The Light Between Oceans M.L. Stedman

Hardcover, 343 pages

 Published July 31st 2012 by Scribner (first published April 9th 2012)

original title

The Light Between Oceans

ISBN

1451681739 (ISBN13: 9781451681734)

edition language

English

http://www.thelightbetweenoceansbook.com

setting

Australia 1926

literary awards

Goodreads Choice Award for Best Historical Fiction (2012), Women's Prize for Fiction Nominee for Longlist (2013)

 "Sometimes life turns out hard, Isabel. Sometimes it just bites right through you. And sometimes, just when you think it's done its worst, it comes back and takes another chunk."

Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia after World War I and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. This isolated island rarely see visitors, a supply boat once a season and Tom only receives biannual shore leave. Tom meets and marries Isabel in the town closest to the island and brings his bold young wife to the island shortly after he begins his tenure there. Tom and Isabel suffer several miscarriages and a still birth and years later a grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries while tending her garden. A is on the shore with an infant a deceased man.

Tom is a meticulous record keeper with incredibly strong moral principles and he wants to report their findings immediately,  while Isabel, still grieving their latest loss, begins to feed the baby her own breast milk. Tom, torn between making his wife happy and his better judgement reluctantly agrees to name the baby Lucy. Two years later while on shore leave they are reminded that other people exist and how their choices have affected them.

 I really enjoyed this book and the moral and emotional dilemmas presented.  Each character was struggling with right or wrong, hope or despair, forgiveness or hate.  I plowed through the book in just a couple sittings and could not wait to see how it ended or what choices the characters made.  The end was very moving, I was crying so hard I could barely see the pages! I give this book five Good Reads stars and highly recommend it!  And it was only $4.99 on my Kindle - bonus good cheap read!