I mentioned in a previous blog that I wanted to start reviewing movies. I was thinking today though that I'd also like to review books and also compare and contrast books and movies based on those books. I don't have internet right now and won't for a few weeks, so I'll probably be uploading a bunch of these at one time lol. I'm going to have a lot of time on my hands to read and write. We'll see if that's a good or bad thing LOL.
So I first want to say that I love books with reading group guides and questions in them. I'm not in any reading groups or book clubs or anything(although I'd like to be, just none around here that I know of) but I feel like reading that stuff before I read the book and then coming back to it after I read the book helps me to really dive deeper into a book and understand it.
So the book I'm doing in this entry is "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold. I know there is a movie based on this book and I've seen it and I love it. So I'll do a little comparing at the end.
"The Lovely Bones" is a book about the rape and murder of 14 year old Susie Salmon. She is the narrator and she is narrating from her heaven. The book jumps back and forth between memories from before her murder(also some scenes of her murder) to the aftermath of her murder.
It follows her family and her friends as they make their way through the winding awful road that is grief. It shows how all of their lives are completely and permanently changed. There are many books and movies that do that. But what makes this book unique is as previously mentioned it's narrated by Susie and follows her road of dealing with what has happened to her and what is happening to her family and friends and as the book goes on how she deals with the fact that her family, friends, and the world she left are all changing and moving on without her.
I love love love this book. I've read it several times now and every time I feel different when I finish it and I notice different things. I find that all of the characters are well thought out, well rounded, interesting, and unique characters. In some books the characters feel like the same person, just different names. But this is not one of those books. The characters are all very different from each other. They are deep well developed characters.
The story line is great. It's a story line that has been done many times but the author tackles it in a completely unique way. It's full of hidden messages and hidden connections you might not notice the first or even second or third time you read it. As I mentioned I always notice something new.
So let's talk about some things I'm not as wild about.
There are small things like the fact that Susie's killer dies without ever being caught and held accountable for what he did to her and many other girls and that her body is dumped in the sink hole and never found. I get it though, it works for the message in this story. Also the reality is tons of people never have a body for their missing loved one and many many murders go unsolved. So it makes sense and is realistic. But that doesn't mean I don't want to see her body found and the creep caught lol.
I also think the way the author handled relationships is weird(I'll get into more over that when I answer the questions).
The big thing I don't like is towards the end of the book there is a scene where the guy(Ray) Susie liked and was just starting to date when she died and a girl(Ruth) who saw her spirit when she died(she became good friends with Ray after Susie's death) come back to town like 8.5 years after her death because they are going to fill in the sink hole and the sink hole is something that has always interested Ruth and she wants to see it before they fill it in and she wants Ray to come with her. So after they look at the sink hole, Ray goes to collect flowers for his mom and suddenly Susie enters Ruth's body and Ruth goes to heaven. She(Susie in Ruth's body) takes him to a bike shop and they have sex basically like rabbits for awhile and then of course she has to go back to her heaven and Ruth has to come back.
On the surface, it's kind of a romantic sweet moment. But the more I think about the scene the less I like it. First off, it seems weird to me that a guy would still be hung up on a girl he had a crush on at 14 as a grown man. Second off, Susie is of course stuck at 14 years old and he is now an adult. Third off, it's obviously not even her body, it's Ruth's. It just seems weird to me that a dead girl who was raped and has such issues with that would then steal someone else's body and have sex in it without her consent. Not only that but she thinks more than once that she hopes Ruth is watching(Grant it, one of those times she thinks that she says she hopes she's watching so she can see how beautiful she think's Ruth's body is but it is still weird to me lol). This is maybe the one scene I felt was handled better in the movie than in the book. But I'll get into that more later. It's one of those scene's your better off not analyzing too much and remembering it's just a book lol.
So now for reading group questions.
1. Although many readers remember the first lines of The Lovely Bones as "My name was Salmon, like the fish..." the novel's opening is actually a brief passage about a snow globe that Susie observed as a child. What is the significance of this beginning? In a "perfect world", it would seem, one is both imprisoned and protected. Is Susie's heaven a blessing or curse?
The significance of the beginning is that's basically where Susie ends up. I believe her heaven is both a blessing and a curse. In her heaven she is safe, she has everything she needs, and she has friends who understand what she's been through and help her work through the process. But she can see her friends and family but she can't help them to find her body or let know who killed her and help them find George Harvey. She can see the things they are going through but she can't help them. She can see them moving on and things changing without her.
2. In Susie's heaven, the dead enjoy a number of comforts and simple pleasures. Yet it is far from a perfect place-not all wishes can be granted, and many of the inhabitants are victims of crimes. Why do the heavens of different characters-e.g., Franny, Holly, Flora Hernandez-take such different forms? Is Sebold offering a rosy view of death and its aftermath? Or do you think she is saying something more profound about the individual experiences of loss and grief?
I think she is saying more about individual experience of loss and grief. The thing that stands out to me in this book is how different each character is and how they handle things differently. She seems to paint heaven as being a representation of the each person's life and the things that were important to them and the things they dreamed of. So that means each individual's heaven is different. There are places that overlap with others but no one's heaven is exactly a like, just like their lives weren't exactly alike. I mean it is a rosy nice thought that heaven would be like that but I don't think that was the point she was trying to make. But I guess you'd have to ask her if you want the real answer lol.
3. Rape is one of the most alienating experiences imaginable. Susie's rape ends in murder and changes her family and friends forever. Alienation is transferred, in a sense, to Susie's parents and siblings. How does each member of Susie's family experience loneliness and isolation after her death?
Her mom already felt isolated and lonely to a certain extent I think but after Susie's death everyone treated her differently but hardest for her I think was that her husband became consumed with finding Susie's murderer. She was left dealing with the brutal death of her daughter on her own. Her dad felt like the only one fighting to find out who killed her and he was treated differently by everyone. I think Buckley probably experienced it the least at first. But after his mom left and his dad was so consumed with finding Susie's killer, I thnk he experienced it the most. He was still a child and he needed his parents more than anyone and they couldn't be there for him. Lindsey had to attend the same schools Susie once did. She had to see her friends. She had to see people look at her not be able to think of anything but Susie and what happened to her. On top of that she too had to deal with her mother checking out and leaving and her dad being cosumed with finding out who killed Susie.
4. Ruth Connors inadvertently becomes Susie's main connection to Earth. How does this in turn change Ruth? Does it seem strange that someone who wasn't close to Susie during her life is so deeply affected by her death? Is Ruth's obsession with murdered girls exploitive of Susie's fate, or is healing in some way?
I'd say the main way it changes Ruth, is by helping her to accept the gift she was given and start to embrace it. It also helps her find a friend in Ray. In some ways it does seem strange that Ruth was so affected by her death but people who have the gifts she does tend me very sensitive. Also I think she probably sees how easily it could have been her instead of Susie. I don't think it's exploitive at all. As I already said I think Susie's death and what she saw that night helped her embrace her gift and I think what she does with the murdered girls she sees is her way of doing something good with her gift.
5. The Lovely Bones takes place in an American suburb in the 1970s. In what ways is this setting important to how the story unfolds? What is the significance of specific elements of Susie's landscape: the similar houses in her neighborhood, the remaining vestiges of old farmland, the sinkhole where Mr. Harvey hides her body? Why do you think the author chose this paticular time period? How might it be different if it were happening today?
To be honest, I don think the setting is that important to how the story unfolds nor do I think there is a significance to the specific elements of Susie's landscape. I have no idea why the author chose that paticular time period. The only way I can see where it would be different is now we have Amber alerts and other things to make it easier to hunt and investigate these type of crimes. Otherwise it would be still be very similar.
6. Susie's closest sibling, Lindsey, carries a unique burder as a result of her sister's death. What was the sisters' relationship like before the tragedy? What are the paticular expectations and pressures Lindsey must cope with? How does Susie's death change Lindsey?
Their relationship before the tragedy was very much like any other relationship between siblings. They had good times and bad. Lindsey has to deal with people feeling sorry for her but also with them seeing her sister in her. I feel like Lindsey became in a lot of ways much more closed off and untrusting.
7. How does Susie's view of sex change in the course of the novel? During her own life, she exchanges an almost chaste kiss with Ray. After her rape, she has the opportunity to observe her parents, Lindsey and Samuel, as well as her mother and Detective Fenerman. Is Susie's impression of sexuality altered by what she observes? How does her own experience with Ray and Ruth fit in?
I would say that before her rape she viewed sex as mostly a physical thing and after she saw it as more an emotional thing. I think her observations of people she loved having sex made her want to experience the emotional part of it. It made her want to experience sex as it was intended. Her experience with Ray and Ruth fit in because it was deeply emotional for her and Ray. It was what she always dreamed of her first time being.
8. How does Abigail cope with Susie's death? What does she seek in her interaction with Len Fenerman? What do you think of her decision to leave her family? Why does she return? Do you believe this is the right choice for her?
She doesn't cope with Susie's death. Her interaction was Len Fenerman was an attempt at distracting her from the pain of Susie's death. I think Abigail was struggling long before Susie's death and she couldn't deal with the pain she already had and the pain of losing Susie, so she tried to run away from it. She returns because she realizes she can't run from the pain beacuse the pain is inside of her and because she loves her husband and her kids and she can't escape that either. Yes I do believe it was the right choice for her.
9. Why does the author include scenes from Mr. Harvey's perspective including details about his childhood? Do these details help to humanize him or are they immaterial in view of the horrible nature of his crimes? What does Sebold's depiction of Mr Harvey say about the nature of evil?
I think the author includes scenes from Mr. Harvey's perspective and his childhood because it would be hard to understand how sick he is without them. Yes it helps to humanize him but I wouldn't say it humanizes him a way that makes him look better. It only shows what made him who he was. I think it says that evil is complicated.
10. Buckley claims to see Susie, though she never mentions consciously revealing herself to him. Do you believe he really sees her or does he make up these encounters in an attempt to cope with her death. How do you explain tragedy to a child? Do Jack and Abigail do a good job of helping Buckley understand the loss of his sister?
I think he might have really seen her some times and some of the encounters might have benen made up. Kids are more sensitive to seeing things. I think you have to be honest but age appropriate with telling children about tragedy. I think you need to be open and be ready to answer their questions. No I don't really think they did do a good job of helping him understand the loss of his sister. They let him believe for months that she was just away at someone else's house. Even after they finally explained it to him, he was left to deal with it mostly alone. Jack and Abigail were so consumed by their own grief, they just couldn't seem to deal with Buckley or Lindsey's grief.
11. In The Lovely Bones, adult relationships(Abigail and Jack, Rays parents, Len and Abigail) are dysfunctional and troubled while the relationships of the younger people(Lindsey and Samuel, Ray and Susie, Ray and Ruth) seem to have depth, maturity, and potential. Is this a naive view of young love? Or do the younger characters in the book hae an advantage over adults?
This is one of the things I found weird about this book. I do feel like the younger characters have an advantage and that advantage is simply put, less baggage. But I also think some of it is kind of a naive view of young love.
12. Does Jack Salmon allow himself to be swallowed up by his grief? Is there a point where he should let go? Susie observes that "The living deserve attention too." Does Jack's grief increase his family's suffering, or is there something admirable about him holding on so tightly to Susie's memory and not denying his profound sadness?
Yes he does. I don't think letting go in a situation like that is possible. Yes his grief does increase his family's suffering, especially when he went into the wheat field and got beat up so bad. But also because he becomes so consumed with his grief and finding answers, that he puts his family on the back burner. But I do find it admirable that even after everyone else was ready to let go and move on, he was still set on getting justice for his little girl.
13. One of the most talked about scenes in the book is Ray and Susie's lovemaking (via Ruth's body). What is the significance of this experience for Susie? For Ruth? For Ray? Is it difficult to make this leap of faith with Susie? What do you think the importance of this episode is in this book?
The significance for Susie is she gets to experience sex on her terms and she gets to experience having a mature body when she otherwise wouldn't have. For Ruth, I'm not sure. For Ray, I think it kind of allows him to have some closure and to close that chapter in his life. Yes very difficult. I guess the importance of it to the book is, Susie found a way to escape her perfect heaven and be human again for just a bit.
14. Mr. Harvey dies in a way that seems to indicate a larger justice a work. Certainly his victims rejoice from Heaven at his demise. But does his death really bring justice to those he hurt? Can it compensate them for what they have lost? Why do you think the author chose not have Mr. Harvey apprehended by the police? Why is Susie's body never found?
In my opinion, no it doesn't really bring justice. Justice would've been facing the families of the girls who he killed. No it doesn't compensate them for what they've lost. They are still dead. They still died in a terrible way. Their families and friends lives were still destroyed. I think the author chose to not have Mr. Harvey apprehended by the police or have Susie's body found because when you get down to it, neither would've changed anything.
15. Even in heaven, Susie must move through different stages of dealing with her death and its aftermath. What forms does her progress take? Why is she not allowed to meet Mr. Harvey's other victims right away? How does Susie's journey mirror that of the people she has left behind on Earth?
Her progress takes on many different emotions very similar to the emotions of her family. Sadness, fear, anger, and acceptance just to name a few. I think she had to be in the right place to get the most out of the meeting. Her journey is very very similar to the journey of the people she left behind on Earth. The emotions she went through were the same that they went through.
16. What is the significance of the novel's title? What does Susie mean when she refers to the "lovely bones"?
I think of it as when you break a bone, new bone forms to fix the damage done and make the bone strong again. It will always look different but it will work and it will be strong and it will be able to do it's job. The lovely bones she was refering to was the healing the people she loved had done and were doing. They'd never be the same as they were before her death but they were able to go on and be strong and do the things they needed and wanted to do.
Okay to do some comparing of the film and book.
I felt like unlike some films based on books, they kept to the story very well with this one. There were little changes like in the movie Susie and Ray never kiss. In the book they do. The scene where Ruth gets in trouble for her drawing is different. The timeline is altered in places. In the movie, Ruth's family owns the land where the sink hole is. In the book, another family owns it and Ruth is just interested in the sink hole. In the movie, Mr. Harvey holds on to Susie's body for awhile and in the book he gets rid of it almost immediatly(part of the change in the timeline). The scene where she is killed is understandably toned way way way down in the movie as compared to the book. So most of the differences are small and they kept very close to the book.
There are four big differences that I can think of. In the book how Holly died is never mentioned. She is never mentioned to be one of Mr. Harvey's victims. But in the movie she is one of his victims. The other is in the book when Susie enters Ruth's body her and Ray have sex and in the movie they kiss and it's a much shorter encounter. There is also no mention of Ruth going to Susie's heaven. Also Susie seems much more confused about what happened to her in the movie than she does in the book. In the book, she seems to know immediatly she's dead and he killed her. In the movie, there is a moment when she is in the bathroom of Mr. Harvey's house and he's taking a bath and there is mud and blood everywhere that she suddenly seems to understand what's happened. Also in the book Mr. Harvey claims to be a widower and he uses the names of his victims as his pretend dead wife's name and in the movie he claims to be divorced.
I don't understand the need to make Holly one of his victims in the movie but I don't hate it either, if that makes sense lol. I much prefer the way the body entering scene is done in the movie as compared to the book. It's much more believable in the movie than it is in the book for me. I have zero opinion on the difference in Susie's confusion lol. I think the way the book handles Mr. Harvey's pretend martial status is better but that's just a personal opinion.
I guess that is all for this blog! I'll hopefully be back soon with another. Hopefully I'll get the motivation to get back to my 100 Days of Happiness soon lol. We'll see what happens!
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