The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, is by far the best book I have ever had the pleasure reading in recent memory.
I wandered across it totally by accident reading Nathan Bransford's ( he's a literary agent ) blog. This book is quite amazing. It is a ghost story, but it's not spooky. It's a murder mystery, but you already know who did it. It's a love story. It's all those things and much, much more.
The Lovely Bones is a book about a young girl, Suzie Salmon ( like the fish ) who is raped and murdered on her way home one night. Her body is never found. Her murderer, a man who lives down the street from her, is also never caught. But that's really not the story. This is a story about dealing with grief, about the impact of the young girl's murder on her family and friends.
This book is unique as it is told from Suzie's perspective. She watches people. Her friends, her parents, her sister and brother. She watches as the devastating news is presented to her parents that the police cannot find her body. She's there when her dad tries to explain to her brother that Suzie will never come back home again. She's present to share the joy when her sister announces that she will soon be married.
Evidently this book was quite a hit. It remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year. But the book was not accepted without criticism. When Suzie dies she goes to what she calls, "her heaven." However, there's no reference to angels, God or Jesus. Evidently there were quite a few people that didn't really appreciate this. Personally, I'm glad there's no reference to religion. I think that it presents heaven in such a light that anyone, regardless of their religion, will be able to enjoy the story.
It also appears that this novel is going to come out on film. Evidently it is currently in production and slated for release in 2008. I'm not entirely sold on the cast with the exception of Susan Sarandon as her grandmother and Rachel Weisz as her mom. One last note . . . at serious risk of losing my man-card . . . my eyes glistened over several times while reading this story. Have a box of kleenex handy.
I wandered across it totally by accident reading Nathan Bransford's ( he's a literary agent ) blog. This book is quite amazing. It is a ghost story, but it's not spooky. It's a murder mystery, but you already know who did it. It's a love story. It's all those things and much, much more.
The Lovely Bones is a book about a young girl, Suzie Salmon ( like the fish ) who is raped and murdered on her way home one night. Her body is never found. Her murderer, a man who lives down the street from her, is also never caught. But that's really not the story. This is a story about dealing with grief, about the impact of the young girl's murder on her family and friends.
This book is unique as it is told from Suzie's perspective. She watches people. Her friends, her parents, her sister and brother. She watches as the devastating news is presented to her parents that the police cannot find her body. She's there when her dad tries to explain to her brother that Suzie will never come back home again. She's present to share the joy when her sister announces that she will soon be married.
Evidently this book was quite a hit. It remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year. But the book was not accepted without criticism. When Suzie dies she goes to what she calls, "her heaven." However, there's no reference to angels, God or Jesus. Evidently there were quite a few people that didn't really appreciate this. Personally, I'm glad there's no reference to religion. I think that it presents heaven in such a light that anyone, regardless of their religion, will be able to enjoy the story.
It also appears that this novel is going to come out on film. Evidently it is currently in production and slated for release in 2008. I'm not entirely sold on the cast with the exception of Susan Sarandon as her grandmother and Rachel Weisz as her mom. One last note . . . at serious risk of losing my man-card . . . my eyes glistened over several times while reading this story. Have a box of kleenex handy.
I read this book several years ago, and agree with you - it is an excellent story and you definately have to have a box or two of kleenex on hand..... I didn't know it was going to be a movie, thanks for making us all aware....I'll be looking forward to seeing it.