- The Lovely Bones

"As I would stand in the rain, my mother would stand at the open porch door. We both listened together to the rain pour and the thunder clap and smelled the earth rising to greet us. "You look invincible." My mother said one night. I loved these times when we seemed to feel the same thing I turned to her, wrapped in my thin gown, and said, "I am.""

The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold is an extraordinary book. This excerpt is such a perfect example of text that relates to your senses through complete imagery. The way that the author spoke showing such vulnerability allows for a reader to interpret the section with such a raw nature and beauty. The relationship between a mother and a daughter is something that has always been seen as significant, whether that means tense, intimate, or even distant. I love that in this sense, they're speaking of invincibility. Sebold used the relationship over the course of the novel to portray progression, and in this excerpt, with such tenderness it is shows that said relationship was honestly something worth fighting for. Those moments when you know that you feel the same thing as another human being is such a specific occurrence, and there really isn't much that it can replace. From a directors perspective, to be able to recreate that moment on stage would be such a rare and tender moment that each individual in the audience would be able to relate to in one personal experience or another. I think the lack of eye contact, and rather the mother as the superior standing behind the daughter sends a whole new, stronger power for the moment. The daughter is full on into the rain, letting go of everything she knows for that one moment, and the mother, standing in the doorway would be a part of the storm, but yet still have her foot in the doorway, that last connection back to reality.
This except plays such a strength with the senses. Within 5 sentences, Sebold was able to capture sound, feel, smell, and sight into one without seeming like a list. I find such beauty in the way that "earth rising to greet us" is worded, therefore making it one of my favorite word-bits of all time (aside from "Let it bend before it breaks".) Within 5 sentences, the author makes such a clear picture of what is happening. To me, the feelings associated with this would be the perfect installation.