The Light Between Oceans
Amazon.com link
My review -
The
book is set in Australia after the first World War. Tom, who has had a
difficult war, takes up the job of lighthouse keeper as he feel he wants to
save lives now. He marries the bright and lively Isobel and they settled on the
remote island of Janus – the light between oceans of the title. After two
devastating miscarriages and a stillbirth, Izzy is burying her latest dead
child when she hears the cry of a baby. A little girl washes up in a small boat
with her dead father and her mother’s cardigan and Tom, slave to duty, wants to
log it. Izzy wants to bury the father and keep the baby, seeing it as a gift
from God. After their three year term, when they get shore leave, they discover
that the mother didn’t drown. The choice they made has fulfilled their lives
but devastated hers.
This
is the most fantastic book and will be one of my books of the year, for which I
thank my local book group who chose it. It’s so beautifully written that the
reader’s opinion swings from one person’s view to another. The characters are
real and their dilemma affects one trusting little girl. It’s a gripping
conflict between duty and love, loyalty and honour, and the rights of a blood
mother to bring up her own child. Tom and Izzy are in pieces because of their
humanitarian choice. It’s a stunning story and I heartily recommend it.
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