November book club: The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

Thanks to all who were able to come to Beth’s house this past week. We had a great discussion about her book pick The Ladies Auxiliary by Tova Mirvus. This was a great book to discuss because it made us think about our own need for acceptance and tolerance among our peers and how far we might go to letting someone different into our community, whether that be a spiritual or social one. Highly recommended reading.

Bethany will be hosting our next meeting on Thursday Nov. 1st at 7pm. She has moved homes but is still in Liberty Lake. I will forward on her address later. Her book selection is:

                            

Goodreads Review says: 

After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.
Tom, whose records as a lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.
M. L. Stedman’s mesmerizing, beautifully written novel seduces us into accommodating Isabel’s decision to keep this “gift from God.” And we are swept into a story about extraordinarily compelling characters seeking to find their North Star in a world where there is no right answer, where justice for one person is another’s tragic loss.
The Light Between Oceans is exquisite and unforgettable, a deeply moving novel.

A Goodreads reader says: 

Tom Sherborne was shattered psychologically by his years on the Western Front in World War I. Returning to Australia, he can't face post-war society so he accepts a job operating a lighthouse on Janus Rock, an island several hours off the coast where the Pacific meets the Indian Ocean. The isolation is almost complete. Supply boats only come to Janus Rock every three months and shore leave is only granted every other year. Tom eventually marries Isabel and the two begin to build a life on Janus Rock. Isabel desperately wants to begin a family and, unfortunately, she suffers a series of miscarrages and a still birth that causes her to suffer an emotional breakdown. And then one day a boat washes ashore carrying a dead man and a live baby. Choices begin to be made that affect lives both on the island and on the mainland. The strength of this book is that the reader has empathy with every character and can understand every choice that is made. This book is a clear reminder that choices have consequences not only for ourselves but also for those individuals around us. An incredibly emotional read, but so worth the effort.

Happy reading and see you next month.