Whodunnit? Wider Reading 16: The Lovely Bones

"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6th, 1973. My murderer was a man from our neighbourhood. My mother liked his border flowers, and my father talked to him once about fertilizer.” This is Susie Salmon, who watches from heaven as her family and loved ones try to come to terms with her death, unsolved ever since she was raped and dismembered by a neighbour in the cornfield opposite her house, who left no evidence behind, save an elbow and copious amounts of blood. The writer Alice Sebold is herself a rape survivor; however another girl also fell victim to an attack in the same tunnel, but was not so fortunate as to survive. Many critics speculate that the novel was Sebold’s attempt to voice that girl’s story, not least since her own was told in her first unpublished memoir, "Lucky."

Many instances of a struggle for identity occur within this novel, the most prevalent of which is the individual (and rather selfish) struggle experienced by Susie’s mother, Abigail Salmon. Every character within the novel is forced to use a different way of recovering from Susie’s death. Susie, as our narrator, observes them as they struggle through the painful experience of losing a daughter/sister, and the profound affect it has had on each person. Her sister Lindsey wants to live away from Susie’s shadow. Her young brother Buckley wants to be let in on the secret of her death, and, when he is, allows himself to miss her and to honour her. Her father Jack wants to avenge his daughter’s death by finding her killer. Abigail, on the other hand, does not want to face Susie’s death and instead hides from her family, withdrawing into herself and eventually running away. It seems that Abigail never wanted to have a family in the first place, and she is punished for it by losing Susie physically, and Lindsey and Buckley psychologically, through her neglect.

The religious element of this novel is entirely questionable, as some readers may argue that the heaven Susie is transported to after her death is of a Christian nature, while others argue that, as neither God nor Jesus is involved, it cannot be. Susie’s soul accidentally “touches” classmate Ruth Connors as it leaves earth, and for the f=rest of her life Ruth finds herself constantly exploring the idea of spirits and death.

Some characters in the novel also experience a struggle for sexual identity. Ruth Connors is more intensely affected by the dead than others, especially Susie, and finds herself struggling to make friends and relate to other people. She is also a lesbian, but in the 1970s this would have been considered unacceptable, and is unable to act on it or even tell anyone. Susie herself manages, by some complicated soul-exchanging mechanism, to make love to her almost-boyfriend Ray Singh through Ruth’s body, and Ray finds himself torn between his friendship with Ruth and his lingering love for Susie. Both Ray and Susie find solace in The Act; afterwards, Ray feels able to cherish his memory of Susie whilst moving on, while Susie moves on entirely, to a larger Heaven.

A small element of a national identity struggle can be found in "The Lovely Bones" as well. During the initial search for Susie’s murderer, Ray Singh is an immediate suspect due to his unusual Indian heritage. Despite the police eventually realising that he is innocent, the immediate accusal has a great effect on Ray and his family.

The Lovely Bones - Identity Quotations