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 From the back cover:
‘My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973’
So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her, her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unravelling”
In 1973, when Susie Salmon was 15 years old, I was 16. Susie crossed the cornfields to get to school and home again, I walked through the woods. Susie was murdered, I survived...
The first chapter in this book was such a parallel to my life that it was so disturbing and horrific that I had to put the book down, unsure if I would ever have the nerve to pick it up again. But I did. And found that it was very difficult to continue. But as hard as it was, I continued to read. Out of the horror that was Susie’s death comes something wonderful. Seattle Post Intelligencer said the book was “haunting” and the New York Times Book Review stated that it was “mesmerizing”.
Alice Sebold did a remarkable job of keeping the background facts and descriptions true to my generation. I felt Susie’s need to stay with her family and watch over them, to keep them safe. As Susie’s family was able to move on, I found that I too was able to move on in this book. As they began to laugh, so was I. Sebold also shows us, the reader, that grief is not something that heals overnight, for each of us, it varies. She also shows us that we each find our own way to cope with loss.
At first I was sure I would be typing the words “this book is so utterly disturbing that I would never recommend it as a good read”. But now, I must say “this book is so utterly disturbing that I feel anyone who has lost a child or sibling should read this utterly disturbing work of art.” This book is disturbing, haunting, mesmerizing, horrific, beautiful and teaches the art of healing. The story will stay with me forever.
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