In the now rare occasion that I read a book that isn’t about to be released as a movie, I can’t help but cast the movie in my head. Not only that, but I also imagine how the cinematography would look and how the score behind it would sound. For example, when I read “Fahrenheit 451,” I cast Edward Norton as Guy Montag.
In this case, I also imagined the books that would be burned. I’d throw in some of the banned books like “The Catcher in the Rye” and “Harry Potter,” but of course, I’d have to cut to a few of my least favorite books. I’d burn every copy of “The Lovely Bones.”
What was wrong with The Lovely Bones? I loved that book and can’t wait for the movie.
It is an deeply sad and distressing book to read, but there is no emotional payoff for putting up with it. At the end, I thought to myself, “I trudged through all that depressing stuff and THIS is how you end this book? This is what I get? Thanks a lot, Alice Sebold.”