Quotes

This quote obviously refers to the violence by which she dies, which heavily impacts her experience in the afterlife. It also suggests that her injuries, prior to Mr. Harvey killing her with the knife, are serious enough to kill her.

The Lovely Bones strongly suggests that when we go to the afterlife, we bring along all our Earthly traits, and we continue to grow and change after we die.

Susie isn't in to the whole death thing whatsoever when she first gets to heaven, but she gets used to it one she's realizes how cool it is.

We don't know exactly how they knew this was Susie's elbow, or what shape it was in when they found it. It comes to symbolize Susie's death and to stand in for the rest of her bones, which are never found.

For some reason, the saliva-covered hat, which Mr. Harvey uses to gag Susie, is what convinces Abigail that Susie is dead. Why is this more convincing to Abigail than the elbow? Well, because she recognizes it. She made it. It's a psychological thing.

This intimate knowledge of the details of her daughter makes us feel Abigail's love for Susie. It also pleases Susie to no end, because she's in the phase of her ghosthood where being remembered and talking about is very important.

Here Jack is shattering the ships in the bottles that Susie used to help him complete. His anger is an expression of his love, and he is afterwards able to see Susie's projected image in the glass.

This tender moment occurs just days after Susie's death. Throughout the novel, father and son are there for each other, though they have a few rough patches.

It's the moment of Buckley's mother's return – a moment where love and hate blend for intense emotional impact on the part of the readers and, of course, for Buckley himself.

Susie is so darn wise and articulate now. She so sums up the old human condition. Our fragility leaves us open to the best and worst of human experience.

The crowning symbol of love for Susie, a new Susie!

Although this is not the most violent thing Harvey does (if we can weight these things against each other) it's extremely impactful. Seeing him shut off her breath and voice gives the reader a vivid sense of suffocation.

Instead of the violence itself, we are seeing its impact on Susie in the moment. Her inner life has been, in a matter of moments, utterly transformed.

Susie has no illusions of continued life at this point. But, this sense of renewed life, of a moment of relief, is a powerful observation.

The after-violence is incredibly striking. The idea of Harvey carving up her body and tossing it about so carelessly may be hard on the reader. We are glad her family was spared the knowledge. Or, would it have helped them to know the truth?

That horror Susie's talking about, most of it can be linked to some kind of violence – from Earthquakes to famine to cancer to murder.

Much of Susie's earthly interactions are fairly subtle. She does lots of showing herself to people in glass, and she blows out a candle and maybe drops an icicle here and there. When she goes into Ruth's body and makes love with Ray, she's taking it to the next level.

Susie has been trying not to think of Buckley too hard. When she thinks of people too hard, they might see her in the glass. There's a fine line between memory and imagination, and really seeing a ghost.

In this novel, the dead fill the world of the living. But they are restricted to the role of passive "watchers" that aren't involved in the living world (or not much, at least).

Susie puts the "super" in supernatural. Here she's at the height of her realm switching powers.