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The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold


Kell

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I had to write an english paper comparing two books with similar themes. I chose The Lovely Bones and The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Both were wonderful books and I especially liked The Lovely Bones. The story was intriguing, the portrayal of life after death had me glued to the book. I highly recommend this book :)

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I got about half way through this book and just put it away. I found it rather boring and was definitely annoyed but the whole taking over her Ruth's body. It was disappointing after hearing so many good reviews on the book. Oh well, on to another!

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I got about half way through this book and just put it away. I found it rather boring and was definitely annoyed but the whole taking over her Ruth's body. It was disappointing after hearing so many good reviews on the book. Oh well, on to another!

 

I can kind of see where you are coming from.

 

I read this book with extremely high expectations after the reviews I had read. Whilst I still enjoyed it, the book definately fell short of my expectations.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I absolutely loved the Time Traveller's Wife - why on earth would it associate itself with the Lovely Bones?

I've just spent the last year studying the Lovely Bones for my A Level English - a very odd choice by the exam board - and in-depth analysis hasn't improved my view of it at all. It was disturbing in some places, had no real plot to speak of and the characters (Besides Lindsey and Samuel) grated on my nerves. I can appreciate good use of some writing techniques, but once they're put in context again the general awfulness of the novel just drowns them out.

 

Rant rant rant. Honestly, it was a waste of time to study (and far too easy).

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  • 1 month later...

If the film is even remotely faithful to the book, I'll not be able to watch it as it was the story and characters that made me angry as much as not being able to get on with the writing style.

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What about it made you angry Kell?

If you go back to the first post where I posted my review, I say there. I was angry at several of the characters, not least Susie Salmon herself and I resented feeling guilty over it which went a long way towards spoiling the book for me. But I also couldn't get on board with the way much of it was written and some of the choices made (again with Susie near the end of the book) had me fizzing as it was, imo, totally unneccessary. I was severely disappointed by this book and no amount of pleading or cajoling could possilby inspire persuade me to try anything by this author again. I feel the same about Lionel Shriver after reading We Need to Talk About Kevin - awful book!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I was looking forward to reading this book for so long but now, having just finished it today I was totally gutted. There were a few things I liked but most sucked.

 

The Good

The rift between the parent's was quite realistic and I was

glad that they ended up back together. I was also glad that the Mom didn't fall in love with the detective

because that is what always happens. I adored the Gran and I think my favourite characters were Samuel & Hal. By the looks of it

Hal is not in the movie and that is a shame since he became a vital part in Buck's life and became part of the family.

 

My favourite part was the

night of the college graduation, where Sam & Lindsey found that house and then ran home in the rain in excitement. It was that glimmer of happiness and hope for them that

made me smile.

 

The Bad

I actually felt no sympathy for Susie

because she was stupid for trusting him in the first place. I really hated the moment Ruth and Susie switched places because it completely took away the slight realism of the story. What irked me the most about that is that Ray had sex with Ruth because he knew it was Susie. To me it almost seemed like rape but

I may be the only one who felt that.

 

I hated the ending because

there was no real closure. It just ended. After so many chapters with the mentioning the sinkhole I was convinced that she was going to be found but nope,

not a chance.

Edited by Chrissy
added spoilers
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I was looking forward to reading this book for so long but now, having just finished it today I was totally gutted. There were a few things I liked but most sucked.

 

The Good

The rift between the parent's was quite realistic and I was

glad that they ended up back together. I was also glad that the Mom didn't fall in love with the detective

because that is what always happens. I adored the Gran and I think my favourite characters were Samuel & Hal. By the looks of it

Hal is not in the movie and that is a shame since he became a vital part in Buck's life and became part of the family.

 

My favourite part was the

night of the college graduation, where Sam & Lindsey found that house and then ran home in the rain in excitement. It was that glimmer of happiness and hope for them that made me smile.

 

 

The Bad

I actually felt no sympathy for Susie because

she was stupid for trusting him in the first place. I really hated the moment Ruth and Susie switched places because it completely took away the slight realism of the story. What irked me the most about that is that Ray had sex with Ruth because he knew it was Susie. To me it almost seemed like rape

but I may be the only one who felt that.

 

I hated the ending because

there was no real closure. It just ended. After so many chapters with the mentioning the sinkhole I was convinced that she was going to be found but nope, not a chance

.

 

You might want to cover some of the spoilers.

 

Edit your post and highlight the spoilers and then press the S... aaah I'm no good at explaining :D

Edited by Chrissy
adding spoilers to quoted passage
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  • 1 month later...

To me this book was ok. It showed the psychological events that happen when a member of your family dies. But in the end life goes on, everyone mourned in their own way. I agree that the possession was slighlty strange and was not really needed. I'm not sure what to make of heaven, it seems like her idea of heaven but watching her family is a bit cheesy. If the murderer was not revealed and heaven was not involved it would have been a better read. 7/10

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  • 3 months later...

Has anybody read The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold? I read it a couple of years ago and thought it was brilliant, very moving and I definitely couldn't put it down! As you're probably aware, it's been made into a film which is due for release this week and I was wondering if anyone else is planning on seeing it? I always feel disappointed when I read a book and then watch the film... The Da Vinci code being a classic example of a great book being ruined by a rubbish film.......

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I read the book last year and thought it was very good but the first half was stronger than the second, in my opinion. I also am waiting hard for the movie as it is released in Ireland tomorrow but i have heard nothing but bad things from critics, who demolished it based on being 'all style and no substance', i will make up my own mind this weekend.

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I completely agree with you SKM.

 

I've been waiting to watch the movie when it comes out on DVD so that I can do it at home. The book stirred a lot of emotions up in me and I am pretty certian that the movie will have me in tears.

 

Well, despite the bad criticism, i will be looking forward to seeing the movie as i like to make my own mind up about a movie based on the performances. My only issue with the book was the amount of time Suzy spent forlornly watching over her family, i was waiting for her to accept her fate and move to a higher plane but her stubborn resistance to do this stretched credulity somewhat.

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