Obscure Facts in "The Lovely Bones" Quiz

Answer: Under the cornfield

Susie Salmon ("like the fish") was murdered on December 6, 1973, when she was 14 years old. Susie was on her way home from school and because it was getting late she decided to take a shortcut through the cornfield. Mr. Harvey was there; he convinced her to come and see the bunker he had built.

The bunker was under the cornfield. He claimed it was for the neighborhood children so that they would have a place to play, their very own clubhouse. Harvey murdered Susie, and butchered her body in this bunker.

After he removed her body, he disassembled the bunker. He placed Susie's body in an old safe and tossed into the sinkhole. The only real evidence that the police found was some of Susie's school notes, her elbow, her hat and years later her Pennsylvania keystone charm. "The Lovely Bones" is told from Susie's perspective.

She is able to watch earth, something she calls scanning. This scanning allows her to watch her family, friends, and even Mr. Harvey.

Answer: "Breakfast at Tiffany's"

On her third day in heaven, Susie met her roommate, Holly. Neither liked it in heaven, but they learn how to create their own specific heaven. Holly is not her real name. Audrey Hepburn played Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and from this character Holly picked her name.

Heaven is adaptable to each person. Holly didn't want to have an accent, so she doesn't. In Holly and Susie's heavens, at first it appeared to be a high school but with no classes, the exception being art and music. As the girls want more, their heavens expand and grow.

Heavens can overlap; the javelin throwers have their own heaven but fits into Susie's heaven as well.

Answer: Saint Mary's Church

On earth, Franny had been a social worker who worked with the homeless. She worked at Saint Mary's Church, a place that catered to women and children only. A husband who was looking for his wife shot Franny in the face, which resulted in her death. In heaven, Franny is Susie and Holly's counselor and guide.

She also acts as the girls' mother figure, something that both Holly and Susie have been looking for. Franny explained that in heaven if someone desired something enough, it would happen. An example being Susie likes dogs, she wanted dogs in her heaven so there are dogs.

There is an exception, the desire to live, it won't happen. They can watch the living on earth, observe their lives, but they can't be a part of that life.

Answer: Skunk

Susie's heaven smells of skunk. Not a strong smell of skunk but a faint smell. Holly's heaven smells like kumquats and Franny's heaven smells like pure grade A tobacco. Later in the book Susie is scanning earth with her grandfather, and again it mentioned that there is a faint smell of skunk in the air.

Heaven is individual, it's designed to each person but they can overlap. This is why Susie can smell the tobacco and kumquats.

Answer: Natalie

Mrs. Utemeyer, according to Abigail (Susie's mother) had lost part of her brain. When Susie was six and Lindsey was five, Mrs. Utemeyer and her son moved in next door. She used to wander outside and get lost, eventually ending up in the Salmon's yard under their dogwood tree. Abigail would go outside and bring her in the house, make her tea, calm her down and call her son. Sometimes she would still be there when Susie and Lindsey returned from school.

She had developed a fondness for Lindsey, except she always called her Natalie.

After Susie died, she met Mrs. Utemeyer in heaven. With her was a little blond girl that she introduced as her daughter Natalie.

Answer: Daffodils

After Susie's father, Jack, had a heart attack, Abigail returned home. With Susie gone, she was unable to cope at home and left. She ended up in California working in a winery. Outside of the hospital, a young girl was selling flowers, specifically daffodils. Each bundle of daffodils had a lavender ribbon. Abigail purchased all of these flowers. With the help of Nurse Eliot, Abigail puts them in vases and placed them all over Jack's hospital room. After Jack woke up, he saw all the flowers and Abigail said that daffodils were Susie's flowers.

Answer: Leah

Mr. Salmon is convinced that Mr. Harvey knows something about what had happened to Susie. Two days before Christmas, he helped Mr. Harvey build a mat tent, which he explained was a bridal tent. This bridal tent was something he built every year to honour his deceased wife. Detective Len Fenerman, the police officer in charge, spoke to the neighbours.

He found Mr. Harvey to be an unremarkable man. He kept to himself, is a widower and builds doll houses. Mr. Harvey tried to steer the police in another direction by suggesting that someone else was involved.

When questioned about the bridal tent he explained it was for his wife, Leah. Harvey murdered Leah Fox in 1969, she was 12 years old. Another victim that he used as his fictional wife was Sophie Cichetti.

She was his former landlady (years after Susie was murdered her charm from her bracelet was found with Sophie's foot) and was his oldest victim. She died when she was 49 years old. The victim that Harvey was thinking about when his wife is mentioned became his deceased wife.

His other victims were Jackie Meyer, Flora Hernandez, Leidia Johnson (she was the youngest of his victims being only 6 years old) and Wendy Richter. After Susie had been in heaven for a while, Franny gave her a map. This map lead her to a wheat field. There in the wheat field Susie met Mr. Harvey's other victims. Mr. Harvey also kept souvenirs from his victims. These being a wedding ring, a sealed letter, a heal of a shoe, glasses, Susie's Pennsylvania keystone charm, a plastic bracelet, a bottle of perfume and a cartoon-shaped eraser.

Answer: Brian Nelson

Jack Salmon is convinced that Mr. Harvey murdered his daughter but with the lack of evidence the police can't arrest him. It has been eight months since Susie died. At night when Jack can't sleep he would sit in his study, without the lights, but would light a candle. Late one night he saw a light outside in the cornfield.

He was sure that it was Mr. Harvey returning to the where he murdered Susie. The police haven't done anything so he decided that he would. Jack got Lindsey's bat and went to the cornfield. Mr. Harvey was not in the cornfield, instead he found Brian Nelson and Clarissa. Brian hit Mr. Salmon on his head and his back with a flashlight. Brian then gets the bat from Jack and hit him with that. Town gossip said that Jack Salmon had gone crazy with grief combined with the lack of police results decided to get his own revenge.

As a result of the beating Mr. Salmon had to have surgery to have his kneecap replaced.

Answer: Ruth passes out

Ruth Conners is by accident Susie's main connection with earth. When she was leaving earth Susie accidentally touched Ruth, this created a bond between them. Ruth is aware of Susie, she remembers seeing and touching Susie. Initially Ruth tried to speak (unsuccessfully) about what she knew, eventually writing instead of speaking. She used her poetry to cloak reality.
As Susie said "the truth was the line between the living and the dead could be it seemed, murky and blurred." Mr. Harvey plagued with thoughts of Lindsey (she had broken into his house to find some proof that he killed Susie, he saw her leaving his house and wanted revenge) returned and parked his car outside the Salmon's house but a police officer told he to move on. He then went to the sinkhole. Ruth and Ray are there. Ruth is able to see Susie there, but Ray can't. Ruth asked her what does she want. As she walked back to where Ray was waiting, Mr. Harvey passes her. Around him she can see all of the women that he murdered. This was too much for Ruth and she passes out.
Ruth made a wish for Susie and it happened. The wish was that Susie could have another chance at being on earth instead of just observing. When Ruth passed out Susie fell from heaven. Susie passes Ruth who is in the "blue, blue inbetween." Ruth is a temporary displaced soul. Susie's soul is back on earth, in a flesh and blood body (Ruth's) but only temporary. When Susie returned to heaven Ruth returned to her body.

Answer: How to commit a perfect murder

How to commit a perfect murder is an old popular game in heaven. Susie said that she always picked the same method. Her choice was murder by an icicle. She decided on an icicle because eventually the murder weapon would every time melt away. After Susie returned to heaven, she was able to affect life on earth, an example being she made her brother's garden bloom all at once.
One day, Susie was scanning earth with her grandfather, and in a diner in Manchester, one that her grandfather used to go to, she saw Mr. Harvey. He had just gotten off a Greyhound Bus and went into the diner to get coffee. He sees a girl who was on the bus with him and follows her outside. He claimed he was just trying to be nice, she told him to go away and called him a creep then she left. Almost immediately an icicle fell and hit Mr. Harvey. This caused him to fall forward into a ravine. It could be months before he is found. It appears that Susie's method of how to commit the perfect murder was the right one. The way Mr. Harvey died, it's not directly said, but it's insinuated that Susie made the icicle fall.