The Lovely Bones: Amazon.co.uk: Alice Sebold: Books

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60 Reviews

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
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4.3 out of 5 stars (60 customer reviews)

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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the lovely bones, 3 Aug 2004

By	Maggie Huscroft (Richmond, Surrey United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

You don't have to believe in heaven to enjoy this excellent book, but you do have to believe in the premise that good writing ( and I include The Lovely Bones in this category ) is more than the sum of its parts.

From the opening lines, you know that this book presents a unique perspective. I am an atheist, but confronted by the statement "My name was Salmon, like the fish, first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973. My murderer was a man from our neighbourhood"
I was hooked, and willingly suspending all disbelief. I immediately stepped over the threshold into seeing the world from Susie Salmon's Heaven. Yes this book is occasionally sentimental, but I was carried through those few moments by the engaging literary style and the writer's empathy for her characters. The majority of the book is profoundly moving and the moments when it slips are miniscule by comparison with the times when it soars.

If you want a good read that will move you to tears and pull you along at the rapid speed of a thriller; if you want a well crafted portrait of a grieving family, coming to terms with loss and getting on with their individual lives; if you want a book that is essentially life affirming, then you must read The Lovely Bones.
So don't believe the bad reviews

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely Bones - Lovely and Life Affirming!, 20 Aug 2004

By	"avagardner" - See all my reviews

I choose this book without having read any reviews at all. I am so pleased that my speculative choice resulted in one of the most satisfying, moving, life-affirming reads of my life.

Death, and particularly death of children, is a taboo subject, yet Alice Sebold allows the reader to face the finality of a young girl's murder with honesty. I was hooked from the opening line and read and re-read this book, because it resonated with me so deeply. All the characters affected by Susie Salmon's murder are realistic, and their grief is palpable and affecting.

Yes, this is a book that will move most to tears but my tears felt flushed with a sense of the redemption offered by the final chapters of the book. Cry heartily and know that death is final but only for those who sadly pass away. Those left behind can rebuild their lives and that's a positive message for us all. Thank you, Alice.

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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Lovely Book, 19 Jul 2004

By	Victoria (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This is one of the most heart wrenching books I've come across in a very long time. I know some readers would argue that the somewhat far-fetched idea of having a main character narrating from Heaven is not a good one, yet I personally found the concept new and refreshing. I hasten to add I am an atheist. The Lovely Bones is the gritty portrayal of grief and the struggle of a family coping with loss, and it is the fact that Susie Salmon is both the murdered party AND the narrator which gives the novel its original flavour. Beware of this novel if you are afraid of a good cry - I was reading it on the bus on my way to work with a large tear wobbling on the end of my nose. Despite the sentimentalities of the story, and the perhaps unbelievable setting and ending, the book still fails to disappoint and it is beautifully written. The key to enjoying this is to read with an open mind. What makes The Lovely Bones work is that it deals with a very prickly and disturbing subject matter in a sensitive way. My only tiny complaint is that if I had been Susie, I would have been a bit more angry with the man who took my life. Like all novels, this cannot please all its readers, but whether you enjoy this book or not the haunting story will stay with you for a long time.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Downhill All The Way
Whilst used to previous disappointment from highly-hyped books, The Lovely Bones left me positively reeling that such a dreadful read could have been enjoyed and praised by so... Read more

Published 20 days ago by Liquidsmoke

5.0 out of 5 stars lovely bones
i am absolutetly amazed that this fantastic book, has not yet made it ro a film. or perhaps it has. correct me if i'm wrong. Read more

Published 16 months ago by K. P. Dean

1.0 out of 5 stars A lot of money for ten pages
The first ten pages of this novel are gripping stuff - well-voiced and full of drama. Gradually thereafter it descends into the most stultifying, Derek-Aconah-like drivel. Read more

Published 18 months ago by Lulubeth

5.0 out of 5 stars Sad, beautiful, haunting, uplifting and an outstanding debut
One of the best novels of the year surely (I read it in 2003) - and one that should be read by MEN as well as women! Read more

Published on 3 Sep 2007 by OEJ

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing -
This is one of my top 10 books ever. A really great read i could not put it down.

Published on 30 May 2007 by A. Cummings

2.0 out of 5 stars insipid fiction
How did this author manage to make rape and murder seem so cosy and unobstrusive as to have readers find this book 'comforting'? Read more

Published on 8 May 2007 by sarah

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Engrossing
I read this book as the Time Traveller's Wife's jacket recommended it. Thank-you to whoever wrote the jacket comment. I found that from the first sentence - I CARED. Read more

Published on 19 Oct 2006 by M. A. Cadman

3.0 out of 5 stars Not an after-death experience just a narrative device
As a work of fiction this is well-crafted and well-written. It's viewpoint is solely from the dead girl's prespective and there we are in a problem area, where do we go when we... Read more

Published on 12 Aug 2006 by DeeJay

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutly amazing!
I thought this book was brilliant. I found it very moving and as the book progressed i got more and more in to it. By half way through i couldn't put it down! v good.

Published on 2 Aug 2006 by K. Ayers

4.0 out of 5 stars I was in Heaven reading this.
Murdered Susie Salmon looks down from heaven and observes the daily tribulations of her family; she witnesses how they get on with life and how they cope without her in their... Read more

Published on 23 Jun 2006 by Ms. C. Williams

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