Story Lover

by Alice Sebold

This book was very different than I imagined. And somehow everyone came to peace with never knowing what happened. That there are mysteries in life that we’ll never be able to solve, but that whether you know the means or not, the end doesn’t change. They never found her, yet, somehow they all found peace. I hope that if I ever get the chance to live again, that I choose to live, like Suzie. To live rather than chase hate or pain or sorrow. Maybe I should do more of that now, here, alive.

It makes me wonder what my heaven will be like. Will I see my mother? Will I be bored? Will the mystery of my adoption, my birth parents come to light? It’s not something that I linger on in life, but my version of heaven would be all knowing. I think as long as I could find G, I’d be in heaven.

I’m excited for this movie. I think the visual illustration of Suzie’s heaven will be amazing. The previews look so good, yet I wonder if they’ll only focus on her death, or if they’ll focus on the life that resumes around her void. I wonder if they’ll manufacture a ‘as happy an ending as possible’ or end it like Sebold does.

A predictable romantic comedy is a good way to start off the year. And while things were pretty predictable, I still really enjoyed the story. I think the relationship between Amy Adams’ and Matthew Goode’s characters could have been pumped up a bit. A little more longing and tension would have been nice. But, I still really enjoyed the movie and it wasn’t hard for me to see how they fell for each other.

And the what would I grab in 60  seconds is a good question. I’m not sure what they’d be, the things I’d save. Years ago they would have been my collages, my negatives and my journals. But lately, those things don’t carry the same emotional weight they once did. I think I’d just grab G.