Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Reads to Savor or Reads to Swallow Whole?


The Lovely BonesThe Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Yes, I really read this book in two days. The real story is that I read the first chapter on Sunday evening and then finished the book Monday evening. Starting this book in the evening was definitely a tactical error. The murder occurs in the first chapter and it is really hard to read. I ended up sleeping poorly that first evening because I was trying so hard to not think about what I had just read. At that point I decided to read the entire book in one gulp. I knew that I would not be able to sneak up on this one.

Ms. Sebold's writing is very good. I am definitely impressed with her skill. However, some of her narrative did finally get to me. I found the chapters near the end too hard to believe. I also wasn't sure that Susie's "fall to earth" really fit with the story. It seemed too easy and nothing else about this book was easy. There must have been another way to wrap this up without giving two characters what they really wanted, since the theme of the book seemed to be that no one gets what he or she wants and life isn't fair or even reasonable.

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