The Lovely Bones

While unique in concept, there are so many things that bothered me about this book, I hardly know where to start.

First and foremost, while Sebold achieved great commercial success with this freshman novel, it still reads as a freshman novel. The schtick is clearly the only part of the book thought through and exists to cover the lack of other literary elements.

The first person, omnipresent narrative is clunky and not well explained (if the narrator knows what people are thinking show her figuring out that she knows!) and leads to a very much told, rather than shown, storyline.

The historical setting is both unnecessary and goes unmentioned for several hundred pages, so when reminded 200 pages in that the date is 1977, it is very confusing.

There are a plethora of characters, all of whom seem minor, since not enough time is spent on any for them to be more of a cliche.

The pacing is deplorable – several years will pass over the course of two pages and then 50 pages will be spent on a single day or two, with the years that pass without mention covering such important events as everyone coming to believe the main character's father on the identity of the killer, while the time that we focus on covers the sexual explorations of the main character's little sister. The payload of the book, as it were, comes in the last 20 pages, with no harbinger and no evidence that this was the intended ending.

The intended audience is also unclear. The writing style is clearly too juvenile for a larger adult/older teen audience, and the literary foibles are difficult to overlook, even for the audience of adults/older teens who read young adult fiction. At the same time, the focus on the book being rape and murder and several explicit sexual passages make this book at best uncomfortable reading for young teens.

I began reading this after a recommendation from two people that I trust very much and was not disappointed. The storytelling, including the perspective of the narrator, was creative and engaging. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick, enjoyable read.

That being said, I would also recommend this to the literary types looking to pick up on a number of language tricks and other literary devices (e.g. metaphor, symbolism, etc.). In this context, I felt there were some minor glitches. The narrator is the 14-year-old Susie. At times, the language, thoughts, reflections, and presentation is akin to what a 14-year-old would say or how one would act. At other times, we're reading what a very well read adult would say, yet we are told that aging does not having in Heaven. I would have liked to see some consistency there.

The book was well-written, but it wasn't until the latest 10 or 15 pages that I felt I came on any quotable material - nothing super memorable about the language is all I'm saying.

I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more of Sebold's stuff. My “recommendors” have put her other books on my radar!

This was a pretty intrigueing book, but it was very disturbing. There is an ‘adult scene' that is a little too graphic for me. The movie leaves out so much, and the movie gave me nightmares whereas the book did not.
This is about a little girl who is raped and murdered by a neighbor. It's about the struggle of her family while she watches from the place between heaven and earth.
I would recommend it to people who like books about murder and disturbing stuff. Just kidding it has some good aspects. I'm detrmined that when and if I have children I will teach them about ‘stranger danger' and we will have a secret password for people who are supposed to pick them up even if they know them. I'm also planning to disucss these saftey issues with my patient's parents.

I know many people didn't enjoy this book because of something that happens late in the story. I don't understand why Alice Sebold wrote it this way, but she did, and it wasn't enough to ruin the book for me.

In fact, there was so much in this book I did like. Although it was a very sad event that sent Susie to heaven, I enjoyed hearing her voice as she lived in her heaven, watching life go on with her friends and family, and even her killer. Don't we all wish we could do something like that; watching someone else's life as a fly on the wall.

I'm looking forward to seeing how they do the book justice in movie form.

I hated this book. I had to read it for English class and I hated every part of it. All of it made me want to curl into a ball and wretch.
The depiction of heaven sounds like my absolute worst nightmare - hell, if you will.
The only sympathetic character in all this was the mother because I could relate to her desire to escape the whole situation that is this book.
I imagine there will be plenty of people who like this book but the best I can say for it is that even years later it still has he capacity to stir me to incredible ire.

I have never finished this book. I have attempted to read this book so many times since it was turned into a movie. I always end at the last few chapters due to me being personally bored. I never understood the hype around the book or the movie, but that is just my opinion. Take it with a grain of salt. If you like the book or want to read it. Then do so. Do not let my opinion stop you from reading this book or any book.

Perfect for a book club discussion. Ghosts, crime, teenage angst, relationship issues... Really enjoyed the narrator and the other family members, especially the dad and sister.

I loved this book. Very sad, but I couldn't put it down. I had intended reading Alice Sebold's next book but never got around to it.

The Lovely Bones is at once both tragically hard to read, and riveting in its ability to draw you in and keep you reading till the end.

I read this for a bookclub, and frankly the discussions that came from it were better than the book itself. This book did raise a tantalizing question I had never thought to ask: what does heaven smell like?

Good, but sad read.

Upsetting story. Know that going in.