"The Lovely Bones" was not what I expected. I had seen the adds for the movie, and really wasn't all that interested. It seemed like just another paranormal thriller to me. I didn't know then that it was based on a book. I don't know why it makes a difference. I'm kind of funny that way. I ran across the book while browsing the new release shelf at my local library. (My home away from home). I didn't even read the back because I thought I knew what it was about and I was in a hurry. Boy was I surprised, but not completely disappointed."The lovely Bones" is not a thriller. It is the story of a young 14 year old girl, Susie Salmon, who was raped then killed by her neighbor. The most interesting thing about this book is that it's told from Susie's point of view. The focus of the book is not really on her killer or even catching her killer, although that is a part of the story. Susie walks us methodically through her very sad horrifying death and her journey from earth to what she describes as "her" heaven. We get to meet a few interesting characters in her heaven including her motherly intake counselor, Franny and her roommate Holly. In her heaven she can everything her hearts desires, except of course the thing she wanted most. To grow up. She soon get's a little bored with her new heaven and begins to wonder how her family and friends was doing back on earth. That was when she realized she could watch them. After that, Susie began to bounce back and forth between memories of her life on earth and narrations of the events she witnessed. She didn't just watch her family. We are introduced to a variety of personalities that inhabited the small town she had lived. She watched them all. Family, friends, strangers, even her Killer. She began to "live" figuratively though her sister who evolved quickly from their tragedy. She stood close by her father as he mourned. She watched her mother pull away. She just watched and ached to be a part of their world. To say look, here I am, I never left.
The first time she made contact with her father it was by accident. He had just broken his collection of ships in a bottle because he they reminded him of Susie. She felt horrible that her father was hurting and wanted so bad to console him. She momentarily projected her image in every piece of shattered glass through out the room. After that something lead her father to look outside and he saw Mr. Harvey building a tent. This part gets a little confusing to me, I think I might have to read it again but somehow, he walks away from that experience knowing that Mr. Harvey is responsible for his daughter's death. After that the man becomes obsessed and her mother get's tired of her husbands obsession, and Lindsey, her sister is just tire if being the poor dead girl's sister. The family as a whole has trouble dealing with Susie's death but they were not the only one affected.
So, in a nutshell the whole book is about Susie watching her friends, family and neighbors and they deal with her death and eventually move on. Over the years everyone changes and evolves. Some for the better, some for the worse, and Susie watches. She makes contact a few times but mostly she just watches and wishes she can be a part of it. I'm trying not to give to much away but I will say this. After about the 5th or 6 chapter, it got a little, I don't know, boring and I almost didn't finish the book. Luckily, I 'm a very curious person who hates to leave questions unanswered, so I pushed through, and It got better. You definitely want to read till the end because there is at least one scene that I didn't see coming that would have drove me crazy if I hadn't read that far and heard about it later.
All in all this book was okay. I liked the characters, and I enjoy the writing style. However the story dragged a bit and I could have used a bit more suspense. On the upside I definitely want to see the movie now. I just want to see how the director translates the book to please the masses. I would love to know what you think, especially from anyone who has both read the book and seen the movie. Also if anyone has any good suggestions for books, I love all genres.
You can find this book here at Amazon.com
hardcover: The Lovely Bones: A Novel
Paperback: The Lovely Bones (Paperback)
Special Edition: Looking Glass: A Special Edition of THE LOVELY BONES
Signed: *Signed* The Lovely Bones
Audio: The Lovely Bones
Ebook: e-mail me at Ladyb31377@yahoo.com
also check out my book store: http://astore.amazon.com/betwee02-20
