I have been doing very well in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks book challenge but I am seeing a disturbing thread in my booklist. Many of the books that I have read so far are dark and depressing. I don't know whether that is a sign of the literary times or whether I am a dark and depressing person who is drawn to the same kind of books. I would rather think it is the times.
In following in my dark and depressing footsteps, I have just finished a fantastic book by Alice Sebold. The Lovely Bones is a quirky (again, a pattern in my book reading as of late) tale that is narrated by a 14 yr. old girl who has been murdered by a pedophile. The girl, Suzie Salmon, has already been murdered when she takes up her job as narrator.
Suzie follows her family as they deal with this grisly crime and the grief that accompanies it. She watches as her family slowly falls apart. She is comforted, though, that her father, in true bulldog fashion, does not give up in trying to find her murderer. His tenactiy for justice is proof to her of his love.
Someone told me that this book was a study on grief. I agree with this statement. Ms. Sebold accurately, and beautifully, portrays the effect that grief plays on family members.