2008 Woodie Awards
In my book:
The Lovely Bones
Kerry Sullivan
Issue date: 10/31/04 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Disclaimer: If you are a mother, you may not want to read this book.
Why would I begin my fourth edition of "In My Book" with this stipulation? It is definitely not meant to alienate any mothers who might pick up the Provoc and glance over my column for this week's much anticipated review. Instead, it's because I've head from many mothers, including mine, that Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones is a little too intense for women with children for their own. Actually, this turns out to be a backhanded compliment to Ms. Sebold herself. Her evocative language and heart-wrenching storyline blur the line between her fictional work and the frightening reality that every parent fears.
When The Lovely Bones was released in June 2002, it received a great deal of critical praise for its controversial subject matter. Set back in the early 1970's, the storyline follows 14-year old Susie Salmon, who was raped and murdered by her neighbor, Mr. Harvey, "before kids of all races and genders started appearing on milk cartons or in the daily mail." Susie narrates the story from her perch in heaven, where she watches how her family and friends come to terms with her death. She is survived by her grief-stricken father, her introverted mother, and her two younger siblings, Lindsey and Buckley, who are largely kept in the dark about what has happened to their big sister.
More than simply the story of Susie's murder, The Lovely Bones is also a profile of a broken family and its journey of healing. Readers are able to see, through Susie's eyes, how members of the Salmon family cope with tragedy, eventually finding their way back to each other after the loss of a young daughter and sister.
But perhaps the most beautiful part of The Lovely Bones lies in Susie's description of her heaven. As Susie explains, everyone's individual heaven is different, as a reflection of what made them happiest on earth.
"When I first entered heaven I thought everyone saw what I saw," Susie said. "That in everyone's heaven there were soccer goalposts in the distance and lumbering women throwing shot put and javelin."
Why would I begin my fourth edition of "In My Book" with this stipulation? It is definitely not meant to alienate any mothers who might pick up the Provoc and glance over my column for this week's much anticipated review. Instead, it's because I've head from many mothers, including mine, that Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones is a little too intense for women with children for their own. Actually, this turns out to be a backhanded compliment to Ms. Sebold herself. Her evocative language and heart-wrenching storyline blur the line between her fictional work and the frightening reality that every parent fears.
When The Lovely Bones was released in June 2002, it received a great deal of critical praise for its controversial subject matter. Set back in the early 1970's, the storyline follows 14-year old Susie Salmon, who was raped and murdered by her neighbor, Mr. Harvey, "before kids of all races and genders started appearing on milk cartons or in the daily mail." Susie narrates the story from her perch in heaven, where she watches how her family and friends come to terms with her death. She is survived by her grief-stricken father, her introverted mother, and her two younger siblings, Lindsey and Buckley, who are largely kept in the dark about what has happened to their big sister.
More than simply the story of Susie's murder, The Lovely Bones is also a profile of a broken family and its journey of healing. Readers are able to see, through Susie's eyes, how members of the Salmon family cope with tragedy, eventually finding their way back to each other after the loss of a young daughter and sister.
But perhaps the most beautiful part of The Lovely Bones lies in Susie's description of her heaven. As Susie explains, everyone's individual heaven is different, as a reflection of what made them happiest on earth.
"When I first entered heaven I thought everyone saw what I saw," Susie said. "That in everyone's heaven there were soccer goalposts in the distance and lumbering women throwing shot put and javelin."