From the Bookshelf of The Perks Of Being A Book Addict…

The Light Between Oceans

M.L. Stedman

Start date: June 1, 2023

Finish date: June 30, 2023

Discussion: Group Books of the Month (BotM)

Why we're reading this: Chosen by group members as our June 2023 BotM. Previously read July 2014.
[close] Chosen by group members as our June 2023 BotM. Previously read July 2014.

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What Members Thought

Feb 01, 2017 Suzanne rated it it was amazing

This bestseller was not overrated. From a writing perspective, the prose was beautiful -- I was especially impressed with how Stedman moved fluidly between perspectives, and even changed tenses without jarring the reader one bit. The obvious metaphors (a lighthouse! a lightkeeper! etc) were so well engineered into the plot of this book. As for the plot itself, it will rip your heart out. This book unpacks the lives and foibles of extremely real, flawed characters, so if you are someone who enjoy ...more

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Mar 21, 2015 Trisha rated it really liked it

Shelves: drama

What a moral quandary this book was! I was torn between wanting to finish the book to see how it ends, and not wanting to finish the book because I wasn't sure that I really wanted to know how it was going to end, because there was just no possible way that all parties involved would have a happily ever after. I wasn't thrilled with the ending, but then again, I'm not sure how I would have wanted it to end. Still a great book with a lot of thought-provoking questions. ...more

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Nov 11, 2015 Gregory Williams rated it it was amazing

It's been some time since I started and finished a 350-page book in one day, but this one was well worth the time on a cold, overcast January day. The premise was compelling - in the 1920's in an island lighthouse off the coast of rural Australia, a boat washes ashore, with a dead man and a crying infant. The young childless couple who manage the lighthouse take the baby in as their own.

What compelled me most as the story went forward is that the author treated the subject with compassion and au ...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Mekerei rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is a tale of a husband and wife life house keepers on an isolated island off the west coast of Australia after WWI.

Izzy has three miscarriages and desperately wants a baby. The baby arrives in a lifeboat with her dead father. Issy talks Tom into keeping the baby.

Unfortunately Tom's conscience doesn't sit well with the deception when they learn that the mother, Hannah is alive and yearns for her child.

The title is a good metaphor for life as Tom struggle with his conscience and the consequen ...more

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Aug 26, 2012 Sofia rated it it was amazing

Wow. Haven't felt that many emotions from a novel in a very long time. ...more

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Jun 29, 2016 Karenmeg1 rated it really liked it

Gorgeous read-very nice timing for me, completing it on my wedding anniversary. A true love story, good people doing things for all the right reasons but ending up with sad consequences nonetheless. I fell a bit in love with Tom myself, truth be told! The writing was beautiful, characters nicely drawn and the atmosphere on the island and isolation palpable.

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Dec 19, 2012 Erin rated it really liked it

I didn't know anything about this book going into it --- and it engaged me as few fiction books have lately. A mother's love for her child is a powerful thing. This book did make me shed some tears, and that is not an easy task. I loved the title too. ...more

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Aug 02, 2019 Meera rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

For the first half of the book, this was more of a three star because I just couldn't get on board with what Tom and Isabel were doing even though I could understand. The second half was better as the characters redeemed themselves. ...more

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