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Alice Sebold is the author of the memoir Lucky. She has been
chosen by the Village Voice as a Writer on the Verge and has written
for the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune. She lives in California
with her husband, Glen David Gold.
• The Oddity of Suburbia by Alice Sebold
The Lovely Bones
Few novels, debut or otherwise, are as masterful or as compelling
as Sebold's. Her heroine, 14-year-old Suzy Salmon, is murdered in
the first chapter, on her way home from school. Suzy narrates the
story from heaven, viewing the devastating effects of her murder on
her family. Under Suzy's watchful eye, the members of her family individually
grow away from her murder, each shaped by it in their own way. In
heaven, Suzy herself continues to grapple with her death as well,
still longing for her family and for Earth, until she is finally granted
a wish that allows her to fulfill one of her dreams.
• Read a review and excerpt.
Alice Sebold's Summer Reading List
The Selected Stories of Patricia Highsmith
by Patricia Highsmith
Highsmith's macabre, lacerating view of humanity and its ills
is right up my alley. The stories are often dark and peculiar and
laced with delightful revenge. Perversely, it is my favorite bedtime
story book.
Middlemarch
by George Eliot
This novel, like most great classics, I refused to read when
I was assigned it in high school. Now it is on the top of my list
for a pure pleasure read. Buy the Oxford University hardback edition.
Affordable and lovely to hold. (But don't read A.S.Byatt's intro until
the end!)
Hondo and Fabian
by Peter McCarty
This is a children's picture book. The illustrations here are
absolutely beautiful. It reminds me of the time when each moment had
perfect clarity and a dog's nose or a cat's purr contained a whole
universe of sensation.
The Ornament of the World
by Maria Rosa Menocal
It is a happy accident that Menocal's book arrived when we
need it most. It is a highly readable account of a time when Muslims,
Jews, and Christians created a thriving culture in Spain during the
Middle Ages.
Erasure
by Percival Everett
This novel is full of piss and vinegar in the best way. A satire
of both the world of publishing and its attendant celebrity and fame,
Everett buries a farce inside a satire inside a portrait of a deeply
bitter but despite all, hopeful, man.
Back to Authors'
Summer Reading Lists
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