I just finished reading The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I read in in two days because it was just so gripping, and so sad too. Amazingly written, but I don’t think I’ve ever cried that much in a book – it’s just so touching to hear it from Susie’s point of view. She watches her family from her heaven after her brutal rape and murder; only her elbow was ever found. She watches her little sister Lindsey become the woman she never would be, she watches her father become consumed with revenge, and her mother torn from her family, and her little brother grow up without her. If you can handle sad books, I would definitely recommend it.
Also, I just googled it to find an image of the cover and discovered on IMDB that there is a movie in the works for The Lovely Bones (2008) directed by Peter Jackson. Susan Sarandon is Grandma Lynn which is absolutely perfect. Lindsey wasn’t listed, but Susie was – and she looks right for it, with the “mousy brown hair”. Mark Wahlberg as the dad doesn’t seem right, I imagined more of a Paul Guilfoyle (Brass from CSI) because of how good an actor he is with his CSI-daughter. I suppose Stanley Tucci works for George Harvey (the rapist & murderer) but I imagined more of a John Turturro kind of man. I could totally see Geoffrey Rush as Detective Len Fenerman… but I think I recognise Michael Imperioli from Law & Order.
October 30, 2007 at 9:10 am
oh I read that book last year, and loved it. I think I started on my current path of trash novels because of it (that and a Karen slaughter one about pedophilia, and a play we saw shortly after about the same thing) There was a limit to how much sad stuff I can read.
Having said that I only read knitting books lately ;)
October 30, 2007 at 10:29 am
You are so right – that book is incredibly sad but also incredibly well written. I am rarely moved to tears by either books or movies and this one did me in multiple times. I had no idea it was going to be a movie. I kind of picture the dad as a little ‘dorkier’ than Mark Wahlberg if that makes any sense, but hopefully it will turn out well.