Items related to The Lovely Bones
Synopsis
From the author of the stunning memoir, Lucky, comes a fiction debut narrated from heaven. Starting with the first chapter, 14-year-old Susie Salmon recounts her rape and murder and watches her family as they cope with their grief. Unabridged.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review
On her way home from school on a snowy December day in 1973, 14-year-old Susie Salmon ("like the fish") is lured into a makeshift underground den in a cornfield and brutally raped and murdered, the latest victim of a serial killer--the man she knew as her neighbor, Mr. Harvey.
Alice Sebold's haunting and heartbreaking debut novel, The Lovely Bones, unfolds from heaven, where "life is a perpetual yesterday" and where Susie narrates and keeps watch over her grieving family and friends, as well as her brazen killer and the sad detective working on her case. As Sebold fashions it, everyone has his or her own version of heaven. Susie's resembles the athletic fields and landscape of a suburban high school: a heaven of her "simplest dreams," where "there were no teachers.... We never had to go inside except for art class.... The boys did not pinch our backsides or tell us we smelled; our textbooks were Seventeen and Glamour and Vogue."
The Lovely Bones works as an odd yet affecting coming-of-age story. Susie struggles to accept her death while still clinging to the lost world of the living, following her family's dramas over the years like an episode of My So-Called Afterlife. Her family disintegrates in their grief: her father becomes determined to find her killer, her mother withdraws, her little brother Buckley attempts to make sense of the new hole in his family, and her younger sister Lindsey moves through the milestone events of her teenage and young adult years with Susie riding spiritual shotgun. Random acts and missed opportunities run throughout the book--Susie recalls her sole kiss with a boy on Earth as "like an accident--a beautiful gasoline rainbow." Though sentimental at times, The Lovely Bones is a moving exploration of loss and mourning that ultimately puts its faith in the living and that is made even more powerful by a cast of convincing characters. Sebold orchestrates a big finish, and though things tend to wrap up a little too well for everyone in the end, one can only imagine (or hope) that heaven is indeed a place filled with such happy endings. --Brad Thomas Parsons
Look Inside the Motion Picture The Lovely Bones (Paramount, 2010)
(Click on each image below to see a larger view)
| Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon | Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon |
| Mark Wahlberg as Jack Salmon | Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon and Director Peter Jackson |
About the Author
Alice Sebold is also the author of Lucky, a memoir, and the forthcoming novel The Almost Moon. She lives in California with her husband, the novelist Glen David Gold.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherRecorded Books
- Publication date2002
- ISBN 10 1402532903
- ISBN 13 9781402532900
- BindingAudio CD
- Number of pages12
- Rating
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
The Lovely Bones
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Good condition. Audio CD. Unabridged edition. Disc slightly scratched. Quality guaranteed! In original artwork/packaging unless otherwise noted. Seller Inventory # F20G-02495
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Lovely Bones
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Seller Inventory # 00073855120
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Lovely Bones
Seller: Midtown Scholar Bookstore, Harrisburg, PA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Audio CD. Condition: Good. Audio CD. Case is bumped/creased/worn. GOOD. Seller Inventory # mon0000011282
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Lovely Bones
Seller: HPB Inc., Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
audioCD. Condition: Very Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_410424588
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Lovely Bones
Seller: HPB-Ruby, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
audioCD. Condition: Very Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_410881302
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Lovely Bones
Seller: The Yard Sale Store, Narrowsburg, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
AUDIO CD. Condition: Good. 10 AUDIO CDs in the original printed case. Some shelf wear and fold mark to the box. We will polish the AUDIO CDs for a smooth listening experience. You will receive a worthwhile set. Enjoy this AUDIO CD performance economically priced for your needs. Seller Inventory # 220181031691574
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Lovely Bones
Seller: The Yard Sale Store, Narrowsburg, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
AudioCD. Condition: Good. 10 AUDIO CDs, polished for your satisfaction for a worthwhile set, in the original box. Some edgewear to the box. Slight scuffmark to the box. The box for the foldmark. Some shelf wear and scuff to the box. The AUDIO CDs are in individual slots, protected and clear sounding. Enjoy this unabridged AUDIO CD performance!. Seller Inventory # CDU012111000059
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
the lovely Bones
Seller: The Yard Sale Store, Narrowsburg, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
AUDIO CD. Condition: Good. AUDIO CDs in the clamshell case withdrawn from the library collection. Some library marking and sticker to the set. We will polish each of the CDs for a worthwhile sound quality. Enjoy this reliable AUDIO CD performance. Seller Inventory # 106507122014865
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Lovely Bones
Seller: medimops, Berlin, Germany
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: good. Befriedigend/Good: Durchschnittlich erhaltenes Buch bzw. Schutzumschlag mit Gebrauchsspuren, aber vollständigen Seiten. / Describes the average WORN book or dust jacket that has all the pages present. Seller Inventory # M01402532903-G
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Lovely Bones
Seller: The Yard Sale Store, Narrowsburg, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
AUDIO CD. Condition: Very Good. 10 BRAND NEW AUDIO CDS. NEW IN THE SHRINK WRAP. Just a bit of shelf wear to the box. NEW CDS INSIDE. Enjoy this RELIABLE AUDIO CD performance for your home and library. Seller Inventory # 592020713045971
Quantity: 1 available