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A review by portybelle
The Light Keeper by Cole Moreton
5.0
The Light Keeper is Cole Moreton's debut novel and is an emotional book about several people driven literally to the edge by exceptionally difficult circumstances.
We meet Jack and Sarah who have been desperately trying for a baby but whose options seem to have run out. Sarah's mental health has become precarious and she has now vanished, leaving Jack frantically looking for her convinced she is suicidal. Nearby in a disused lighthouse lives a man known locally as The Keeper. He has experienced immense loss and is struggling to come to terms with it. The setting is a clifftop renowned for suicides so we also meet The Guardians, specially trained to try to help the desperate people who feel that jumping is their only option.
This is the kind of book where you cannot help but feel for all of those in despair whether the main characters or more incidental ones. There are some dark themes covered including suicide, serious illness, grief, infertility and the effects all these have on relationships. And yet it is in no way a difficult book to read. Cole Moreton's insightful writing makes you get right under the skin of the characters and experience all the emotions along with them.
The Light Keeper is wonderfully written with the wildness, beauty and danger of the area so vividly depicted and reflecting the experiences of his characters. It won't be a book for everyone I would imagine, particularly if you have been affected by any of the situations covered in the book. Given the themes, I hesitate to use the word 'enjoy' in regards to this book but I did think it was excellent. It is a book which offers hope in dark times, a haunting story whose characters will stay in my mind.
We meet Jack and Sarah who have been desperately trying for a baby but whose options seem to have run out. Sarah's mental health has become precarious and she has now vanished, leaving Jack frantically looking for her convinced she is suicidal. Nearby in a disused lighthouse lives a man known locally as The Keeper. He has experienced immense loss and is struggling to come to terms with it. The setting is a clifftop renowned for suicides so we also meet The Guardians, specially trained to try to help the desperate people who feel that jumping is their only option.
This is the kind of book where you cannot help but feel for all of those in despair whether the main characters or more incidental ones. There are some dark themes covered including suicide, serious illness, grief, infertility and the effects all these have on relationships. And yet it is in no way a difficult book to read. Cole Moreton's insightful writing makes you get right under the skin of the characters and experience all the emotions along with them.
The Light Keeper is wonderfully written with the wildness, beauty and danger of the area so vividly depicted and reflecting the experiences of his characters. It won't be a book for everyone I would imagine, particularly if you have been affected by any of the situations covered in the book. Given the themes, I hesitate to use the word 'enjoy' in regards to this book but I did think it was excellent. It is a book which offers hope in dark times, a haunting story whose characters will stay in my mind.