The Lovely Bones

By: Alice Sebold

Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan

A haunting and heartbreaking novel narrated from heaven as a young girl watches over her family and killer.

My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.

In heaven, Susie Salmon can have whatever she wishes for – except what she most wants, which is to be back with the people she loved on earth.

In the wake of her murder, Susie watches as her happy suburban family is torn apart by grief; as her friends grow up, fall in love, and do all the things she never had the chance to do herself. But as Susie will come to realize, even in death, life is not quite out of reach . . .

An astonishing novel about life and death, memory and forgetting, and finding light in the darkest places.

Alice Sebold's book inspired the Peter Jackson film, starring Susan Sarandon and Saoirse Ronan.

'Moving and compelling . . . I sat down in the morning to read the first couple of pages; five hours later, I was still there, book in hand, transfixed' – Maggie O'Farrell (author of The Marriage Portrait), Sunday Telegraph

©2002 Alice Sebold (P)2002 Recorded Books LLC

Critic reviews

"Spare, beautiful and brutal prose . . . The Lovely Bones is compulsive enough to read in a single sitting, brilliantly intelligent, elegantly constructed and ultimately intriguing." ( The Times

)

Good, but...

The Lovely Bones is a nice, painful story. The last few chapters just dragged on. I don't think heaven was done justice in the description. I found it a bit too much having heaven depicted as a boring place and the souls of the dead feel bored there! Besides, what was the reason for the final chapters if it didn't lead to anything related to the murder?

a roller coaster ride .....

Would you consider the audio edition of The Lovely Bones to be better than the print version?

When we first meet Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven and tells us about her short life story on earth. How life was for her before being abruptly murdered. She looks down to us from this peaceful place called “Heaven” and carries readers through a journey that will end her life on earth. Susie Salmon was raped and murdered by her neighborhood, Mr. Harvey who is a sexual predator /killer serial.
The event is viewed and told from a dead girl’s perspective, which makes this book unique and unusual.
The crime description is not unbearable. Susie bears a smart outlook on what has happened to her on earth. Readers are carried through the event at the same as Susie as she does the following days, months and years. Besides, Susie tells the story with a great sense of humor so we are not crying as we are experiencing how though is for her family to deal with her death.
This story is not just about the grief of those left behind, but also about Susie’s coming to terms with her loss of life. Navigating through this book has been a roller-coaster ride. I truly recommend it for those of you who are looking for a funny, gloomy and great book to read.

Way too long

the story was enjoyable for the first three quarters of the book, but the last third just went on and on and on. 15 minutes describing the wet washing on the line or the organization of a vegetable patch. could have been 2 hours shorter.

Intriguing

I am conflicted about this book a little bit, I liked it for the fact, that it gave the murder victim a voice and explored the ripple effect a single death has. Also, there is no closure in this, the story is open. The language was beautiful and it can be consoling to think that the dead are with us. What I struggled with was the love making scene, I don't know what to think about that (I don't want to spoil, so I'll say no more).

Unexpected

Resisted this book for a long time, didn't want to read about a child being murdered. That said, I was surprisingly relieved that the story really does not focus on the actual event as much as it does about a family's struggle to survive and heal in the aftermath and the girl, though deceased, is very much present in a spiritual way.

Fabulous Narration

The narrator was absolutely brilliant, I will be looking for other books that she narrates, her intonations, the ability to clearly define the character voices made this an effortless, highly enjoyable listen. The fastest I have listened to a book yet!!

Disappointing

Good start but then trailed off. Such a shame. The reader was good but she could not save the story from its disappointing conclusion.

Moving and comforting

An awful event provides insights and suspense as well as an honest view of how tragedy can change us for good

Could not put down

A refreshing look at a crime novel.Ienjoyed every second of it. Excellent value for money

Not what I expected but good.

A life story as narrated by a murdered girl. Well you have to expect weird but somehow this was weirder than I expected. I think the main issue was it was so ordinary. The parents were fallible, there were no perfect heros, the killer is a sad little weed - not a brilliant psychopath, and justice is somehow unfullfilling. But in the midst of all this life goes on and is beautiful. Love endures and rebuilds all observed by the murdered girl trying to come to terms with her new place in the scheme of things. Odd, grounded, thoughtful. I enjoyed this one.