The Light We Lost: A Novel

Blah.

I didn't like any of the characters except possibly, sometimes, Gabe. Every character was a stereotype. Every thought Lucy had and every thing she did seemed just what the stereotype of a woman of her generation, with her education, in New York would do. There was absolutely nothing interesting about her and nothing original about her character. Her husband was an even more shallow cutout character with no endearing characteristics except the doting on Lucy, for reasons that are frankly beyond understanding given how unappealing she is, that's necessary to make him a palatable second choice for her. That and being rich are his only selling points, and that's not enough to make him a character to care about. Gabe is a stereotype of show more the driven activist. He's still just a stereotype, but at least it's an appealing type rather than the boring and unimaginative characters of Lucy and Darren.

The novel tries to explore questions of passionate versus comfortable love, stability, and pursuit of dreams. Unfortunately, none of the characters are developed enough to make the love or the dreams feel real or to make the stability feel anything but stale. There's no insight here, no feeling, no ideas. Honestly, I can't understand what all the positive reviewers see to make them love this book. I was entirely untouched.

I can enjoy books in which nothing much happens if the characters are interesting, with flat characters if they have a good plot, with weak plots and weak characters if the setting is powerful. This one has no real plot, flat characters, and an uninspiring setting. I won't read more from this author. show less

‘’The world felt like it was cracking in pieces, like we’d gone through a shattered mirror into the fractured place inside, where nothing made sense, where our shields were down, our walls broken. In that place, there wasn't any reason to say no.’’

This book was quite a departure from what I usually choose to read. It was all in the cover, to be honest. I saw the lovely couple’s silhouettes and I said ‘’yeah, okay. Bye!’’ Because romance, people. Not my style at all. But, then my brain processed the New York scenery in the blue background and the title that sounded bittersweet, sad and I said to myself I would pretend this wasn’t a romance, but good old Contemporary Fiction. And I was right, thankfully. Yes, at the show more heart of the story lies the love and unbreakable bond between two people, but it was more complex than that. Family, choices, priorities, worries over an uncertain future are issues that are very prominent in this book, and reading it was a delight. And I confess, there were two-three times when I was really moved. And a little pissed-off at the characters’ choices…

Many have claimed there’s no plot in this book. I disagree. Not every novel can have mind-blowing moments, twists and turns. What about a story that touches upon daily, universal subjects and has a quiet beauty and characters one could actually meet in actual life? Sometimes, these are elements that are enough to satisfy a reader.So, we follow Lucy and Gabe’s relationship through the years, starting in that nightmarish day of 2001 when terror struck New York and the world changed forever. Lucy and Gabe make some bad choices and their lives turn quite differently that they had planned. Still, the love they share is strong and so beautifully written that you cannot help feeling both touched and concerned over what the future has in store for them.

Do I believe in love at first sight? Definitely. I guarantee you it exists, and I am the least romantic person you’ll ever find. In this novel, we witness a kind of love that starts as an obsession (and we all know how that feels when we are 20 years old) and becomes so strong that haunts the characters’ lives and the lives of those who struggle to approach them. Now, such a bond is unique, almost rare and it must be hard for a writer to communicate it to the reader without resorting to clichés. Jill Santopolo succeeds in creating a kind of language that is both contemporary and beautiful, lyrical and raw where needed. As we witness life unfolding through Lucy’s eyes, we are given a sense of her longing for Gabe, remembering their life together, and the way this pining is depicted is powerful, sincere, realistic, devoid of any drama.

I really, really liked Lucy. She has the strength to admit her own faults and stands for her choices, she has her head screwed together and her doubts are understandable. She isn’t in the least bit selfish, to the point when I know I would have chosen differently. (But this is my personal opinion…)Gabe is complementing her perfectly, although they are two very different personalities. He had the power to make me really angry at times (often…) I mean, the guy was so wishy-washy and couldn’t see further than the end of his own nose. His choices can be a matter of endless debate, but he is so well-written that he makes us look upon him as if he is that troubled friend or relative who always gets on our nerves -especially at family gatherings- but you cannot help loving him and caring for him. However, Darren...Bliah!!! Yikes!! I do hate him and I cannot lie. You can find me a dozen reasons that are supposed to make me sympathise with him and I’d still want to punch him. The man is a human soup - I hate soup, sorry:) - and I hate him. Truly! The way he constantly doubts Lucy and tries to patronize her is outrageous…

The theme in focus isn’t love, in my opinion, but choices and priorities. The great ‘’what ifs’’’ that shape our lives. What do we want from life when we find ourselves at a point where we need to sacrifice something we love for something we feel equally strongly about? Do we wait? Do we compromise? Do we wonder what could have gone differently? Of course, we do. And these questions do not refer only to romantic feelings, but to anything related to future plans and human relationships. You see? This book is far from a simple romance…

I cannot recommend it enough. Read it for the descriptions of New York during terrifying times and times of prosperity and hope. Read it for a beautiful reference to a kind of love that is firmly rooted in the souls of two people. Read it to reflect or reminisce of the past. Perhaps a similar feeling once came your way. Read it because it is a very good book, not light, not heavy. Just realistic and attainable.
……...and did I mention I hate Darren? show less

I'll be honest, I had a hard time starting this since it starts on and uses 9/11 and the events following it as a backdrop. It's still a raw day for me. But I kept reading and eventually found I didn't want to put the book down and that the backdrop was fairly respectfully interwoven.

I loved the writing style -- someone narrating the story of their life, or at least the highlights, as they remember them with small intimate details that still stick out through the fog of memory. The memories are immersive and flash by you, making the foreshadowing very subtle. You only get bits and pieces of memory-- the perceptions of what happened over a lifetime, the questions about what could have happened instead, the things that were left unsaid, show more the choices made. If you're completely honest with yourself, no one looks back on their life and says, "I made all the right choices. I wouldn't have done anything different and I'm not remotely curious about any other paths my life may have taken."

The protagonist isn't perfect, but no one is, and in the end, I am left hungry for the other perspectives we didn't get to see and for what recent and future thoughts and choices may be made and/or remorsefully questioned going forward. As an individual, constrained to our own perspective and singular experience, those other perspectives and alternative paths are things we would never be privy to anyway, so that hunger is completely fitting with the tone of the book.

Received free review copy from First to Read, opinions are my own, yadda yadda. show less

Disappointing. Got tired of the first person narration by Lucy. Too long, the teasing about what had happened to Gus was too drawn out. I get that Lucy did not paint herself as the "great girl" she probably was, since she was the one telling her story. But perhaps if the book had been written in the third person, we might have got a better portrait of her and been able to admire her, and see in her what Gabe and Darren did. I've heard that Reese Witherspoon may produce this - I feel she might save it, but as it is, I'm not on the edge of my seat. It doesn't compare to other novels with a similar plot idea, like David Lodge's One Day. In that book, at least the endless missed chances at love were offset by brilliant writing and humour.

Honestly, I loved this book - infuriating moments and all. The main characters were pretty relatable, with all their flaws and imperfections, but also some amazing qualities like kindness and compassion. At times, I found myself getting frustrated with their selfish decisions and reckless behavior, but it was precisely these flaws that made them feel so real. They were human, with all the messy complexities that come with being alive. As I turned the pages, I found myself rooting for them, despite their mistakes, because they were also capable of showing incredible kindness and empathy towards those around them. Their struggles and triumphs felt authentic and engaging, making it easy to become invested in their stories and care about show more what happened to them. show less

I loved this book. I think it might be the best book I've read in 2018. It was one of those books I didn't want to end, so I read more slowly as the story continued. I loved it not for the overall plot and not because any of the characters was especially admirable (in fact, many reviewers don't like the book because they hate one or more of the characters), but because it described relationships in such realistic and perceptive ways. Sure, some of the plot elements were a little predictable - perhaps even could be described as 'romantic' - but I really wasn't at all focused on the plot. I kept reading to find out how the characters would deal with the complexities of relationships. It isn't what I would call romance, despite the show more dominance of the two intimate relationships, because the relationships are presented in very realistic ways. How do you choose a person to form a potentially life-long relationship? What compromise is worth making for an on-going relationship? How do you deal with a feeling of increasing distance in a marriage? How 'exclusive' should a marriage relationship be? ... is there room for some sort of third party connection without invoking crippling jealousy? Can you simply forget someone who shared some really important moments in your life? Is motherhood worthwhile? All these questions are asked, but mostly explored without answers, which is surely way preferable to the trite and simple alternative. show less

Lucy and Gabe meet in New York on September 11th 2001, the horrific events of that date causing both of them to want to do something meaningful with their life. Eventually they start a relationship and over the next 13 years, they enter and leave each other’s lives on several occasions, although their choices take them in different direction. However, they are drawn to each other and seemingly unable to forget each other. The book is narrated by Lucy and she is talking to Gabe, although their current (2014) situation does not become clear until the end of the story (although I guessed at what would happen and was more or less correct).

I am in two minds about this book. As I always do when I finish a book, I go online to look at other show more reviews and it seems that this story polarises readers – most seem to either love it or hate it. Without wanting to be contrary, I am torn. On the one hand, I do think the writing itself was absolutely lovely, eloquent and almost poetic at times. I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by the author Jill Santopolo, and I thought she did an excellent job. I would probably read another book by Santopolo, based on the writing alone.

However….the character of Lucy irritated me SO MUCH!! She and Gabe had a relationship of a little over a year, and during the next twelve years she met and married Darren and had a family with him. Nonetheless, even though Gabe would go months or years without contacting her, he would sometimes email her right out of the blue and she would drop everything to go and see him. I think we were supposed to see Gabe as deep and introspective, but actually he just seemed selfish and thoughtless. At one point he does an exhibition of his photography in a New York gallery, and when puts photos of Lucy in it without asking her permission or even telling her – this, after she has been married to Darren for several years and has children. When she asks him why she would do that and put her in such an awkward position he says he didn’t ask her because he thought she would say no. THAT’S EXACTLY WHY YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO ASK!! Seriously, this guy would drop her like a hot potato and then pop back up when it suited him. He was undeserving of her adoration and it frustrated me that she warbled on and on about him, often to detriment of her marriage.

So, a mixed bag for me – it kept me entertained during long runs, which is the main reason I listen to audiobooks, but it also annoyed me. I would probably recommend it based on the amount of great reviews it has – clearly a lot of people do love this book – but based on my own opinion I would recommend waiting for this author to write something else. show less