So here is the plot. Susie Salmon (like the fish) is walking home from school one day when she is brutally raped and then violently murdered. After her horrible demise she tells her story while she is looking down at her family and murderer from heaven and watching how they all deal with the aftermath of her death. Her sister is heart broken, her father sets off on a mission to find the man who did this to her, her crush at school is accused, the murder starts thinking about who his next victim will be, and the school loner sees Susie's ghost every so often. All the while Susie is getting used to her new home in heaven. She meets a new friend and starts to figure out how heaven works and what she can and can't do up there.
I thought that even though the subject matter is VERY heavy, the story is told with a touch of humor and is quite easy to digest. Usually something very violent would turn me off but the story felt complete and right when Susie finished telling her story. There is a little bit of a fantasy/paranormal plot line twist on the end that I thought was strange and didn't flow well with the story but I kind of enjoyed that part as well. I was glad that Susie had the chance to do what she did on the end. All in all I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone really that can stomach the first few chapters (it really isn't for everyone).
Book vs. Movie: Well I am eagerly awaiting The Lovely Bones movie that comes out January 15th. I hope they do the book justice though I won't hold my breath as I am ALWAYS disappointed in movies made from books. Here is the trailer. Enjoy!
The Lovely Bones
by Alice Sebold
If you liked this book then read: Peony in Love by Lisa See
My expectations on the movie is pretty low (but boosted by Peter Jackson, i guess) but I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
ReplyDeleteAnd I noticed you're listening to The BOok Thief right now, isn't it fantanstic? :P
I read this one a few years ago and enjoyed it, even though I was a bit unsure based on the violent events that happen at the beginning. A friend recommended I try reading Lucky by Alice Sebold but the synopsis seemed a bit too violent for me.
ReplyDeleteAudrey, so far The Book Thief is fantastic! I love the readers voice in the audio book.
ReplyDeleteJill, I agree that the violence bothers me a lot, for that reason alone I may not read any more of her books.
Thanks for the comments!
I started this book once and the subject matter was so difficult for me to take that I had to put it down. I do remember that was very well written. I can't wait for the movie.
ReplyDeleteI read this book 3 or 4 years ago, I bought it in an airport, if memory serves. I had no idea what it was about. I thought it was well-written, but it just didn't sit right with me. I only read it once, then I gave it away because I knew I wouldn't read it again (very rare for me). It's not that it was a *bad* book, on the contrary it was well done, but not for me. I probably won't see the movie (at least not in theaters), but I love Stanley Tucci and I'm glad he got nominated for a Golden Globe for this role!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this book. I found it to be a little weird at times but overall was very good. I'm torn between whether or not I want to see the movie.
ReplyDeleteI also hope the movie does the book justice, I thought the book was so amazing, even though it's a very difficult story to read about. Nice review.
ReplyDeleteAlayne
The Crowded Leaf.