I think that when you are reading a book there are two questions you need to ask: a) Was it good; and b) did you enjoy it.
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The Lovely Bones is a very good book. It has a sympathetic approach to it's subject and is intelligent in its construct and I had heard people rave about how brilliant it was. However, throughout the majority of the book I couldn't stop myself from thinking that actually, I'm not really enjoying reading this however much I wanted to enjoy it. Only in the last chapter did I begin to fully understand and like where the story took me.
.
But maybe this is what Sebold had intended all along due to the subject of the book? The story is told by 14 year-old Susie who one night on her way home is raped and murdered by a man in her neighbourhood. The rest of the book details how she sees her family's attempt to come to terms with her senseless death as she looks down on them from Heaven; as they try and make sense of it, and most notably at the end, how their lives have been irrevocably changed and linked to one another by it. Thinking back, maybe the reason I didn't enjoy the majority of the book was because of the emotional changes that happen to the characters as they try to make sense of Susie's death - this in itself would be a hard time for anyone unlucky enough to have to experience it which maybe Sebold, in her cleverness has managed to convey to her readers perfectly.
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As Susie's family and friends try to get on with their lives you sense there is a heavy veil of longing over the them - a sense that they will each of them have to find closure in their own way especially since Susie's body or her killer are never found. This is where the book for me at least, starts to come together at the end when the family realise that their longing and hanging on can not continue and that they need to get on with their lives whilst remembering Susie in their own way. Only in this way can Susie herself let go and move into the next part of her Heaven. Sebold explains to us the comforting thought of how the dead never actually leave us even once their loss has been accepted by those they love. They are always with us and their legacies however small will remain forever which she explains in a very sympathetic manner.
.
There is no doubt that this in an elegant book which taps into the heart of love, loss and grief and reluctant acceptance. It is honest in its conclusion highlighted by the fact that Susie's killer is never found and eventually dies an unremarkable and unnoticed death himself. Sebold is a very clever writer who does expect you to read between the lines on occasion. All in all a very good book but as to whether it was enjoyable to read, you'll have to make up your own mind on that one.
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I've released this book into the wild via http://www.bookcrossing.com/ and its BCID is 196-5133324 - enjoy!
.
The Lovely Bones is a very good book. It has a sympathetic approach to it's subject and is intelligent in its construct and I had heard people rave about how brilliant it was. However, throughout the majority of the book I couldn't stop myself from thinking that actually, I'm not really enjoying reading this however much I wanted to enjoy it. Only in the last chapter did I begin to fully understand and like where the story took me.
.
But maybe this is what Sebold had intended all along due to the subject of the book? The story is told by 14 year-old Susie who one night on her way home is raped and murdered by a man in her neighbourhood. The rest of the book details how she sees her family's attempt to come to terms with her senseless death as she looks down on them from Heaven; as they try and make sense of it, and most notably at the end, how their lives have been irrevocably changed and linked to one another by it. Thinking back, maybe the reason I didn't enjoy the majority of the book was because of the emotional changes that happen to the characters as they try to make sense of Susie's death - this in itself would be a hard time for anyone unlucky enough to have to experience it which maybe Sebold, in her cleverness has managed to convey to her readers perfectly.
.
As Susie's family and friends try to get on with their lives you sense there is a heavy veil of longing over the them - a sense that they will each of them have to find closure in their own way especially since Susie's body or her killer are never found. This is where the book for me at least, starts to come together at the end when the family realise that their longing and hanging on can not continue and that they need to get on with their lives whilst remembering Susie in their own way. Only in this way can Susie herself let go and move into the next part of her Heaven. Sebold explains to us the comforting thought of how the dead never actually leave us even once their loss has been accepted by those they love. They are always with us and their legacies however small will remain forever which she explains in a very sympathetic manner.
.
There is no doubt that this in an elegant book which taps into the heart of love, loss and grief and reluctant acceptance. It is honest in its conclusion highlighted by the fact that Susie's killer is never found and eventually dies an unremarkable and unnoticed death himself. Sebold is a very clever writer who does expect you to read between the lines on occasion. All in all a very good book but as to whether it was enjoyable to read, you'll have to make up your own mind on that one.
.
I've released this book into the wild via http://www.bookcrossing.com/ and its BCID is 196-5133324 - enjoy!
