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The Lovely Bones

By: Alice Sebold
Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan
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Publisher's Summary

More than 2 million copies sold by Picador, more than 8 million around the world - now a film by Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings, Heavenly Creatures)

My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973. My murderer was a man from our neighborhood. My mother liked his border flowers, and my father talked to him once about fertilizer.

This is Susie Salmon. Watching from heaven, Susie sees her happy suburban family devastated by her death, isolated even from one another as they each try to cope with their terrible loss alone. Over the years, her friends and siblings grow up, fall in love, do all the things she never had the chance to do herself. But life is not quite finished with Susie yet . . . The Lovely Bones is a luminous and astonishing novel about life and death, forgiveness and vengeance, memory and forgetting - but, above all, about finding light in the darkest of places.

©2002 Alice Sebold (P)2002 Recorded Books LLC

Critic Reviews

"Spare, beautiful and brutal prose . . . The Lovely Bones is compulsive enough to read in a single sitting, brilliantly intelligent, elegantly constructed and ultimately intriguing." ( The Times)
‘This is a wonderful book, served well by a beautiful narration. It has pathos, drama and subtlety. It comes with a warning, however, it might not be a good idea to listen to it while driving as that becomes a dangerous exercise when tears are streaming down your cheeks.’ ( Material Witness.com)
‘It’s an astonishingly real and poignant portrayal of a broken family, and Alyssa Bresnahan’s narration is remarkable for its sensitivity.’ ( The Observer.)
‘Aside from its compulsive plot, exhaustive exploration of grief and avowed rejection of the false resolution offered by most murder mysteries, Sebold’s novel is a great read because the voice of its teenage narrator is so completely convincing. And in American Alyssa Bresnahan’s soft, slightly wry reading, you get the full intimacy of that voice. The murder, too, becomes more shockingly invasive in this format.’ ( Time Out)
The Lovely Bones Audio book was also reviewed on ( Open Book Radio 4.) It was described as having ‘a lot of attitude…a wonderful concept…chilling… and simply fabulous.’
‘Impressive for its careful telling.’ ( Sunday Times Culture)

What listeners say about The Lovely Bones

Average Customer Ratings
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  • D20
  • 01-06-2023

Heartbreaking but amazing

One of my favourite books. I read it as a teen and loved it, but I don't think I understood it fully. Now as an adult, I truly can feel the devastating heartbreak of the story. I love Susie's character, the tragic end of her life is overwhelmed by her beautiful way of viewing the world. I feel like this book captures the nostalgia of youth and makes me grateful to experience growing up. This book makes me mourn for a character that never existed, but also reflect on the tragedy of what happens to thousands of young women around the world everyday. “I wish you all a long and happy life. ”

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent narration

An outstanding and truly moving novel, Alyssa’s narration was exceptional as she had you easily believe you were listening to the voices of the individual characters! A wonderfully diverse range of talking.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Its fine

The narrators voice starts to grate on you after a while, I had to force myself to finish. I love crime and crime fiction and although this contained a crime, it kind of wasn't in either genre.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

kind of long in parts

A good book, but it did not hold my attention all the way through. I thought it could have been a bit shorter.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love, love, love

Loved everything about this book and it was beautifully narrated. I was sad when it was over.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A must read/listen

A wonderful story of grief and beauty, I cried with sadness and happiness together. truely Lovely.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An All Time Fave

The Lovely Bones has been a favorite of mine for years and this audio book didn't disappoint. The narration was simple & easy to get lost in. Would recommend to anyone.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Unfinished storyline

I would have liked a stronger ending. It was not a complete story line for me.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Dark story that has been beautifully told

The Lovely Bones explores the trauma that ricochets in a community after a horrific event. The dark story is beautifully told and is far superior to the movie. The themes of grief, strength, regret, and hope parallels reality.

I, personally, did not love this particular narrator.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Great writing

Well written, but I kept getting lost I needed mr Harvey to be caught and tried for the deaths - the description of things, people and feelings were spot on - although I needed a happily ever after cheers

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