THE LOVELY BONES

So, when I mentioned The Lovely Bones on a post a few weeks ago, some of you wanted to know how I felt about it. I decided to wait until I finished it to give a review about it, and let me tell you, if you were a fan of this book stop reading now.

"Sebold's first novel after her memoir, Lucky is a small but far from minor miracle. Sebold has taken a grim, media-exploited subject and fashioned from it a story that is both tragic and full of light and grace. The novel begins swiftly. In the second sentence, Sebold's narrator, Susie Salmon, announces, "I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973." Susie is taking a shortcut through a cornfield when a neighbor lures her to his hideaway. The description of the crime is chilling, but never vulgar, and Sebold maintains this delicate balance between homely and horrid as she depicts the progress of grief for Susie's family and friends. She captures the odd alliances forged and the relationships ruined: the shattered father who buries his sadness trying to gather evidence, the mother who escapes "her ruined heart, in merciful adultery." At the same time, Sebold brings to life an entire suburban community, from the mortician's son to the handsome biker dropout who quietly helps investigate Susie's murder. Much as this novel is about "the lovely bones" growing around Susie's absence, it is also full of suspense and written in lithe, resilient prose that by itself delights. Sebold's most dazzling stroke, among many bold ones, is to narrate the story from Susie's heaven (a place where wishing is having), providing the warmth of a first-person narration and the freedom of an omniscient one. It might be this that gives Sebold's novel its special flavor, for in Susie's every observation and memory of the smell of skunk or the touch of spider webs is the reminder that life is sweet and funny and surprising."
-Review from Amazon.com

I couldn't wait to finish this book! I was out at the pool yesterday and I finally completed it! It took me quite a while to read it and it wasn't really worth it to me. I didn't like the way it was written, I didn't like certain parts, and overall I didn't like the characters. After watching the movie trailer (extremely misleading), I thought the book was going to be about Susie's murder and her family trying to catch the murderer. That part takes up a total of 2 pages in the book. I don't really feel that there was a main point or plot to the story which was a big disappointment. Another thing that turned me off from the book was the author's style. She was descriptive (something that I normally enjoy), but her descriptions were all over the place. One moment she would be describing something from the past, then she would move to Susie's thoughts, then back to the family...it was very hard to keep up with it all. I think this book had potential to be a very quick and interesting read, but I must not have been in the right mind set. Maybe I'll try and read it again (since I now know what to expect) and see if I like it better...

Next book on the list to read: The Last Song. I'm not going to lie, I'm looking forward to this book!