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neilazaara's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This is one of those books where I weirdly enjoyed it but I can’t really explain why.
The writing is impeccable. It’s such an easy and fast read and the deep dives into human emotions and psyche are done really well. I loved the descriptions of the sea and the many parallels between the harsh and isolating nature of life in a lighthouse and the characters own struggles and loneliness whether it is on land or at sea.
We follow two timelines, one set right before the disappearance of the 3 men (1972) and one 20 years later (1992) when a writer decides to investigate the mystery and ‘interview’ the women left behind. The stylistic choice of having characters in the 1992 timeline speak directly to the writer, is a quite unusual choice but I feel like it gave some rhythm and added to the mystery. As the reader, we would only have one side of the conversation and only thoughts from those women without really having the necessary context to understand why they would say something or why would they feel a certain way. This allowed for many red herrings to be added to the mix without being entirely misleading.
The mystery itself is not the strongest and it doesn’t feel like much is happening throughout the novel. It’s a very slow burn mystery where the focus is on the long lasting consequences of the disappearance of those 3 men and the questions left unanswered when they left, rather than the mystery itself. The fact that it is based on a true disappearance makes it so much more interesting to me, although this is a work of fiction.
Overall, the unconventional stylistic choices worked for me, but I’m unsure if I can really recommend it widely. I think that if you’re looking for a slow paced mystery that focuses mostly on the characters and their backstory, then I would recommend this one. But I wouldn’t come in expecting twists and turns.
The writing is impeccable. It’s such an easy and fast read and the deep dives into human emotions and psyche are done really well. I loved the descriptions of the sea and the many parallels between the harsh and isolating nature of life in a lighthouse and the characters own struggles and loneliness whether it is on land or at sea.
We follow two timelines, one set right before the disappearance of the 3 men (1972) and one 20 years later (1992) when a writer decides to investigate the mystery and ‘interview’ the women left behind. The stylistic choice of having characters in the 1992 timeline speak directly to the writer, is a quite unusual choice but I feel like it gave some rhythm and added to the mystery. As the reader, we would only have one side of the conversation and only thoughts from those women without really having the necessary context to understand why they would say something or why would they feel a certain way. This allowed for many red herrings to be added to the mix without being entirely misleading.
The mystery itself is not the strongest and it doesn’t feel like much is happening throughout the novel. It’s a very slow burn mystery where the focus is on the long lasting consequences of the disappearance of those 3 men and the questions left unanswered when they left, rather than the mystery itself. The fact that it is based on a true disappearance makes it so much more interesting to me, although this is a work of fiction.
Overall, the unconventional stylistic choices worked for me, but I’m unsure if I can really recommend it widely. I think that if you’re looking for a slow paced mystery that focuses mostly on the characters and their backstory, then I would recommend this one. But I wouldn’t come in expecting twists and turns.
lilactoadstools's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Very interesting ending, and good lead up !
cluelessleigh's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lauramarie83's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
hcbloomfield19's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
juliecantread's review
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lyndseylibros's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
Very one dimensional characters. Not sure how the town was so small and no one could figure out Dan was Jory’s son.
lou_p's review
mysterious
slow-paced
2.75
Enjoyed the first third with the setting, atmosphere, the beauty of monotony, daily lives of both lighthouse keepers and their wives back on land.
Interesting how the inciting incident is that a novelist is coming to speak to everyone and write about it, yet he’s a completely off-page character. He never speaks he never probes. He just sits down with these people and they unravel. It’s like they’ve been dying to say all this stuff for 20 years and just needed an excuse because non of them will speak to each other about it.
The conflicts would be hinted at and catch my attention and then quickly move on to the next chapter/person/timeline and then not revisit it for a long time. The ending of what happened is ridiculous, and I’m left confused by the final chapter. Especially as it would have given Jenny and Helen more nuance as for the majority of the book they were just foils of each other: one is homely and cooks, the other doesn’t, one copes well with loneliness, the other doesn’t, one has kids, the other doesn’t, blah blah”
Interesting how the inciting incident is that a novelist is coming to speak to everyone and write about it, yet he’s a completely off-page character. He never speaks he never probes. He just sits down with these people and they unravel. It’s like they’ve been dying to say all this stuff for 20 years and just needed an excuse because non of them will speak to each other about it.
The conflicts would be hinted at and catch my attention and then quickly move on to the next chapter/person/timeline and then not revisit it for a long time. The ending of what happened is ridiculous, and I’m left confused by the final chapter. Especially as it would have given Jenny and Helen more nuance as for the majority of the book they were just foils of each other: one is homely and cooks, the other doesn’t, one copes well with loneliness, the other doesn’t, one has kids, the other doesn’t, blah blah”