jeneil's review against another edition
5.0
I can never understand why people give the Lovely Bones such horrible reviews. Not just on Goodreads but on several sites. But the way I see it, is they just don't get it. To anyone who has ever been so far down in the grief, who knows that horrible feeling of losing someone you love, they will be able to relate to this book.
I applaud Alice Sebold for not making this a "who done it book". Because if you want to read a story on "who done it" pick up your local papers. Read the headlines, see the murder rate. But if you want a book that gets to the core. Shows the after effects. After the reporters go away. And he story is no longer headlines, this is the book. Alice captured that intense battle over overcoming and moving on.
Alice explores the various stages of grief so amazingly. Her ability to write in a way, that makes you empathize with the characters. It grabs your heart, and plot sticks with you. Even after I turned that final page, long after the book was put back on the shelf, this story stuck with me.
I wish I could give The Lovely Bones more that five stars. I would give it a million.
I applaud Alice Sebold for not making this a "who done it book". Because if you want to read a story on "who done it" pick up your local papers. Read the headlines, see the murder rate. But if you want a book that gets to the core. Shows the after effects. After the reporters go away. And he story is no longer headlines, this is the book. Alice captured that intense battle over overcoming and moving on.
Alice explores the various stages of grief so amazingly. Her ability to write in a way, that makes you empathize with the characters. It grabs your heart, and plot sticks with you. Even after I turned that final page, long after the book was put back on the shelf, this story stuck with me.
I wish I could give The Lovely Bones more that five stars. I would give it a million.
doingmoreading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
3.0
abirami7's review against another edition
4.0
I don't understand how on earth people can say this book is boring. It's not even close to that.
thepunktheory's review against another edition
3.0
Book vs. Movie:
Let me begin with Alice Sebold's novel. When I began to read I was immediately pulled in. The story is fascinating and terrifying. I have to admit there were tears in my eyes a few times. The most heart breaking part is how relatable every aspect is. Susie is your average teenage girl, when she's killed it really could have been anybody you know.
But - there always has to be a "but" right? - about 2/3 through the book it lost its grip. At that point we are busy following everybody's life many years after Susie died and many of those lives are so very boring, uninspired and filled with clichés. All of sudden there was nothing fascinating or thrilling about the story. To be honest the last 1/3 seemed to drag on for far longer the rest of the book. It would have been much better just simply let the novel end at some earlier point!
So, let's move on to the adaptation. I'm going to make it simple: the film is a huge let-down. While Peter Jackson usually delivers on point, and additionally we get nothing but Hollywood's finest actors, the movie is nothing but pretty pictures. None of the actors get to show their full potential and the story on-screen has no depth at all. The scenes about Susie's heaven seem to be there for nothing but showing off CGI effects. There is actually nothing there to even justify the existence of those scenes. The moments we spend with Susie's family on the other hand fail to produce emotion. While the book was really intense, the movie doesn't go under your skin at all. Combined with Susan Sarandon's rather comic scenes the atmosphere was completely destroyed.
On top of that the movie is far too long. With more than 2 hours to watch I caught myself several times wondering when it'll finally be over.
Summing up, the novel is definitely better than the adaptation. The movie is nothing but pretty pictures and really not worth the time. Although Alice Sebold's book is more intense, I would have expected more after I read so many positive reviews.
Let me begin with Alice Sebold's novel. When I began to read I was immediately pulled in. The story is fascinating and terrifying. I have to admit there were tears in my eyes a few times. The most heart breaking part is how relatable every aspect is. Susie is your average teenage girl, when she's killed it really could have been anybody you know.
But - there always has to be a "but" right? - about 2/3 through the book it lost its grip. At that point we are busy following everybody's life many years after Susie died and many of those lives are so very boring, uninspired and filled with clichés. All of sudden there was nothing fascinating or thrilling about the story. To be honest the last 1/3 seemed to drag on for far longer the rest of the book. It would have been much better just simply let the novel end at some earlier point!
So, let's move on to the adaptation. I'm going to make it simple: the film is a huge let-down. While Peter Jackson usually delivers on point, and additionally we get nothing but Hollywood's finest actors, the movie is nothing but pretty pictures. None of the actors get to show their full potential and the story on-screen has no depth at all. The scenes about Susie's heaven seem to be there for nothing but showing off CGI effects. There is actually nothing there to even justify the existence of those scenes. The moments we spend with Susie's family on the other hand fail to produce emotion. While the book was really intense, the movie doesn't go under your skin at all. Combined with Susan Sarandon's rather comic scenes the atmosphere was completely destroyed.
On top of that the movie is far too long. With more than 2 hours to watch I caught myself several times wondering when it'll finally be over.
Summing up, the novel is definitely better than the adaptation. The movie is nothing but pretty pictures and really not worth the time. Although Alice Sebold's book is more intense, I would have expected more after I read so many positive reviews.
goldenslug's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Child death
eatwritereadrepeat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, and Murder
Moderate: Rape and Injury/injury detail
upstatelibrarygal's review against another edition
4.0
This can be a little difficult to read because of the subject matter (rape and murder of a teenaged girl). However, I didn't ever feel that the author was gratuitous in her depiction of the violence and ultimately, the story is about Susie's experience in heaven. As she watches her family from the afterlife, the story of her own experience there, and that of the other characters "left behind," is a beautiful one. Great character study.
wyemu's review against another edition
4.0
A novel as poignant as it is devastating. The subject of a child's death is sensitively handled by Sebold and the images he paints of heaven are deftly painted without ever becoming cloying, cliched or overdone. This book is beyond a moving story of one family coming to terms with losing their daughter, and sister, it is a perfect portrayal of the different ways in which people fall apart and rebuild themselves. The opening scenes are suffocating and this is a testiment to Sebold's witing skills that they are so well written as to be almost unbearable to read. I can highly imagine many readers struggling to get through them because of the realism and horror portrayed. It is an incredible novel that should be read but that one shies away from reccommending to friends because of the nature of the material, not something to be taken lightly.