The Lovely Bones
by Alice Sebold
by Alice Sebold
*****
“My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.” Susie is in heaven now, or what she calls the in between for while, because letting go to the people she loves and her murderer is harder than she thinks. Susie isn’t alone though, she has friends in the in between who guide her and help her let go of the past. Just keep moving forward. When Susie was alive she took something’s for granted but now looking down from her in between she wishes she could take it back. On the final days of Susie’s life, an important item given to Susie is a hat her mother knit with a bell on top that jingled every time she moved. An important memoir was of her crush Ray Singh and their first and only kiss. On the day of her murder, Susie walked through the cornfield as a shortcut to get home faster. When she saw Mr. Harvey, she didn’t think of it as anything weird, he was just her neighbor, so she listened to him and followed him. Mr. Harvey had built a little shack under the earth in the middle of the cornfield, as a club house for the neighborhood teenagers; she never expected it to be her burial site. Susie struggled when she was brutally raped and murdered. Susie feels the people around her emotions, but she isn’t suppose to interact with the living only what is in the in between and try to reach her goal of moving forward to heaven. Mr. Salmon never gives up hope for trying to find his daughter, whether she is alive or dead. He believes he knows who murdered her but no one believes him. Lindsey Salmon, Susie’s younger sister by a year, tries to move on. Enough though she appears to be fine, she secretly wishes someone would ask her about it. Susie watches her murderer from her in between state and watches how he covers up his tracks as the weeks and months pass by. Will there be a body of Susie Salmon or will her memory be the only thing left on earth?
“My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.” Susie is in heaven now, or what she calls the in between for while, because letting go to the people she loves and her murderer is harder than she thinks. Susie isn’t alone though, she has friends in the in between who guide her and help her let go of the past. Just keep moving forward. When Susie was alive she took something’s for granted but now looking down from her in between she wishes she could take it back. On the final days of Susie’s life, an important item given to Susie is a hat her mother knit with a bell on top that jingled every time she moved. An important memoir was of her crush Ray Singh and their first and only kiss. On the day of her murder, Susie walked through the cornfield as a shortcut to get home faster. When she saw Mr. Harvey, she didn’t think of it as anything weird, he was just her neighbor, so she listened to him and followed him. Mr. Harvey had built a little shack under the earth in the middle of the cornfield, as a club house for the neighborhood teenagers; she never expected it to be her burial site. Susie struggled when she was brutally raped and murdered. Susie feels the people around her emotions, but she isn’t suppose to interact with the living only what is in the in between and try to reach her goal of moving forward to heaven. Mr. Salmon never gives up hope for trying to find his daughter, whether she is alive or dead. He believes he knows who murdered her but no one believes him. Lindsey Salmon, Susie’s younger sister by a year, tries to move on. Enough though she appears to be fine, she secretly wishes someone would ask her about it. Susie watches her murderer from her in between state and watches how he covers up his tracks as the weeks and months pass by. Will there be a body of Susie Salmon or will her memory be the only thing left on earth?
I enjoyed the book, The Lovely Bones because I love how it told a suspenseful and funny novel about memories, love, joy, heaven and healing. Alice Sebold tells a story that most people in the 70’s didn’t hear about, most teenage girls weren’t reported missing or even murdered. The genre of the book is mystery, fantasy, and paranormal. One of my favorite quotes from the novel was, “Don’t worry, Susie; he has a nice life. He’s trapped in a perfect world.” Maybe heaven or even the in between state is a perfect world that once our time on earth is up, were trapped in a world of never ending possibilities.
2 comments:
I've always wanted to read this book. It's been on my list for a long time
It is unforgettable! The movie wasn't as good, but the book was great.
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