| Product: |
Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold |
| Date: |
23/05/08 (98 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Warm, compelling, different
Disadvantages: "One time only" read? Some people may find it a bit dull for their tastes
Charming and whimsical are two words which are overused when it comes to books and films which don't fit into any neat genre, or defy our expectations. Yet, in the case of The Lovely Bones, it's entirely appropriate to use them.
The unusual story follows a young girl who is brutally murdered by a neighbour and gets to observe her family, friends and murderer from her own private heaven as they try and get on with their lives following her death. It's a simple, yet brilliant concept, well executed, surprisingly touching and makes for a compulsive read.
Author Alice Sebold superbly captures the story and makes its slightly fanciful set up entirely believable. The "observing from heaven" narrative is more than just a gimmick which enables us to spy on the lives of individuals, it's an essential part of the story's structure, helping to give perspective on the events, as they unfold over a span of years.
The Lovely Bones is a thought-provoking book. Sebold's vision of "heaven" is a bold and interesting one, which definitely gives pause for thought. If you're not a religious person, don't be put off - this is not a religious allegory or thinly veiled piece of religious propaganda. Indeed, specific mention of religion is completely ignored, making it a book which will be accessible to most people.
It's also an incredibly well written book. Sebold shows a very confident style which perfectly matches the tone of her story. Emotional, without ever being over-wrought; touching without ever being cloying; and moving, without ever being contrived. If all this sounds a little heavy, don't worry, because the book has a superb sly, underplayed sense of humour which adds to that "whimsical" charm, without ever undermining the slightly tragic nature of the central concept. Even the opening line of the book is inspired, giving you a taste of things to come and immediately hooking you into wanting to find out more: "My name is Salmon, like the fish... I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973." As openings go that's pretty powerful and interesting.
The characters in this book are very well realised and described. They feel like real people, and I couldn't shake the feeling that Sebold had modelled at least some of them on people she knows. Nothing particularly thrilling happens to any of them - they grow up, form relationships, suffer various "life events" (births, deaths, break-ups) etc. In other words, they live: their experience of life is exactly like ours. The only difference is they are being observed by a dead child. There's just one slight mis-step of character who is, perhaps, a little too overtly "supernatural". This character jars slightly with the overall tone of the book and feels more like she was created to serve the plot, rather than for any other reason. Even here, though what we learn about this character feels plausible and within the context of the story we are reading.
My one concern when reading the book was how it was all going to end. I was slightly concerned that I knew where it was heading: towards a saccharin "happy ever after" scenario. Regular readers of my reviews will know that I often have a problem with endings, which are all too often predictable, neat and unlike normal life. It would have been a real tragedy had The Lovely Bones suffered this fate.
Happily, Sebold proves too good for that, and resists the lure of the obvious ending. The one she provides (and I don't want to go into detail) is inspired. It's entirely logical within the context of the book, satisfying in that it ties up most of the loose ends, and suitably open-ended to allow individual interpretation in the areas which matter. For once, a strong narrative is matched by a strong ending.
I do have one slight problem with the ending (there had to be one!): one strand of it is just a little too neat and a little too unlikely. I can't go into to much detail without giving things away, but there's one particular event which makes you think "so, if that could happen now, why didn't it happen years ago?" Sorry to be a little cryptic, but I don't want to give away a big plot point. Then again, perhaps there are different interpretations of the ending, and I'm making false assumptions.
In truth, it's difficult to find much else to complain about. You could argue that perhaps it's a "one time only" read, and that you won't ever return to it. I'm not so sure though. I think that perhaps the book has hidden depths, and if that I do ever read it again, I will get different things out of it second time around. I guess only time will tell. Some people might also it's a "bit boring" as very little actually happens in one sense throughout the book. Personally, though, I was gripped and found its realism a welcome break from some of the overblown plot events of some books.
My only other concern about the book is how well it will be translated to the big screen (it's currently being produced by Peter Jackson). The story (successfully) treads that fine line between whimsical and sickly sweet. Hollywood's involvement in the story could well see that balance upset in the wrong directions. But I guess that's a problem for Peter Jackson and his pals, rather than a direct criticism of the book itself.
Basic Information
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The Lovely Bones
Alice Sebold
Picador, 2003
ISBN: 978-0330485388
Available new from Amazon from £4.74 or used from 1p
© Copyright SWSt 2008
Summary: The Lovely Bones... A Lovely Book
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