Please note this novel mentions sexual assault and violence against children.
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is a sad book. Yes, it’s adventurous, moving , and quite playful storytelling– but it’s also heartbreaking. (Flipping through the pages of this well-worn favourite, reading certain passages, it seems to have gotten even sadder overtime somehow – I guess that’s an age thing on my part?)
Susie Salmon is 14 forever, her life taken by a sadistic neighbour (not a spoiler – we know from the very beginning Susie has died). From “her heaven”, a dreamlike version of the high school she never got to attend, she watches her loved ones fall apart after her death.
Large parts of this story are told in a matter-of-fact way. It’s the smaller asides that are truly heartbreaking. Animals and inanimate objects signify the immense emotions the characters struggle to comprehend. Holiday, the family dog, does his best to comfort the family after Susie’s death. A penguin figurine, encased forever in a snow globe, is “trapped in a perfect world”. There’s also a scene with a ship in a bottle that has forever changed the way I look at them.
So why read such a sad novel? Well, Sebold is a fantastic storyteller. Her vision is so bold – to describe an afterlife in such clear terms is almost comical. A high school, where the textbooks are fashion magazines, and there’s swings – because that’s what Susie wants her version of high school to be like.
But Susie’s heaven is actually more like a waiting room – she’s got unfinished business you see, and that’s to catch her own killer. Like all good spirits, Susie is going to have to be creative about how she contacts the living.
The Lovely Bones will make you cry. But it will also entertain you, make you smile, and remind you how precious the small moments in life really are.
Just expect to see snow globes and ships in bottles differently after reading this one.
The Lovely Bones was made into a film in 2009, directed by Peter Jackson and starring Saoirse Ronan. It was co-written based on a screenplay with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.
Cherie lives, works, and reads in beautiful Tasmania – the green island gem below Australia known for its gorgeous landscape and beautiful wildlife. She holds multiple academic qualifications in English, journalism, and fine art theory, and has worked in writing, editing, and communications roles for more than a decade. Most importantly, she has a deep love for books that began as soon as she learned how to read.
Old, new, any genre – for Cherie, reading is about as vital as breathing. She is interested in sharing books that move, excite, and compel, so others can share the joy of a truly great read. While she reads across most genres, her favourite is literary fiction. Particularly anything by Margaret Atwood, Ottessa Moshfegh, Kate Atkinson, Elizabeth Berg, Ann Patchett, and Anne Tyler.
Cherie frequents Tasmania’s beautiful boutique book shops as well as scouring secondhand shops for books to add to her extensive home library. Catch up with her on LinkedIn and on Instagram.
