The aspect of The Lovely Bones that impacted me the most was a quote about relationships from Susie Salmon towards the end of the novel:
“These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence: the connections-sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost, but often magnificent – that happened after I was gone. And I began to see things in a way that let me hold the world without me in it. The events that my death wrought were merely the bones of a body that would become whole at some unpredictable time in the future. The price of what I came to see as this miraculous body had been all my life.”
When Susie first entered her personalized heaven, she could not imagine how her world would look without her there; however, at this point in the novel it is apparent that she now realizes her loss in the community would have lasting effects that would help them all. As she says, the connections were essentially the “lovely bones” that had grown with her absence, and would ultimately become a whole sometime in the future. Many connections stemmed from Susie’s death including relationships that were both beneficial and hurtful. For example, the relationship between Abigail Salmon, her mother, and Len Fenerman, the detective, quickly turned into an affair that was primarily fueled by Abigail’s frustration that her growing family hindered her youthful dreams. This affair came to be one of the factors for the breaking of Jack and Abigail’s marriage. However, the real reason is the difficulty both parents had with coping with their loss. Jack’s obsession with finding Mr. Harvey ultimately caused Abigail to turn to Len for advice and a solid foundation.
On the other hand, Susie’s death provided a foundation for more positive relationships as well. Lindsey Salmon, Susie’s younger sister, and Samuel, her boyfriend, only grew closer with the news of Susie’s murder. As the novel goes on it becomes clearer that, for Lindsey, Samuel is the only consistent person in her life whom she knows will always be there. As her parents’ marriage is falling apart, Lindsey depends on Samuel more and more. Their relationship grows stronger, and while Susie watches her sister grow into a woman, a newborn daughter, Abigail Suzanne, graces the couple. Another positive relationship that stemmed from Susie’s murder was the beginning of a close friendship between Ruth Connors and Ray Singh. Ruth Connors went to school with Susie, however never really knew her until Susie’s spirit touches her on its way to heaven. Ray Singh was Susie’s first crush and first, and only, boy to kiss her. As Ruth becomes more fascinated with Susie, she finds herself getting closer to Ray who is lost without Susie there. Although they are totally different people, the obsession with Susie’s murder draws the two into a tight friendship.
I found it truly fascinating that Alice Sebold was able to take an event as gruesome as rape and murder, and turn it into convoluted ties of friendship and love. It really taught me that no matter how horrible the situation is, in the end the “lovely bones” will piece together to create a wonderful whole that will benefit all who are involved. (539)
Salona, thanks for a thoughtful response to the novel. I particularly like your ending, the way you see what is inherently a dark and disturbing topic for a novel being turned into something more uplifting. Your discussion of the paragraph that contains the title provides a nice context for understanding the love and growth that come out of the pain and loss.
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