Saturday, August 18, 2012

The Light Between Oceans



The debut of a stunning new voice in fiction— a novel both heartbreaking and transcendent
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.

This is a book that you will long think about after you have read the very last page. I really enjoyed it. M.L. writes with passion and you feel what you are reading he is a forced to be reckoned with. I can't wait to see what he writes next. This is a must read. I gave this book 4 stars. I would like to know what would you do if you found a baby on your door step?

5 comments:

  1. I would definitely call the authorities if I found a baby on my door step. However, I know that I would be smitten with the baby and would have thoughts of keeping him/her but I would have to do the right thing. I know that I and my husband would never be able to adopt a baby because of our age. Sadly, I would have to let the baby go and pray that God finds just the right couple to adopt this wee one.

    I enjoyed your review of this book. I'm looking forward to reading it in the future.

    Blessings!
    Judy

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  2. Mary, this sounds like a great book. Thanks for the recommendation. Hmmm... what would I do? I would first contact the authorities to try to find the mother, and if she couldn't be located and I was allowed the choice as to where that baby could go (this is without intervention of authorities, so it's not realistic), I would ask my daughters if one of them would raise the child as her own since I'm too old to take on raising a child. Thanks, Mary!

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  3. wow what a story, I can understand why Isabel would want to keep the baby after losing her own and being all alone out there I think I may have done the same thing. now if it were here and a baby just showed up I would call the authorities and see if the family of the baby could be found. Thanks for another great book to read Mary

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  4. I would report it to the athorities,then I would try to adopt it,and give it a family and the love it deserves.Great review Mary.

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  5. Wow....this sounds like an amazing story about the tests of faith! I know I would report the found infant immediately and then pray for guidance in the next possible step.....

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