The Lovely Bones
by Alice Sebold
read by author

Suzie Salmon sits in her heaven and watches the earth like any living 14-year old would watch TV. The victim of a 2-legged predator, she observes the effect her disappearance has on her family, her friends and the community she grew up in.

The experience of the audio horrified me in a manner that reading the book did not. The author, Alice Sebold, reads this audio edition in a calm, cold, logical voice. That doesn't mean that the narration is without emotion. People weep and scream and express themselves through the eyes of this disconnected little angel on high. The entire story is quite chilling, and it is even more so when put to you in such a reasonable, practical way for so many extraordinary events.

Initially I thought the ending was depressing. When the earth rolled I actually shouted out from my frustration at end of the story. Over time I have been able to see that the last scenes for Suzie in her heaven really weren't the end of anything. Her end came in the second chapter, when she ceased to interact with the rest of the world. The end of the book was the end of my hope for a tidy ending. The end for her family will never come.