'The Lovely Bones' by Alice Sebold ... revisiting books you thought you hated

From the BLURB:

The Lovely Bones is the story of a family devastated by a gruesome murder -- a murder recounted by the teenage victim. Upsetting, you say? Remarkably, first-time novelist Alice Sebold takes this difficult material and delivers a compelling and accomplished exploration of a fractured family's need for peace and closure.

The details of the crime are laid out in the first few pages: from her vantage point in heaven, Susie Salmon describes how she was confronted by the murderer one December afternoon on her way home from school. Lured into an underground hiding place, she was raped and killed. But what the reader knows, her family does not. Anxiously, we keep vigil with Susie, aching for her grieving family, desperate for the killer to be found and punished.

Sebold creates a heaven that's calm and comforting, a place whose residents can have whatever they enjoyed when they were alive -- and then some. But Susie isn't ready to release her hold on life just yet, and she intensely watches her family and friends as they struggle to cope with a reality in which she is no longer a part. To her great credit, Sebold has shaped one of the most loving and sympathetic fathers in contemporary literature.

‘The Lovely Bones’ was the 2002 novel by Alice Sebold.

When ‘The Lovely Bones’ came out it was an instant bestseller and one of those word-of-mouth books that seemed to be everywhere. I read this book when I was 15, and I hated it.

I remember hating it, quite vividly – getting to the last page and wanting to chuck it across the room I was so disappointed. I even remember that my hating stemmed from a belief that there wasn’t enough “justice” in the book (which, I know, is a very 15-year-old thing to think) and being frustrated by the magic realism elements, particularly around a scene towards the end, which involves a “spectral possession” of sorts.

So why did I revisit this book that I hated? A couple of reasons – like that I recently picked up a debut novel called ‘Everything I never Told You’ by Celeste Ng that reminded me of ‘The Lovely Bones’. They’re two very different books, but they share a core plot about the death of a young girl and the repercussions on the family … Ng’s opening line even reminded me of Sebold for cutting to the very heart of the matter: Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet. Compared to Sebold’s:

My name is Salmon, like the fish. First name: Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.
 

I really loved Celeste Ng’s book, so started to wonder if I’d likewise enjoy ‘The Lovely Bones’ upon re-reading ….

Then I stumbled across another book with a similar premise again. ‘Boo’ by Neil Smith, the blurb for which goes: “When Oliver 'Boo' Dalrymple wakes up in heaven, the eighth-grade science geek thinks he died of a heart defect at his school. But soon after arriving in this hereafter reserved for dead thirteen-year-olds, Boo discovers he’s a 'gommer', a kid who was murdered.”

This also intrigued me, and again got me wondering if I should revisit ‘The Lovely Bones’.

And, finally, I do believe that sometimes you can read a good book at the wrong time. Whether because you’re not in the right headspace, or you’re just not open to the enjoyment … there are a myriad of reasons why, some of which were highlighted for me in re-reading ‘The Lovely Bones’.

Upon re-reading this now, as a 27-year-old feminist (and not the 15-year-old who thought “feminism” was synonymous with “lesbianism” and scared of such implications) something that struck me in ‘The Lovely Bones’ was Sebold’s focus on male violence against women. She wrote a very grotesque and frightening rape scene that’s all the more powerful because it is no-holds-barred horrifying. I now know that Sebold’s 1999 memoir ‘Lucky’ is based around her being brutally beaten and raped when she was 18-years-old, and how that one event transformed her entire life. Susie’s rape and death at the hands of Mr. Harvey occurs in the opening chapter – it’s quite a visceral punch to reader’s guts, but apart from being a very real depiction of an event that happens with far too much frequency in our society, the horror of that moment really propels Susie’s vengeance throughout the rest of the book. 

Sebold’s focus on male violence against women – sadly, Mr. Harvey’s character could have been inspired by countless men – is by no means subtle, it’s a powerful point she makes again and again. I don’t know what my reaction to this aspect of the story was as a fairly sheltered 15-year-old (probably along the lines of “that would never happen to me,”) but when I started re-reading this, the news was reporting on the terribly tragic death of 17-year-old Masa Vukotic, who had been randomly stabbed to death while out walking close to her home – in broad daylight. As I write this review, the news is focused on Ms. Vukotic again, this time because another teenage girl was recently sexually assaulted by a gang of men while walking home by herself … to which the local mayor responded; "I always have encouraged women not to walk alone, to have someone with them at all times, because that in itself is an invitation for someone to take advantage of you.” This reminded the public that after Ms. Vukotic’s murder, a Homicide Squad Detective said; "I suggest to people, particularly females, they shouldn't be alone in parks - I'm sorry to say that, that is the case.”

There is a second storyline in the book about a boy Susie had a crush on – Ray Singh, and a strange girl called Ruth Connors who Susie “touched” as she was leaving earth, so becomes inextricably linked to her in death. I was very anti-fantasy as a teenager, and had yet to discover the joys of magical realism (not until I read Isabel Allende in Year 12 would I be schooled), so this aspect of the book always frustrated me … the flights of fantasy in heaven I could live with, but Susie’s spectral connection to Ruth and her clinging to the boy she wanted left me cold.

Upon re-reading I’m still not entirely convinced of Ruth’s role in the book – but I loved that Ray remains in Susie’s sights. Again, it’s a heartbreaking facet to the age and way in which she was murdered that she still clings to the fantasy of Ray, like he’s a poster of a famous pop-star hanging on her wall – forever unattainable. I also appreciated Ray’s background as a British-Indian, which initially brings a touch of racial prejudice to the case, which certainly still resonates.

I also really loved the Salmon family, particularly that Susie’s parents handle her murder in very understandable if destructive ways. The person who really keeps it together is Susie’s younger sister, Lindsey – a strong character who initially frustrated me for all the ways she gets to live when Susie doesn’t. But a big realisation upon re-reading this book 12 years later is that ‘The Lovely Bones’ isn’t really about Susie – it’s about her family. If I felt frustrated by the injustices in the book, or Lindsey’s getting to live when Susie doesn’t – well, that’s kinda the whole point. Susie is our narrator, but she’s barely a character in the traditional sense. She is a bystander to the life she didn’t get to live;

 At fourteen my sister sailed away from me into a place I'd never been. In the walls of my sex there was horror and blood, in the walls of hers there were windows.

I may have been wrong about the book - but the 2009 Peter Jackson film is still a pretty awful adaptation ... even while Saoirse Ronan is near perfect as Susie and I don't hate Mark Wahlberg as her father. But the script is awful.

I cried buckets re-reading this book. It’s a real testament to Sebold’s deft hand that in a story so full of sorrow, the moment she wrung the most tears from me was one of profound joy:

 At Evensong one night, while Holly played her sax and Mrs. Bethel Utemeyer joined in, I saw him: Holiday, racing past a fluffy white Samoyed. He had lived to a ripe old age on Earth and slept at my father’s feet after my mother left, never wanting to let him out of his sight. He had stood with Buckley while he built his fort and had been the only one permitted on the porch while Lindsey and Samuel kissed. And in the last few years of his life, every Sunday morning, Grandma Lynn had made him a skillet-sized peanut butter pancake, which she would place flat on the floor, never tiring of watching him try to pick it up with his snout.
I waited for him to sniff me out, anxious to know if here, on the other side, I would still be the little girl he had slept beside. I did not have to wait long: he was so happy to see me, he knocked me down.

I’m so glad I revisited ‘The Lovely Bones’. I’ve grown up a lot since I first read this book aged 15 – my new experiences bought a sharpened reading and powerful understanding to the tragic story of Susie Salmon. Now I’m wondering what other books I need to give a second chance to …

5/5

WINNER: Re-Read Reminisce 'Aspect of Crow Trilogy' {Part 2}

And the lucky winner is (drum-roll, please...)

Molly!

Yay! Congrats, and thanks to everyone who entered. And an especially big THANKS to my friend, Larissa, for being an awesome co-host in our first Re-Read Reminisce venture!

Re-Read Reminisce 'Aspect of Crow Trilogy' {Part 2} + GIVEAWAY!

Re-Read Reminisce is a new joint-feature between book-blogger friends: ALPHA reader and Larissa’s Bookish Life.

The Re-Read Reminisce is all about recalling an old series or book that has pride of place on our keeper shelf, but that we haven’t thought about in a while. In Re-Reading the books we’ll be remembering why we fell in love with them in the first place, what they’ve come to mean to us and why we think any of you who are unfamiliar with the titles should give them a read.

Our first Re-Read Reminisce will be: Jeri Smith Ready's 'Aspect of Crow' trilogy!

What characters in the series most stood out for you the first time you read it? And what about this time around?

Danielle: Oh, Rhia and Marek stole the spotlight for me, absolutely. They had such a unique love story that just drew me in, completely. That’s why in the second book I really felt the pain of their separation - and in the third book I had my heart in my throat the whole time, hoping they’d both make it out alive.

But in this second reading, it was all about Sura and Dravek! Hot damn! In my first reading of the series I was still grappling with Rhia and Marek’s diminished roles - I don’t think I paid enough attention to Smith-Ready’s new additions to the series. In this re-read I was totally suckered into Sura and Dravek’s forbidden romance - it was so steamy and conflicted, and even knowing how it all ended I still read with my heart-rate pumping!

Larissa: That is so funny, because on my first read I was also thoroughly involved with Marek and Rhia’s plea and when the third book came along and they became sort of background, I had a hard time dealing with it for a little while. But when I realized that the main characters were simply the kids we had been seeing around and survivors from the previous books, I freaked out! I thought that was so freaking brilliant LOL. The first time I read the series I was totally drawn to Nilik for some reason, I even named my iPod after him =P, I also loved reading about Alanka and Philip. However, this time around I was completely obsessed with Davrek and Sura. Don’t get me wrong, I liked them back then, but this time, book 3 was all about them =D

Did the ending still impact you, even though this was a re-read and you knew all the pitfalls and outcomes?

Danielle: Yes, yes, and YES - and in many ways, more so! I remember when I read final book ‘The Reawakened’ the first time round I was somewhat disappointed that Rhia and Marek’s children (especially Nilik) didn’t get more page-time. I thought this book would be all about them - the next generation of our main protagonist. But in this re-reading I was so much more invested in Sura and Dravek’s romance that I found myself on a whole new roller-coaster ride with them. Even knowing how it all ends (I don’t want to spoil it for anyone!) I still had my heart in my throat and my butt on the edge of my seat. It’s a testament to Smith-Ready’s talent that even a re-read can keep me rapt.

Larissa: Absolutely! I was also so involved with Davrek and Sura that their story was just as riveting this time around. I even found myself crying, AGAIN! How incredible is that! Honestly, I am not the kind of person that re-reads everything I love, it has to be something that impacts me thoroughly to get me to do that and this series is definitely up there and Jeri has the power to make me feel so much, even when I know the end.

You’d recommend the ‘Aspect of Crow’ series to people who also enjoyed …?

Danielle: Suzanne Collins’s ‘Hunger Games’. In this second reading it really leaped out at me how ‘Aspect of Crow’ is like a grown-up, more fantastical ‘Hunger Games’, in many ways. The Descendants are like the Capitol residents - and the ways that the different societies are separated is somewhat similar to the Districts. There’s a big concentration on politics in both series (especially regarding war and the uprising of lower classes against rich oppressors). Definitely, if you liked ‘The Hunger Games’ but wanted a bit more sexiness, then ‘Aspect of Crow’ is a must-read!

Larissa: Totally agree Danielle! I had never thought it like that. Yeah, The Aspect of Crow Trilogy is definitely a more adult and sexier Hunger Games with a Fantastical touch.

I would also recommend it to anyone that has always wanted to try Fantasy out but doesn’t know where to start! =D You won’t regret it!

These books obviously have pride of place on your ‘keeper shelf’ and are special for being worth a revisit. If you could - what would you say to Jeri Smith-Ready about her epic ‘Aspect of Crow’ series?

Danielle: THANK YOU! Seriously, honestly and from the bottom of my heart - thank you! I don’t know if I would have kept reading the paranormal/fantasy genre if not for this series. When I first read these books I was sort of on-the-fence about the genre in general, and I needed something epic and brilliant to sink my teeth into and get me hooked - and that’s what your ‘Aspect of Crow’ did for me. It was my gateway-book, so to speak. One hit and I was hooked, for good and for life. So, thank you - if not for Rhia and her adventures I may never have delved so deep into the fantastical - and I would have missed out on so much! Me (and my imagination) thank you!

Larissa: I’ll copy Danielle and say: THANK YOU SO FREAKING MUCH! I am not an avid Fantasy reader but I do enjoy the genre and your trilogy was such a perfect mix of incredible world building and unforgettable characters that it’s impossible to not fall in love with it.

Check Out Part ONE of this post at:

http://www.larissaslife.com/

Larissa and I each have x1 copy of Smith-Ready’s (Wonderful! Amazing! See above!) first book in the ‘Aspect of Crow’ series to give away. To be in the running for this book, all you have to do is;

How to enter:

♥ Become a follower of my blog (NOT mandatory, but appreciated)

♥ Leave a comment on this post

♥ Include a way to contact you (e-mail addy is fine)

♥ You can enter the Giveaway on BOTH Blogs (but you can only win either on Larissa's Bookish Life or here)

♥ This is an INTERNATIONAL giveaway! (anywhere Book Depot ships)

♥ Contest closes September 30th

The two lucky winners will be announced on ALPHA reader and Larissa's Bookish Life on October 2nd.