Mood: sad
Topic: Book Review
A book by Alice Sebold
Susie Salmon is dead. She is already dead when the book begins; she is narrating her story from Heaven. Her murder, which is portrayed in breezy yet shocking past tense, is related by page 15. The rest of the story revolves around and focuses on the people affected by her abrupt removal from the world. THE LOVELY BONES pulls no punches; we know the murderer, we can see into his mind (via Susie's special powers given to her in the afterlife). Her concern for her family's well being is a major element of the story that follows. Different people handle grief differently, as I've heard before, and Susie's family is starting to unravel under the stress. Using Susie's divine ability to view the world of the living, we see how her father, mother, brother and sister (along with the killer and other characters she did not know) are all changing as the story progresses. The ending is shockingly non-traditional, in that the desired ending doesn't take place.
Sebold's imagery, characterization and plotting are wonderful. LOVELY BONES is a dark, disturbing and sad story. I loved every second of it. Mark my words, we'll see this as a movie one of these days.