Time Quotes in The Lovely Bones

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

It was my first machine, my starter kit to becoming what I wanted to be. A wildlife photographer. (3.42)

Susie's first machine, her camera, also becomes a time machine, or the pictures she takes become one. The photos she leaves behind reanimate things that happened long ago -- so long as they exist and there is someone to look at them.

Quote #5

"If you stop asking why you were killed instead of someone else, stop investigating the vacuum left by your loss, stop wondering what everyone left on Earth is feeling […], you can be free. (10.52)

Franny is a blunt intake counselor, if a bit mysterious. One point she's making: time is relative. The less Susie cares about her life on Earth, the further Earth and the memories are from her in space-time.

Quote #6

She couldn't stop the memories from slamming into her. (14.24)

We talk about this in "Setting." Since Harvey and the Salmon's houses have the same floor plan, time and space bends hideously for Lindsey. She is assailed in an almost physical way by memories of Susie at home.