The Lovely Bones
The first chapter of Sebold's novel tells of the rape and murder of Susie Salmon, a 14 year old girl on her way home from school. Her murderer is Mr. Harvey who lives a few doors away, but Susie, the narrator of the story, gets to know him better after her death. From her place in heaven, she follows his life as well as the tragedy her family must face.
Susie is the sister of Lindsey, several years her junior, and Buckley, who is too young to understand death. Susie watches in vain while the only evidence detective Fenerman can find is a love note, a jingle-bell hat, a charm bracelet, and a young girl's elbow. Her father suspects George Harvey, and one night in the dark gets wounded with a baseball bat when he mistakes a friend of his daughter for Mr. Harvey.
Abigail, Susie's mother, doesn't agree with her husband's suspicions, and after this fiasco, she has an affair with the detective. When this falls through, she leaves home for several years, explaining to her daughter Lindsey, "I want to be more than a mother."
Two other school friends who were important in Susie's life were Ruth and Ray. Ruth kept a journal about Susie and seemed to be aware of her presence more than anyone else. Ray was the first boy Susie kissed, and her love for him becomes fulfilled in a dream.
After Abigail leaves home, her mother, Grandma Lynn, comes to live with the family. She enjoys her drinks, but becomes the most stable character in the story. She takes care of the family for the years Abigail is gone. And welcomes her back after her husband's sudden heart attack.
All of this Susie watches from her heaven, but without any spite or judgment. One friend there had warned her that she must stop asking why she was killed instead of someone else. 'Simply put," she added, "you have to give up on Earth."
Although Susie's rape and murder is no fun to learn of, her timely commentaries from heaven soften the effect on the reader. Very few things in Sebold's novel can be judged as totally impossible.
The Lovely Bones was published in 2002 and has been a bestseller for many months.