Michael D. O'Brien

The Lighthouse: a Novel. Michael D.O’Brien.2020. Rick and Joey gave me this beautiful little novel for Christmas. It is a lovely story, a perfect gift! Nathan McQuarry is a lighthouse keeper on a small island, an out-cropping of Cape Breton Island on the Atlantic Ocean. He is a loner and likes his lonely life. His early life was miserable and he cherishes the fact that he has minimal contact with other people. He loves the sea and the wild life on the island, but he does go into town and go to the library and he loves to read. He salvages a boat and works on it for years, he begins to carve and becomes quite skilled at repairing the boat and carving. There are times when he comes into contact with people and wonders if he is missing something and other times he “feels” something. One year a young man shows up. Ross is a college student studying marine biology and full of questions about wild life on the island especially the puffins and he is interested in the lighthouse. The closest thing to a friendship Nathan has ever had develops. When Ross leaves Nathan regrets he didn’t get an address. The next year Ross returns and helps complete the boat…and thus Nathan begins to learn about love.… (more)

This was an interesting read for me. As a spiritualist atheist (and therefore the Bad Guy in the story), I found it fascinating to find more similarities than differences between my belief system and Catholicism. O'Brien is adroit in showing the reader his world view. Sometimes discussions did linger too much on the philosophical, theological side but generally there was good balance between plot, characters and religious debate. Although I'm unlikely to read the trilogy, I would definitely recommend this read.… (more)