The Lovely Bones By Alice Sebold

The Lovely Bones book cover

It is definitely an honest coincidence that I read this book when it is being made into a movie. I have always known about this book but did not bother reading about it until recently and the reason I picked it up, honestly has nothing to do with the movie – which I have not watched yet.

The story revolves around Susie Salmon, a girl who was raped and murdered when she was just thirteen years old. After she died, she continued watching over her family and friends from her Heaven. So what we, the readers, get to read is what happens after she leaves Earth.

Through this book Alice Sebold managed to explore many themes and questions that many people wonder as well as they go about their daily lives. What happens to us when we die? Is there a Heaven? What is Heaven like? What causes a man to rape and kill? What happens to a couple if one of their children dies?

Alice Sebold wrote in a manner that did not directly answered the questions above. She did not state exactly what Heaven was, she did not tell her readers that if a couple wasn’t strong enough they will not survive the death of their daughter. Instead, through Susie Salmon, she was able to show the readers her version of Heaven, Death, Love and Life.

I read this book after reading Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger which made it really interesting as the later has similar themes that revolve around Death, Love and Life.

Having read both these books taught me that human beings, even though we have Religion and Science, have different thoughts on Death, Heaven and Life.

After reading The Lovely Bones, it is impossible not to think of the mentioned themes as well. Readers who finish Alice Sebold’s book would be questioning themselves on Life and Death. Any book that stretches into the unknown is a book worth reading at least once.