Close-ups of the keeper and his wife (both white) in porthole-shaped frames and from unusual aerial views emphasize their isolated, intimate, circular environment. A cutaway interior view exposes a compact, contained world. Rendered in Chinese ink and watercolor, precise, detailed illustrations present the lighthouse surrounded by patterned blue, green, or gray waves depending on the weather or season, reinforcing its solitary enterprise. While the spare, unemotional text resembles a keeper’s log, the book’s vertical orientation echoes a lighthouse tower. Eventually, a mechanical light replaces the keeper. When he’s ill, his stalwart wife tends the light and maintains the logbook. One day, a ship delivering supplies brings the keeper’s wife! The keeper rings a warning bell in fog, rescues wrecked sailors, and logs his baby’s birth. A new keeper arrives, continuing the endless routine of polishing the lens, refilling the oil, trimming the wick, winding the clockwork, painting the round rooms, fishing, making tea, sending letters to his wife (in bottles), and writing daily in his logbook. Perched “on the highest rock of a tiny island / at the edge of the world,” the lighthouse shines for seafaring ships. Have you read The Light Between Oceans? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments below.This tribute to lighthouses of an earlier era focuses on one lighthouse and its dedicated keeper. If she is able to be this fantastic in her debut, I have no doubt she will produce many more beautiful stories to come.Ĭlick here to buy The Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman. The fact that this is Stedman’s first novel is incredible. The Light Between Oceans is a brilliant but sad story and definitely one I would recommend to anyone who loves romantic and or drama. It is so beautifully written and I couldn’t get over how stunning it was. I’m not a fan of romance novels but I fell in love with this one. Should Lucy have been returned to her biological mother, only to have Izzy childless for her entire life? Should she have stayed with Izzy and Tom, knowing that Lucy’s real mother was out there worrying about her lost child? I’ve never been in that position but its such a interesting discussion point. Lucy, the child, is so upset during that time and when she is returned to her mother, she is extremely confused. Although the baby is reunited with her biological mother, is was so terrible to read that scene. It is Izzy who is dead set on keeping it a secret while Tom is apprehensive about this. The couple take the baby in and take it as their own. The Light Between Oceans reminded me so much of Wicked as it really makes you think about what is right and what is wrong. I’m really glad Stedman brought this topic to light and gave people the opportunity to discuss this more detail. This was something that was stigmatised and wasn’t talked about during the time this was set. At the beginning of her marriage, Izzy suffers a miscarriage, which she feels ashamed of and, later on in the novel, realises that she is unable to have children at all. Stedman didn’t shy away from how hard this can be, both physically and psychologically. Some women don’t want children, but some do. I’m really glad they highlighted how difficult it can be for some women to have children.
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