The Light Between Oceans
by M L Stedman
5 stars
Starting with the seminal moment, this book travels back in
time to introduce us to the family isolated on a small island off the coast of
Australia where the husband is the light keeper. Part of the story takes place on Janus Rock,
home of the Janus Light, and part takes place in the small town of Partageuse
on the mainland, hometown of Isabel, wife of the Light keeper. Tom, a survivor of the horrors of WWI, meets
Isabel and falls in love with her on his infrequent respites on the
mainland. He and Isabel spend idyllic,
isolated years on Janus, marred only by the inability to carry a pregnancy to
term. When a boat washes up with a dead
man and a live baby, the decision to keep the child as their own affects their
lives and marriage and the life of the wife of the dead man and mother of the
child. As the child grows and the three
alone on Janus meld into a family, the bereaved wife in Partageuse descends
into depression and madness until a battered silver rattle disrupts the
tranquility of the island and the fabric of the town of Partageuse.
A beautifully written tale that uses description to draw the
feel of island and mainland, love and depression, fear and deceit. The dread, confusion and fear of a mother
torn from her child and a child torn from her mother will stay with you long
after you finish the final page as will the love of a man for his wife and
child, the devotion of a mother to her child and the web of entangling emotion
that seals a family for ever and ever and ever.
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