The Lovely Bones

Our narrator Susie Salmon is already in heaven. Murdered by a neighbor when she was only fourteen years old, Susie tells us what it is like to be in her new place. "When I first entered heaven I thought everyone saw what I saw. That in everyone's heaven there were soccer goalposts in the distance and lumbering women throwing shot put and javelin. That all the buildings were like suburban northeast high schools built in the 1960s." Later she learns that heaven is whatever you truly want it to be and, sometimes, other people's version of heaven intercepts with your own.

Susie meets another girl, Holly, on her third day in heaven and they end up sharing their ideal home --- a duplex. Franny, their intake counselor, helps them adjust. As Susie gets used to living in heaven, she watches her family and friends on Earth as they come to the realization that she is gone forever.

Her murder occurred on December 6, 1973; back at a time when people still didn't believe things like that could happen. Unlike later when "kids of all races and genders started appearing on milk cartons or in the daily mail." She watches as her parents begin to grasp the un-retractable horror that has entered their lives. At first they try to reassure themselves that "nothing is ever certain;" that Susie is just lost out in the rain somewhere, and alive. But there is no speculation on our part, Susie tells us right off the details of what happened to her.

As the days go by and the evidence mounts, her parents still refuse to believe; that is, until the day Detective Fenerman tells them that all evidence points to their daughter's death and that the police will handle this as a murder investigation. And in that moment Susie sees each of her family members retre...

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...he novel, much of adding a mild suspense. The best part is how easy it is to like her family and friends. And the ending is surprisingly satisfying. Yes, it is wrapped up in nice tidy package, but it leaves a smile, nevertheless. Whereas some writers might not be able to get away with it, this one does. And after the book is read, it's like what Susie says about her and her family, sometimes she still sneaks away to watch her family because she can't help it, and sometimes they still think of her because they can't help it either. I find myself thinking about this novel, because, well, I can't help that either.

It is not that the The Lovely Bones makes light of this kind of tragedy, but it does bring some healthy insight into the role of death in our lives. "That in the air between the living, spirits bob and weave and laugh with us. They are the oxygen we breathe."