The Lovely Bones in The Complete Idiots Guide to the Ultimate Reading List

Aug 26, 2010 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ultimate-reading-list, religion, crime, fantasy, literary-fiction, mystery, contemporary, novels, fiction, romance

Start to the first chapter: My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973. Susie has--and uses--the ultimate omniscient view as she tells us of both the afterlife and of watching her family and her murderer as they go on living without her.

Judging from reviews and my friends, many either love or hate this book. Being perverse I merely liked it. Some decry the writing as awful. One reviewer on GoodReads pointed out a doozy of a simile Start to the first chapter: My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973. Susie has--and uses--the ultimate omniscient view as she tells us of both the afterlife and of watching her family and her murderer as they go on living without her.

Judging from reviews and my friends, many either love or hate this book. Being perverse I merely liked it. Some decry the writing as awful. One reviewer on GoodReads pointed out a doozy of a simile: Her pupils dilated, pulsing in and out like small, ferocious olives. I'd agree that line should not exist and the editor should be slapped for letting it go to print. I don't think it's typical of the writing though. Sebold goes to bat with simile and metaphor a lot, and some swings she misses, but mostly she connects, and even some of her more eccentric imagery works better in context than when quoted in isolation--and they never jarred me enough to stop the flow of the story. The writing I think is decent--not awful, even if not remarkable, other than for its unusual perspective. I don't agree the novel is plotless, or (without getting into spoilers) neither do I agree with the way some reviewers characterize the ending. Far worse-written books are wildly popular (Meyer's Twilight, Brown's Da Vinci Code) or incredibly celebrated by the literati. (Don Delillo, I'm looking at you.)

The author is good at giving ordinary little details that capture the time and place set (Suburban Pennsylvania in the 70s) and a family going through the worst of times: such as a father trying to explain to his four year old son why his big sister is never coming home through the game of Monopoly. I thought the author had some insightful things to convey about grief and the process of integrating the memory of those we lose without losing ourselves, and I'm guessing that's what people who love this book respond to and recognize from their own experiences.

The story never came close to moving me to tears, no. But the story made me care enough about its characters to keep me reading; I wanted to know what happened to Susie's family and whether or not her killer would be caught. And at the end if I don't consider the book a keeper, neither am I sorry I read it. ...more

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Dec 17, 2009 Tara rated it liked it · review of another edition

I read this book because I saw the preview for the movie and it gave me goosebumps. I liked it, but it wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be. I was disappointed with the ending. ...more

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