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Loading... The Light Between Oceans (2012)by M. L. Stedman
  
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 Juva | Jun 4, 2021 |  It was interesting enough to keep me going, the ending was satisfying but sad. Overall a pretty good read if you are in the mood for some romance and drama Abiquail | Apr 24, 2021 | I've owned a copy of this for years, and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it. Tom Sherbourne is the lighthouse-keeper on Janus Rock in Australia, where he lives--cut off by some fifty miles--from the town of Partegeuse with his wife, Isabel. Isabel has just suffered her third miscarriage when a boat washes ashore with a dead man and a live baby. Overcome with grief for her own baby, Isabel convinces Tom to let her keep the baby and raise it as their own on Janus. For obvious reasons, through much of the middle of the novel I felt a huge sense of dread while reading it, since it's obvious that these decisions have and will continue to tear people apart. It was really moving to see the repercussions that the Sherbournes' decisions had on themselves and on others, and you come to feel strongly for all of them. I really liked the writing, and I found the book to be a beautiful kind of sad. (  ) forsanolim | Apr 17, 2021 | A heart wrenching story of love and loss. Difficult decisions which ultimately affect lives forever. ( ) marquis784 | Mar 1, 2021 | [b:The Light Between Oceans|13158800|The Light Between Oceans|M.L. Stedman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1336683021l/13158800._SY75_.jpg|18337340] focused on the relationship between a man and a woman and how becoming parents changed that relationship. I was uninterested in that relationship when it started and uninterested when it changed and - subsequently - the emotional core of the book failed to resonate with me at any level. Folks who have experienced the shift from being young adults to being young parents (or those who aspire to become a parent) might have a different reaction to the book. (  ) eshaundo | Feb 10, 2021 |
 Light" is a story you want to finish, despite some predictability problems. I cared about Tom and Isabel, and cheered for them even as they betrayed each other. And I was charmed by the supporting cast of characters (Bluey and Ralph in particular). Stedman's grasp of the dialect of the region's inhabitants and dialogue fitting for the era are admirable. Her writing is sound, if sometimes uninspiring, but every so often she throws out a gorgeous line that you have to stop and read twice to appreciate, like this one: "A goblin thought jumps onto her shoulder: what's the point of tomorrow?" Or, "The rain is falling more heavily, and in the distance, thunder grumbles at being left behind by the lightning." Nice. First-time novelist Stedman did what all good writers should do: She got her readers emotionally invested in her story. As if you needed it, here's more proof that this novel is worth your time: The film rights have already been picked up.  The miraculous arrival of a child in the life of a barren couple delivers profound love but also the seeds of destruction.......A polished, cleverly constructed and very precisely calculated first novel As time passes, the harder the decision becomes to undo and the more towering is its impact. This is the story of its terrible consequences. But it is also a description of the extraordinary, sustaining power of a marriage to bind two people together in love, through the most emotionally harrowing circumstances. Light Between Oceans' is tough to shake off....And to the author's credit, Light's resolution is neither sensationalistic nor overly tidy. Everyone in this book has to make tough choices, including the little girl. By letting neither her readers nor her characters off the hook easily, Stedman creates a bond that makes her book tough to shake off. Belongs to Publisher Series
"A novel set on a remote Australian island, where a childless couple live quietly running a lighthouse, until a boat carrying a baby washes ashore"-- No library descriptions found. 
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 LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumM. L. Stedman's book The Light Between Oceans: A Novel was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Sign up to get a pre-publication copy in exchange for a review.
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The Light Between Oceans
Wikipedia in English (1)
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Matters become more complicated, however, when they eventually learn of their daughter's real family. The mother is alive and frantically looking for the child. Moreover, she wonders what happened to her husband. Isabel is committed to keeping their secret, but her husband is destroyed by the plight of the child's mother. Eventually, he cannot remain silent any longer. When the police come around the lighthouse to ask questions, he confesses everything.
Their stolen daughter is given back to her true mother, but it is a situation not easily remedied. The child doesn't know her mother and is sick with fear and resentment. She wants to go back to the only family she's ever known. Meanwhile, criminal charges are being brought against the lighthouse keeper.
This is a sad story about damaged people making terrible decisions. Ultimately, I felt the character development was not strong enough and was eventually overshadowed by the dramatic events of the plot. (