I read the book, "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold; I did not see the movie. For those of you who did see the movie, but never read the book, I urge you to read the book for a couple of reasons.
First, I read the press that was released prior to the movie and decided at that point that I would not be viewing the movie. I'm really funny about things like that; in my experience, after reading a novel, the movie is always found lacking in my eyes. "The Lovely Bones" is a strong and riveting story and at one point quite disturbing. The disturbing portion of the book is what "makes" the story; this is the part that the movie producers decided to leave out. I remember reading that the part was being left out because the producer wanted to make the movie a PG13 rating so her own child could view it. Well, that decision changed the entire tone of the movie. I know that you must be thinking I'm a little extreme in my opinion, but let me explain.
The reason I believe the scene where the young girl is abducted is vital to the story line is two-fold. First, if one reads the book, it is clear "why" the characters feel the way they do and in turn act in certain ways. Once again I will say..."reading a book puts you inside the characters' heads and allows you to know their thoughts and feelings intimately"; this is something that a movie can never do. Secondly, there is another book by this author that is essential for people to read. This book entitled, "Lucky", is an autobiographical book about an attack and rape that the author suffered while in college. It details her struggle to survive after this horrible event occurred in her life. Now, one can understand how she came to write "The Lovely Bones" and in turn why "I" believe that the movie should have contained "every" portion of the book.
I will, of course, agree that the subject matter contained in both of these books is quite disturbing, but it also shows how people can and do survive horrible situations. Therefore, this is why I would recommend reading BOTH of these books, written not only by a very talented writer, but also someone who is a fighter...a survivor...and ultimately a success. HAPPY READING!
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I haven't read the book, but have watched the film. (twice to be exact) I've always discovered that in films like that you usually have to watch more than once to catch the things you missed the first time. I love books however, and think I will have to add the book to my reading list; because as you described here, books cover so much that movies simply can't! Great post! ~Hugs, MR
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