The Lovely Bones

I read Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones a few years back, but it is now back in the headlines because it is being adapted to screen. Over at Cinematical, they talk about the book, and I agree entirely with their assessment:

Released in 2002, the novel became a smash hit despite an unknown author and a difficult subject. The story of fourteen-year old Susie Salmon, who watches the aftermath of her rape and murder from heaven, connected big time; glowing reviews and spectacular word of mouth kept the book on the bestseller list for over a year and helped sales exceed a million copies. I share the general enthusiasm. Sebold's prose is an elegant, efficient, beautiful wonder, and the novel is remarkable -- equal parts painful and hopeful, difficult and compulsively readable.

I do agree, right up until the book jumps the shark.I rarely have such a visceral reaction to books, but I couldn't resist adding my comments to the blog:

I agree with that entirely, right up to the point where the book jumps the shark. If you have read the book, you know exactly where I am talking about. It changed the entire feel of the book so jarringly, I had to read the passage several times to make sure I had just read what I thought I did. Peter Jackson has an excellent, and rare, opportunity to excise that section and make the film better than the book.

Will he take out that ridiculous scene and save the movie?