The Lovely Bones: a Novel Book Review

The second book we discussed, at our second book club meeting, was The Lovely Bones: a Novel, by Alice Sebold.

I absolutely loved this book. And it created such wonderful discussion at our meeting!

Like I mentioned previously, this book is about a little girl who is murdered. She tells her story, looking down from heaven; of her murder, of her life after death, and of her family and how they cope. It's a beautifully emotional tale.

Some of the book club members did not like this book. They thought that the characters were two-dimensional, and that some of the concepts were just too far fetched. Which, some of them were, I agree (I just didn't mind - I let myself go there, because I loved the emotions and the characters so much, that although my logic rejected these concepts, my emotions said, "shut up logic," and put that to rest!).

I particularily loved Sebold's description/concept of life after death. It reminded me of the movie What Dreams May Come.

Basically, Susie (the murdered girl) looks down on the real world from her version of heaven. In her heaven are all the things that comfort her, and she is free to watch what her family is doing without her. Other people come in and out of her heaven as they please. Heaven is what you want it to be. Through her descriptions, the reader learns about the struggles her Mother, Father, Grandmother, brother and sister go through after her murder. We also learn of Suzie's own struggles to let go of her family and loved ones.

I highly recommend this book. Even though it may not be perfect (as some of the book club members pointed out) in it's narrative, it was still a beautiful book, and one of the best I've come across in awhile!