The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
I was surprised by how dark this book was. Not in the creepy psychological thriller way but rather this gut wrenching make you feel sick and your heart hurt kind of way.
I think it might be hard for me to get past all of that because the entire time I was reading the book I kept thinking "why is this happening?" and ultimately why am I reading it. But the author did a great job of interweaving so many parallel stories, of showing so many different types of heartbreak and love that it was very creative and definitely an interesting read. I may have been expecting more since so many people were talking about it and so I'm slightly disappointed in it. I also could not get past the main character, Isabel, she is selfish and whiny throughout the entire book which makes it difficult to really sympathize with her, instead it makes the dark gut wrenching feeling worse.
Synopsis: Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel.
Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby. Tom, who keeps meticulous records and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel insists the baby is a “gift from God,” and against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.