The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

The novel, The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold was a sensational story, one of my favorites now. The most interesting part of this novel was really the way the author describes each character. For example, "He wore his innocence like a comfortable old coat." (p. 26) describes the character, Mr. Harvey. Throughout the story Mr. Harvey is question several times about the murder of Suzy Salmon. With each question, a new lie appears. This comfortable coat the author explicates the lies Mr. Harvey has repeated over to the point he is caught believing his own distortion.

Alice Sebold does not stop there; she also adds other elements of writing that play in with character development. "She had a stare that stretched to infinity. She was, in that moment, not my mother but something separate from me." (p. 43) Abigail Salmon (the mother of Suzy Salmon) has lost all hope for the return of her youngest daughter. By implying the separation in thought, foreshadowed the separation physically when Suzy's mother abandons her family and flees to a further distance; to escape her "past".

With all great stories there comes the fall. One particular event that really disappointed me a bit was the actual crime: It wasn't that the author didn't do a great job depicting it. I hated reading the grotesque details that this man did to a young, pure human being. The suspense of whether or not this man would be arrested kept the urge to put the book down impossible. "Nothing is ever certain." (p. 21) a quote that built this story from beginning to end. While the author's intention was to use this as a mantra to keep the family's sanity, it also kept the readers.

Although this novel was not an inspirational novel, I was able to find a few morals/themes that I could apply to my life. Grief, one of the main lessons learned throughout this story. Each person deals with tragedies a different way and the only way to overcome the challenge is to accept it. Acceptance, throughout the novel many characters come to accept their new lives. Suzy's father has to come to face that his daughter is gone and he still needs to be strong for his family. Suzy's mother discovers that once she has gone a part of her family left as well. Therefore she must return there to be supportive and continue to be the glue of the family. Suzy herself even has to free herself of the stress and pain by