The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

Given the glut of reviews on ‘The Lovely Bones’, it seems that this is a very popular novel. Indeed, this book is one of the biggest selling books of the past twenty years on both sides of the Atlantic. It has made Alice Sebold into one of the most prominent modern American writers and has been featured on many different talk shows, arts programmes and critical review shows. Most famously, the book was the winner of the Richard & Judy book club award on their Channel 4 show. Alice Sebold shot to fame with her first book, ‘Lucky’, which was an autobiographical account of her life to date ... more

Fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon is raped and murdered in a cornfield on her way home from school. Most of her body is never found but there is sufficient evidence for her family – mother, father, brother and sister – to accept that she is dead. Her murderer is a neighbour and serial killer. Susie’s mother had admired his flower border and her father had discussed fertilizer with him. When Susie gets to heaven she finds that it looks like her local school and she only has to think of something for it to appear magically, except she cannot return to the people she loved on earth. She can only ... more

The Lovely Bones: Alice Sebold Introduction I saw a trailer on TV a couple of weeks ago for the film which is based on this book, and when my mum told me it was a brilliant book, I couldn’t help myself from going online and buying it from Amazon. I had never heard of it before even though it’s first publishing was in 2002. As soon as the book hit my front door mat, I opened it up and started to read it. On Amazon the book was classified with “If you like this you will also like: The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger”, as I adored that book, and subsequently the film, I had very high ... more

With it getting towards the summer, I am always on the look out for a new book to read and almost always I will opt for something in the chick lit genre. However, I have heard so many good things about this book the lovely bones which is why I have always been intrigued to find out more. So many people have talked about it but yet I never really had any idea as to what it was about. It wasn't until my mother finished reading it and handed me her copy that it persuaded me to give this book ago, stepping out of my chick lit safety zone. COVER This book is quite bold on the front and has a fade ... more

“My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.” And so begins “The Lovely Bones”, Susie’s story, told as she looks down on the world from her heaven, in the aftermath of her tragic death. Susie’s murder in the cornfield behind her house, by a local man, George Harvey, sends shockwaves through her neighbourhood, her school, her friends and her family. Susie watches the effect it has upon the lives of those closest to her, and the story spans the ten years following her death. She watches as life ... more