Glad I gave in!

It's a story that is all too prevalent in society: the sudden and total disappearance of an individual. We hear, read and see stories in the news, of the missing person, the search parties, the neighborhood coming together in support, the person found, sometimes alive, sadly, more often not, and sometimes gone forever. Time passes, the story fades away, another is unfortunately always ready to takes its place, and people forget that those close to the missing person still must continue to exist without their loved one.

Because of these disturbing real life stories, I admit, for years I have been reluctant to read Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones. For the few people unfamiliar with this modern classic novel, the plot focuses on Suzie Salmon ("like the fish"), who is brutally murdered by a neighbor at the age of fourteen. However, unlike in the media, her personal story does not end there: the book is told in first person narrative by Suzie herself. She watches the members of her family (parents, younger siblings and grandmother) and her friends cope with her disappearance, through the initial shock, their suspicions, and their ability, or disability, to let go and move on. We see them break apart from one another, and within themselves, trying to heal in their own ways. Some reach out for help, while others find solitude easier, even if it means hurting other survivors.

What struck me about The Lovely Bones is how Sebold manages to write such a heartbreaking story and infuse it with hope, perseverance and, yes, even some levity. Suzie's grandmother Lynn, an impeccably dressed, alcohol dependent, tell-it-like-it-is woman, particularly adds lightness, despite her harsh manner and words, as does Ruth, the schoolmate who swears she saw Suzie's ghost near where she was murdered.

The film version of The Lovely Bones is due out early next year. I don't know how the book will transfer to film, how Suzie's version of heaven will be achieved, but hopefully it will do this wonderful book justice.

Past lives makes great present entertainment

I love books about past lives. I love the fact that if I can't make my mind up if I want to read something contemporary or historic, I can have both in one cover! Whether it's a book on reincarnation, or a modern character researching past events, a good author will bring you into and hold your interest in both worlds, frustrating you when you leave one storyline, but immediately hooking you back into the other.

Here are a few of my favourites:

Possession by A.S. Byatt.
Two contemporary historic scholars join forces through their respective research of two Victorian poets, whose various writings reveal their torrid extramarital affair.

Marianna by Susanna Kearsley
When Julia Beckett first saw Greywethers as a child, it was a poignant moment which would one day lead her to purchase it. Once in residence, she finds herself daydreaming about Mariana, a woman who lived in the house four hundred years earlier, and Richard de Mornay, the man Mariana loves. When and how did their love end?

Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine
Matilda de Braose was put to death by King John in the 12th century. Centuries later, journalist Jo Clifford undergoes hypnosis while researching Matilda's story, becoming increasingly obsessed as she realises that Matilda is in fact Jo herself in a previous existence.

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
Recovering from a horrific car crash that left him burnt beyond recognition, the book's narrator meets manic artist Marian Engel, who tries to get him to remember their former life together in medieval Germany.

The Haunted Ground by Erin Hart
The discovery of a well-preserved woman's head in a peat bog brings together Irish archaeologist Cormac and American pathologist Nora to determine how long ago she died. Concurrently, local authorities investigate the recent disappearance of the wife and child of a local landowner.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Yes, fine, the ubiquitous Da Vinci Code, but it's a fun read about secret religious societies, ancient coverups and vengeance. When the Louvre's chief curator is murdered, his body is symbolically laid out before the Mona Lisa. When his granddaughter, Sophie Neveu, a police cryptologist, joins forces with Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, their investigation leads to the legendary Priory of Sion, a nearly 1,000-year-old secret society whose members have included Botticelli and Isaac Newton, and the conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei.

The Sinner's Tale by Will Davenport
When a tawdry scandal threatens to destroy Beth Battock's political career, she is forced to return to the provincial hometown and the relatives she’s kept secret. There, she discovers the tale of Sir Guy de Bryan, whose sweeping epic of the havoc wrought by war serves as an example for the present day.

The Drowning Tree by Carol Goodman
After the suspicious death of her oldest friend, stained glass restorer Juno Mackay delves into Christine's past and her obsession with Pre-Raphealite artist Arthur Penrose, his wife and sister-in-law, and the stained-glass portrait he commissioned a century ago.

She Walks These Hills by Sharon McCrumb
The ghost of 18 year old Katie Wyler, captured by the Shawnee in North Carolinain 1789, haunts the Appalachian wilderness. The story of her escape inspires ethno-historian Jeremy Cobb to retrace her return journey. Meanwhile, 63-year-old convicted murderer Hiram Sorley, who has no recent memory, escapes from a nearby prison.

The Mask of the Night by Mary Ryan
Okay, the beginning was a bit slow, and there were far too many exclamation marks, but once it got going, I zipped through it! A mysterious mask and signet ring, tied to an inquisitor from medieval Venice, and brought to early 20th century Ireland, curses the life of the recipient: Theo becomes 'possessed' by the original owner's spirit, and the desire to find his lady love, an independent woman accused of witchcraft. Theo believes he sees her in his wife's best friend, Jenny. Fifty years later, Dee finds these items in the ruins of Kilashane, Theo's now abandonned and decrepit manor house, and she becomes personally caught up in the intrigue of their past.