Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones

 

Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones

 

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, New York, Boston

Year of Publication: 2002

Price: $7.50 US/$9.50 Canada

Paper Back. 372 pages.

 

I picked up Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones expecting a mesmerizing read—just as the blurb promised. It was also billed as a ‘whodunnit,’ which got me even more excited since I’m a huge fan of the genre. I took it along on a trip to Bhubaneshwar, eager to dive in. I did manage to finish it, but honestly, I found it quite disappointing.

The story is set in 1973 in a small American town. Fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon is murdered by her neighbor, Mr. Harvey, while walking home from school. After her death, Susie finds herself in heaven, where she befriends Holly and realizes that even paradise has its imperfections. From this vantage point, she watches life unfold on Earth, occasionally making ghostly visits. Her presence is only sensed by Ruth, another young girl in town.

Back on Earth, Susie’s family is shattered. Her father falls into a deep depression and begins neglecting his family, prompting her mother to leave. Len, the police officer, tries to solve the case but fails to bring Harvey to justice. The story then shifts focus to Susie’s siblings—Lindsey and Buckley—and follows their lives as they grow up. In the end, Harvey is indicted, but not for Susie’s murder; instead, he’s held accountable for earlier crimes. Susie’s parents reconcile, Lindsey gets married, and the birth of her daughter, Abigail Suzanne, offers a glimmer of hope and renewal.

What really turned me off was the sluggish pace of the narrative. Ironically, that might be why some reviews call it “captivating” or “gripping”—but for me, it dragged. While it’s clearly meant to be an emotional drama, it just didn’t resonate. The fact that Harvey escapes punishment for Susie’s murder, especially in a country like the U.S., felt implausible and frustrating. The police come across as completely ineffective, which only added to my disappointment. Personally, I found the novel underwhelming. But who knows—it might strike a chord with others.