The Light Between Oceans

The Light Between Oceans

M.L. Stedman, 2012

After World War I, Tom Sherbourne takes a job as a lighthouse keeper on the remote island of Janus Rock, off the coast of Australia. Taking along his new wife, Isabel, the two are isolated from the world for months at a time, their only contact being with the two-man boat crew that brings their supplies every three months, and when they are allowed a month's shore leave every few years. Despite the isolation, Tom and Isabel are happy, although they long for a child, which begins to weigh heavily on Isabel after three failed pregnancies. So when a boat washes up on their shore with a tiny live baby and her dead father, Isabel sees this as a gift from God. After Isabel convinces Tom to not report the boat, against his better judgement, the two raise the baby as their own. But two years later, when they return to shore, they find out just what effect their choice has made.

This was a beautifully-written, thought-provoking book. I definitely found myself identifying more with Tom than Isabel, but I'm not a mother - I certainly can't say for sure that I wouldn't have at least been tempted to do what she did in her situation. And I'm sure that there are a lot of women out there who would have done the same. In the end, though, I'm glad that Tom did what he did, as devastating as it was. 

This is definitely one of those books that makes you think and that sticks with the reader for a while. Combining beautiful writing and complex, relatable characters, I can see why this book is being hailed as one of the best of 2012.