The Lovely Bones - A. Sebold

I just read The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, which is now a feature film starring Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, and Saoirse Ronan.

In the book we meet Susie Salmon, murdered at 14. Susie lives in her version of Heaven along with Holly, a young girl she met in the afterlife. The two girls end up 'roommates'.

From Heaven Susie watches her family - she lives vicariously through her sister, watches over her mom and dad, and keeps tabs on the lives of her friends - Ruth and Ray as well as her killer. Her constant "presence" in each of their lives affects each person in different ways, but none of them are really able to move past Susie's death.
- Abigail Salmon runs away hoping to forget the tragedy and family
- Jack Salmon is broken by her death and becomes obsessed with finding the killer
- Lindsey Salmon grows up known as "the girl whose sister was murdered"
- Buck Salmon grows up too quickly in the shadow of a broken home
- Grandma Lynn in the absence of a mother, becomes the family's pillar of strength
- Ruth and Ray become good friends through Susie's death - holding vigils and sharing memories of her

Though very dark and sad, I enjoyed this book. It felt honest because there wasn't the "happily ever after" ending. I don't want to give away what happens but Sebold does end the novel on a note of optimism for the Salmon family; however, for the most of the book there's just overwhelming sadness. For days after reading this book, I couldn't lift the fog that settled over me - I had to read a couple books with happy endings for a quick pick me up :) There was only one part - Susie and Ruth's swap that didn't fit the story well, but I could appreciate a 'final hurrah'. So what's the verdict?

I do recommend the book...just not around the holidays. It's really rather depressing.

Major Fashion statement

This was passed on to me this morning. It's a fantastic trouser available for men. Some of the highlights include the slim capri fit in the calf area which is accentuated by the very spacious crotch area - not to mention the waist band fit highlighted with a small white button. Can you tell me what's not sexy about this?! And you can either dress it up as shown in the picture, or dress it down with a pair of sneakers!

If you're not convinced, read some of the customer reviews:

Name: He Who Shall Be Nameless, Small Village, World
Review: FINALLY! Capri pants for men. I guess they obviate the question of "dress right" or dress left". Christ, there's enough room in that crotch to hide a rabid badger... Overall, I give this effort a solid B+. Do the shoes come with that? If not, izzok- I have a set of wooden clogs left over from my village idiot apprentice uniform...

Name:Mongerel, Dogtown, Texas -
Review: My c**k is so long I have to roll it into a bun. Thank goodness I found these pants to disguise my embarrassing package....

Name:Mike Hunt, Gilmer
Review:These pants are ideal for birthing babies at work, or croos country trips if you don't want to stop. I've filled up a 12-14 pound diaper in them without anyone noticing....

Name:Headless Horseman
Review:These fit me much better when turned around and worn as a long sleeved shirt. Now no more cold breeze on my bloody stump, not to mention the embarrassing glances I get....

Still not convinced you should own a pair, read more of the reviews for yourself (click read more in the lower right)
http://www.revolveclothing.com/DisplayProduct.jsp?product=MJOL-MP5&c=Athletic&s=Season&d=Mens+Trends

Happy Wednesday people.

What I Thought I Knew - Alice Eve Cohen

Imagine this...
- You're unable to have children so you adopted
- You're on hormone therapy yourself
- You have a higher chance of cancer due to hormones taken by your mother during her pregnancy
- You have have two uterus(es)
- Your mother died of cancer
- You find out you're in early menopause

That is the author's story. She was a DES baby...this means while her mother was pregnant she took a synthetic hormone (Diethylstilbestrol) which was thought to be safe. Well it wasn't and many of these babies were found to have a higher risk for cancer, ectopic pregnancies, and transsexualism. So after years of trying, Alice and her then husband adopt Julia....fast forward some years.
Alice is now happily engaged to Michael - a fellow free lance artist who is about 10 years younger than her. Around this time Alice begins to feel "strange" - meaning that she has an abnormal lump on her stomach, her breasts are tender, she has an increased need to urinate, and she's very lethargic. After consulting various different specialists and gynocologists, Alice learns she has muscle tone loss, an overactive bladder, and possibly cancer (the lump on her lower abdomen). In order to more accurately detect the cancer or tumor, Alice is sent in for a scan - where she learns that she is 6 months pregnant!

She's in her 40's with a VERY high risk pregnancy. For the past 6 months she has had no prenatal care and exposed the baby to multiple medical procedures, hormones, and alcohol. Not to mention, Alice has crappy insurance and almost no one will accept her as a patient!!! So now she must struggle with the idea - keep the baby or abort at 6 months?

She decides to have the baby...and learns that she is going to have a boy. After genetic testing, they find that the baby actually has XX chromosomes...so its either going to be a transgendered boy OR be a lesbian female athlete....so now she wonders "Do I put the baby up for adoption".....Alice is having the baby she always wanted at a time when she doesn't...on top of that she has a million other things to worry about - bleeding to death, premature labor, transgendered issues, exposure to cancer, etc. Most mothers just have to hope for a happy and healthy baby.

This book is a quick and easy read. It's an interesting story that makes you wonder - what would you do in a similar situation? How would it feel to be misdiagnosed for 6 months and be medically unable to terminate a problematic pregnancy? Not having children - I can say that I wasn't able to relate to her situation much, but it does make you wonder "What would you do?"