While
is told from a deceased person's point of view, it is not a fantasy. The
film version devotes so much time to the fantastical elements of Susie's time in Heaven, that
much of the gritty reality of a family's coping with the brutal murder of their daughter/sister
is somewhat lost. I think that much of the fantasy feel of the movie came from Peter Jackson who
also directed/produced The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The problem is
that Sebold's novel focuses most on the harsh splintering of the Salmon family because of
Susie's death--not on Susie's posthumous fantasy world. Much of what makes the novel such a
popular read is Sebold's portrayal of reality; in fact, if someone first reads Sebold's memoir
Lucky which chronicles her being raped and coping with the aftermath, much
of The Lovely Bones becomes even more real to the reader.
So, while critics of film versions of popular books often citeor event discrepancies as
reasons for not appreciating the movie version, The Lovely Bones is
different in that the filmmaker actually changes the book's focus and tone which to me is a more
significant alteration than leaving a couple events out here and there.
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