Bibliofemme Bookclub An Irish Bookclub

In addition to having all the trappings of a page-turner, Alice Sebold’s morbid Lovely Bones explores two levels of death – both those that are left behind and the departed. The narrator is a young girl who is brutally murdered at the age of fourteen. The reader is taken through her struggles and attachments to the life she was tragically severed from, and with this the author relays her own non-conventional beliefs on heaven, death and our life process. I found this aspect of Lovely Bones to be captivating, to gain such an in-depth perspective of some one else’s concept of life/death in a fictional format. Sebold’s heaven is mirrored closely to earth, with the idea that the soul would hang on in a section of heaven, attached to its previous life until it is able to let go and evolve beyond its earthly desires.

Sebold’s delivery and exploration of the departed would lead me to believe that she has some obvious understanding of what it is like to live through the death of someone very close. The family left behind in this novel serves as a perfect delivery mechanism for her plot to unfold. Her characters are strong and fill the book with momentum and depth.

Lovely Bones is not just an exploration of death however; the novel keeps a thriller-like pace, as the mind of the young girl’s killer is displayed and an exciting plot is woven around the possible capture of this man. In its plain, factual reporting style, the insight into this psychopath’s mind is painful to read; yet I found myself unable to stop turning the pages.

In all of Lovely Bones’ explorations – characters, plot and esoteric wanderings – I found at times Sebold could step over the line, becoming too dramatic and clichéd, but other times she hits the nail with talent and inspiration on the head. I found myself in dispute with the author on some of her beliefs with the afterlife; however, this is always a topic that is up for debate. Lovely Bones is an interesting book to review, because in summary, regardless of the positives mentioned above, I have to say that I did not enjoy it. Was it self-help meets grocery store shelf thriller? Something has definitely left me with that impression.