing. A good read, provided you don't mind crying sporadically throughout the entire book....until the end.

I remember reading this book and thinking, how great of a film it would be and then they made a movie! Both book and movie are wonderful and the movie did a fantastic job of sticking to Sebold's plot. This book also made me want to cling a little tighter to my daughters as we all fear for our children missing and or being sexually assaulted. Would recommend and keep tissues handy :)

Out of my entire reading list for 2022, more people commented about The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold than all of the other books combined!

The Lovely Bones begins with the tragic death of a fourteen-year-old girl, Susie Salmon (like the fish). From there, we follow Susie’s family and friends as well as Susie’s murderer.

The Lovely Bones starts off very strong, and the impulse to read more is almost overwhelming. However, the book is downhill from there.

Writing a book that begins with a death is very unusual. Most authors usually begin in the middle. Unfortunately, the death is the most interesting part of the book, so the rest of the book simply dragged. In my opinion, the plot was interesting, but the execution lacked.

First, The Lovely Bones would have been more compelling as a short story. Another book that begins with a death is The Death of Ivan Ilych, and it is 86 pages. The Lovely Bones is 328 pages (in my copy). The author glosses over a number of years in a single chapter, highlighting a few key events. However, I didn’t feel invested with this vague style of writing (telling rather than showing).

Second, if I was the editor of this book, I would have given each character their own chapter. There were a great number of characters in this book, and the author should have gone deep instead of wide. I’m still not even sure who Hal is. And I was confused whose boyfriend was Lindsey’s and whose was Susie’s. Also, whatever happened to Len?

Third, the ending is horrible, entirely forgettable, and almost laughable.

Overall, The Lovely Bones had a strong beginning, but the storytelling should have been much stronger.

A big thank you to everyone who participated in The Lovely Bones Readalong!

2025 Reading Schedule
JantA Town Like Alice
FebtBirdsong
MartCaptain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
AprtWar and Peace
MaytThe Woman in White
JuntAtonement
JultThe Shadow of the Wind
AugtJude the Obscure
SeptUlysses
OcttVanity Fair
NovtA Fine Balance
DectGerminal

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