The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold

Technical Stuff.

The main character Susie Salmon narrates, but the whole book isn't told in the first person. Up in her heaven, she observes her community and keeps tabs on her family. Alice Sebold created a gripping story of loss, through maneuvered turns in the story more than the prose itself. The tone was in the whole gloomy because Susie's death was always that big elephant in the room that while not always mentioned made its presence felt.

Story and Themes.

The novel kicks off with the death of Susie Salmon, a girl of fourteen. She belonged to a close-knit family, in a small town (from what I infer). Her untimely demise was crafted by a singularity in their neighborhood, a Mr. Harvey. He planned everything to the smallest detail, and was able to pull off his crime without leaving evidence. The rest of Susie's body was forever lost save for an elbow. It was not long though when the family, particularly Mr. Salmon and Susie's younger sister Lindsey strongly suspected Mr. Harvey of the crime and later driving him into hiding. For years, the Salmon family grieved and each in their own way. Mr. Salmon became obsessed with finding his daughter's killer and became very much occupied with her death. Mrs. Salmon tried to do away with what happened, resorting to starting an affair and then leaving town and separating herself from everyone she knew. Lindsey on the other hand tried her best to stay tough and helped her family from falling apart. The youngest of the Salmon kids, Buckley, was unaware of Susie's death for a while.

A major theme is loss and consequently how people  deal with it. The Salmons were part of a small community, and everyone felt the loss of Susie in their own way. From what I observed, Susie's father was most affected of her death. I can't even imagine a father feeling the weight of the responsibility of having lost a child. Mr. Salmon often resorted to his study and experienced the loss a hundred fold on his own. Mrs. Salmon, while deeply affected, became more distant after the tragedy. She no longer felt at home in her own home, she wanted a different life and even resorted to a little affair with Detective Fenerman who was the detective on the case. A few years after the loss, she left her family and her community. The Salmons continued even without her, but now with Mrs. Salmon's mom to look after the kids. Mr. Salmon, while aware of her disappearance, did not try to find her. I think he knew that she needed that time and space to find peace and compose herself. But for himself, he continued to be in a state of grief and seemed unable to move on. When Buckley tried to use some of Susie's old clothes for his garden that Mr. Salmon snapped and had a heart attack. On the up side, this incident is what brought everything into perspective.

I belong to a small and close family, and I can see how a loss can have so much more weight in those circumstances. While I am a scientist, I do believe in the gut feeling that people sense. One actually pursues lines of inquiry in terms of foresight based on known knowledge, and I think it's just the same in occasions that involve maternal instincts and whatnots. Susie's family especially Mr. Salmon suspected Mr. Harvey from the beginning, and they were quite right. What's so frustrating is the lack of evidence and technology to prove it that he cannot be held responsible. Of spirits and ghosts on the other hand, I think it's pure fiction but it makes for good reading. What is important is how much stronger people become after all the grief and sadness just as Susie's family and friends have become.

Overall.
Everybody is just too fragile after a loss and it manifests in different ways. It's interesting that the author chose to tell the story mainly through Susie's eyes, she was an integral part of so many lives and the disturbing fact that her remains are nowhere to be found made all the suffering more real. That said, I think the book was quite compelling. I give it a C+.

Waiting, Ha Jin

I waste time in bookshops often. I  sometimes take note of the authors and novels which I find interesting, for future reference. Ha Jin is one of those, and I instantly recognized his name when I chanced upon Waiting at BOOKSALE. Boo yeah.

This is my first "review" for the TBR Pile Challenge, so I'll set a few personal guidelines. I'll break down the review to three things: technical stuff, for the author's style, mood/tone, setting/s, etc; story and themes, where I'll state the gist of the book, review the plot and focus on themes that I find most interesting or significant; and overall, where 'llI sum up the feel of the book for me where I'll rate it for fun based on the grading system used in Quebec according to wiki. And also, I vow never to read any other review regarding my titles prior to writing my own.

Technical stuff.
I like Ha Jin's writing style. He doesn't go down that super complicated sentence construction route, he states things simply. How he unfolds the story generates the complexities in the novel, and I must say it is effective. I found the pacing of the novel just right even though it spans a couple of decades, which in theory would've been boring as hell. It's not like an adventure/mystery/thriller kind of book that's meant to keep you up until 4AM, but it's like a short story that does not hurry nor thrill so much yet still draws you in. The characters aren't very loud and extremely conscious with their actions, which fits the picture of the pacified and traditional lives during communist China.

Story and themes.
The protagonist Lin Kong is a married man, a doctor in the military hospital in the city. His wife Shuyu and child Hua are in the province, where he comes home for 10 days each year. He was married upon the insistence of his parents, and does not love his wife. In the city, he found a girlfriend whom he really connects with, a nurse named Manna Wu. This is set in a very conservative and communist China, where rules are strict and divorce is barely in the vocabulary.

The political flavor in the book is rather discernible, as it limits what the characters can or cannot do. It took a long time for Lin Kong to get a divorce mainly because of the traditional and sociopolitical conditions of the time. The people in his province looked up to him and his family, and as in small villages divorce is a big issue. Year after year, some bomb from his brother-in-law would explode and his divorce would have to wait another year. I particularly liked how Gen Yang, a military man who turned out to be absolutely scornful, played out the devil in this divorce debacle since Lin was more of a passive man. For that age in China, Gen Yang was headstrong and quite rebellious. He dares Lin to be more bold, that he had the option to follow his desires. Lin listens, but still conforms to the rules.

The novel scrutinizes what the passing of time, waiting, can do to a person. I can just imagine my English 11 teacher asking who was really waiting in the novel. At this point I'd fail to give the exact answer or get lucky, because I think all the major characters were waiting and for several different things. Take Manna Wu for example, she was always waiting for the person she loves whether it be from a job assignment, from a trip to get a divorce, or just from work. Before, I thought it only takes patience to wait but now I realize it also takes confidence to wait. But time does tend to erode everything, and time elapsed cannot bring back fonder memories nor youthful beauty. Waiting is exhausting, especially for people who have a lot to lose.

From afar, it seems like your usual love story. And frankly I was drawn to the book because of this premise, I thought it'd be one of those long realized what nots and after all the pride and moral obstacles they'd be together. But it as a love story as much as it is a story about being able to feel and love, because I observed that it's more of the protagonist's ability to feel and love that is explored more than the relationships he has. I think I realized this after Lin Kong finally got his divorce from Shuyu, because it was so anticlimactic. I truly believed he felt strongly for Manna, trying to get that divorce for 18 years, I know he did. However, probably all the waiting made everything a tad bit too late. If Lin and Manna were married earlier, they would have been happier. Because when things finally fell into place, it felt like he pushed through with the divorce and marriage because there just is no turning back and it's not a choice to drop his eighteen year old plan anymore after everything that has happened.

At first, he was determined to divorce his wife with bound feet and marry a young and educated woman. After almost two decades when he finally got married to Manna and had twins, life wasn't better for him.  Then there's also that one incident where he endeared to Shuyu when he got drunk. It's such irony to finally get what you want, or wanted, and then not wanting it as much when you get it. Maybe because the time between the two made everything altogether different, but that's just speculation. In the end, this story paints the sad reality that love does not conquer all.

"Yet one thing he was certain about now:  between love and peace of mind he would choose the latter." 

Compounding his rational behavior towards deciding to let go of Manna though with fits of controlled jealousy, his indifference to Shuyu, his lack of communication with his daughter and his initial lack of attachment to his sons it is evident that he's always a few steps behind. I think that it's sadder, to feel but in such a mediocre manner.  

Overall.
It is literally an easy read, but it's quite the opposite of an easy read. It gets you thinking after you put it down, which for me makes for a really good read. I felt sad after finishing the book, maybe because I felt like all the waiting ended up in misery and at the same time it was a very pragmatic (unromantic sounds off) love story. But really, an A- for this one.