Recent Reading: The Lovely Bones

Alice Sebold's first novel is the Antigone group book for this month. Much better than the Rita Mae Brown selection, this book was well-writen and well thought out. I found the book pretty compelling, though some parts made my eyes roll. I thought the family's varied reactions to losing a member were fairly realistic and made for good reading. I thought the dead girl's ability to read the minds of those on Earth a little odd though. And creepy, frankly.

The 'heaven' that Sebold invents for Susie Salmon was an interesting construct. The character of the father was particularly well-written and sympathetic. The idiocy of the police (who, for example, don't even search the local sink hole for the girl's body) was frustrating, but I also thought it was a good move by the author to leave that uncertainty lingering with the characters. Overall, a good read. I'd like to see more from this author.