Publisher: ScribnerRelease Date: July 2012
Pages: 343
About the Book: After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.
Tom, whose records as a lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.
M. L. Stedman’s mesmerizing, beautifully written novel seduces us into accommodating Isabel’s decision to keep this “gift from God.” And we are swept into a story about extraordinarily compelling characters seeking to find their North Star in a world where there is no right answer, where justice for one person is another’s tragic loss.
The Light Between Oceans is exquisite and unforgettable, a deeply moving novel.
Wanda's Review: You'll really disappear into another place and time with the descriptive writing. The Author does a marvelous job of getting into the hearts and minds of the amazingly real characters as a lot of drama unfolds.
M L Stedman has a definite style of her own and I found myself enveloped in this book early on - my emotions strongly engaged. This was such a sad and engrossing story that I kept thinking that the storyline would never be resolved satisfactorily for all involved. The ending is powerful, poignant, and soul stirring - an unforgettable story. I highly recommend. Although it's been awhile since I've read this book, it is one of my all time favorites.
M L Stedman has a definite style of her own and I found myself enveloped in this book early on - my emotions strongly engaged. This was such a sad and engrossing story that I kept thinking that the storyline would never be resolved satisfactorily for all involved. The ending is powerful, poignant, and soul stirring - an unforgettable story. I highly recommend. Although it's been awhile since I've read this book, it is one of my all time favorites.
About the Author - M L Stedman
M.L. Stedman was born and raised in Western Australia and now lives in London. The Light Between Oceans is her first novel.
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