And I thought The Lovely Bones was hard to put down...

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	• Lucky : A Memoir Alice Sebold, 2002 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 254 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Personal, tragic, and transcendant

There are not many writers who can be extremely talented fiction AND non-fiction writers. So even though I had read "The Lovely Bones" and knew Alice Sebold to be an extremely gifted storyteller, I hesitated to take up "Lucky". It was non-fiction and moreover, autobiographical, and moreover, documents a personal tragedy. With all due respect, and without diminishing the seriousness of the subject, I wasn't sure I would be able to stick with it to the end.

Well, I certainly did stick with it to the end; if you liked "The Lovely Bones" reading this will help you understand how she was able to bring haunting and heartbreaking life to the characters in that book. She tells her story brilliantly. I recommend this book without reservation.

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And I thought The Lovely Bones was hard to put down...

I rarely find a book I just Cannot Put Down. One of the rare ones was The Lovely Bones--and it wasn't just the plot. It was the language, the crystal-clear voice-in-your-head narrative that spoke and spoke of pain and sadness and resolve. It was infused with a realism and was both beautiful and haunting. Like the lean, hard and seemingly lengthened muscles of a runner, Sebold's voice is discernable above the din of modern fiction yet it is not haughty or self-involved... Hearing her voice is like the moment you know you are going to be really good friends with someone you just met: comforting and clear, it makes you want to lean closer to absorb it. It made me a devoted fan of Sebold as I am sure you are, too.

After having read Lucky, I now feel I know where that voice originated from. This book is the literary equivilent of an armor-piercing bullet, and I found it beyond interesting that she took time out from writing The Lovely Bones to expunge her own memories from her narrative process--in other words, she felt she had to tell her full story in order to complete Susie's authentically in Susie's voice.

To say that this was a gripping narrative, to say that it was moving, to say that it was a good read seems trite. It was more like a shock to my system. It made me more careful with my decisions as a woman and a mother and made me realize the profound effect of such violence. Sebold's voice, like Melville's, is so full of astonishing truths that it cannot be ignored nor should it be missed simply because it isn't fiction. There are real truths in this book that everyone should know.

Keep in mind that this book is not for the faint of heart; it does indeed open with an extremely descriptive narrative of her rape and the subsequent trial. Sebold details the capture, trial, aftermath and survival of her rape in such detail it cannot be described in a review--it has to be experienced for oneself.

Please read this book: it is a revelation. Not a kind one, but a necessary one for both the author and ourseles. I am immensely grateful to have found it, and for Sebold for having written it. You won't be able to put it down.

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An admirable though uneasy read ...

I had no idea of the style or subject of 'Lucky' until I started reading it: I'd bought it purely on the strength of Sebold's earlier novel, 'The Lovely Bones'.
That being said, I found myself captivated by this remarkable account of Sebold's teen years and, of course, her rape - the cataclysmic event that has so shaped her present and, it seems, will continue to affect her future. (As I was reading, I was getting my daughter ready for her first year at college and this book has gone with her.)
Sebold deserves copious praise for her courage and clear-headedness, not just in having dealt with the rape all those years ago, and its effects on all who were and are still close to her, but also in dredging it all up again to present this ordered, sensible, well-written account.
Particularly admirable is the no-holds-barred way she presents herself. It would have been so easy to slip into 'poor little me' mode, but she has avoided that self-pitying tone so successfully that at times I almost disliked her, feeling so very, very sorry for her all the while.
It's not a comfortable read by any means. But it is a strong one, and worthwhile, for Sebold's well-delivered perspective on the psyche of rapist, victim and what may well be a lifetime of shattered relationships.

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Like hugging pain, raw but beautifully written

Lucky is the truest portrait one can paint of tragedy and justice in minds, bodies, and spirits.

Pleased

The book arrived very quickly and so far I am very pleased with the book. It is as good as the review said it would be. Thanks :-)

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, page 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

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