Reviews

It's been three hours since I finished The Light Between Oceans, and I'm still sitting in my bed thinking about it. This book, if you read with some clarity and intelligence, really makes you think about your morals and question how you would act in the characters' positions. To my surprise, the way I feel about the decisions that were made are completely different than I thought it would be at first.

M.L. Stedman's debut novel is quite captivating. Tom and Isabel take on the tough duty of being the keepers of a lighthouse on a small piece of rock half a day's trip off the Australian shore. The place, called Janus Rock, presented some difficult challenges, such as weather, isolation, and an unforgiving ocean. However, this was nothing compared to desolation Isabel feels after three failed pregnancies. In what seem a stroke of fate, though, a boat with a dead man and a healthy baby finds itself among the rocks of Janus. Despite Tom's steadfastness and adherence to rules and laws, he gives to Isabel's pleas to not report the body and keep the baby to grow as their child. That single decision drives the rest of the book as the couple, and eventually every other character, is affected by their choice.

The character's of this book pulled all my heartstrings. For example, Tom is such a wonderful guy. He has been through so many obstacles in his life, but he still keeps a loving spirit about him. It hurt me to see what he went through in this book. And Isabel. She was an interesting character, and it took all the way until the end for me to discover how I truly felt for her. Stedman creates many complex characters, and they all add to the story immensely.

I'm too young to have children, so I can't pretend to personally understand the agony that Tom and Isabel went through as they lost all their children. I did see how affected my mother was when my half-brother passed away at a young age, and I can comprehend how losing a child can bring parents to do things that they normally wouldn't. For me, I completely empathized with the couple, and given their circumstances, didn't think they were too much in the wrong.

I'm very impressed with this debut novel, and I can understand why it is so highly rated and recommended. Complex characters, interesting story line, captivating dilemmas, and excellent writing style all work together to create an amazing book. As you turn the last page, though. Questions like Is it right? How far is too far? What is betrayal? Can forgiveness be found? will be running in your head for many hours to come, and you may not like the answers you find within yourself to the questions.

novelette's review against another edition

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4.0

Just had a baby myself, so this brought up some very big emotions

jrmarr's review against another edition

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4.0

A heart-wrenching book about the decisions we make and how we can live with the consequences of them. I thought it was beautifully written, with a gentleness about it that caught me offguard at times. I feel that in another author's hands, my relationship to the characters would have been different, and I might have found it more difficult to understand what they did, or condemned them more than I did. Not a book with neat edges or clear villains, but a story about good people making questionable choices at great expense.

cdjdhj's review against another edition

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5.0

Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia from WWI damaged and alone. He takes a job as a lighthouse keeper on remote Janus, an island off the coast of Eastern Australia. When Tom meets and then marries Isabel, bringing her to Janus, he dares to believe that the two of them can be happy forever alone together there. Then fate intervenes and three pregnancies leave the couple still childless and Isabel in deep despair. When fate intervenes again and they find an infant girl alive in a small boat with a dead man, Isabel believes that God has given her a child after all. Tom reluctantly allows his wife to keep the child, who they name Lucy, knowing within his heart that the baby's mother is somewhere waiting for the return of her little girl. The years go by, the child grows, and both Tom and Isabel love and parent her tenderly, believing that just maybe this little family can exist together forever in the lighthouse centered world of Janus. Eventually however, the truth of the situation is brought to light, the deception is revealed and the child's real mother comes forward to claim her, devastating Tom, Isabel and Lucy and destroying their family.

This is a beautifully written and compelling novel of love, loss and loyalty. It confronts the issues of right and wrong and deception and truth with human characters who are complex and neither all good, nor all bad - very much like us all. Author M.L. Stedman paints each character in such a way that the reader empathizes with each one and wonders "what would I do in that situation."

This book is unforgettable. It is tender, yet riveting at it takes the reader to the unexpected yet satisfying ending where we learn true lessons about love, family, repentance, forgiveness and moving on. Highly recommended. Five Stars *****

jacqueline234's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

jcaballero0725's review against another edition

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2.0

The book was okay. Very slow and a little difficult to like the characters for me. Not my favorite.

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