the light between oceans

A boat carrying a baby and a dead man washes up on shore. A lighthouse keeper and his wife, overcome by grief over their own lost child, decide to keep the baby. It is not until some time later that the couple is confronted with the shocking reality that there is a woman not so far away mourning the loss of her own child- the one they have started to lovingly raise.

This novel by M.L. Stedman was filled with suspense, agony and hope. At the same time as the author is weaving together a tale of two women, a man and a child, she is teaching the reader about the operation of a lighthouse, the dangers of life at sea, the stars and the complexity of love.

Once I began reading 'The Light Between Oceans' I had trouble putting it down. In the beginning, I was captivated by the lives of Tom and Isabel, and eventually little Lucy. The home they had created together seemed so beautiful and indestructible. I continued to turn pages (more and more quickly!) as cracks began to appear in this idealistic existence.

Later, I found myself invested in the life of Hannah Roenfeld, the baby's birth mother. I felt the pain of her loss, I understood her seeming insanity of never giving up on her daughter. I sympathized with her confusion, her frustration, her desolation, her rage.

M.L. Stedman does a fabulous job of tangling her readers up in the lives of her characters. I found myself torn between Isabel and Hannah as their lives began to intertwine. As I neared the ending I was not even sure what resolution I should hope for. Was it really mother versus mother? Or were they on the same path, two forks eventually coming together?

I wonder if Stedman felt the same loyalty to both her female protagonists and that is why she chose the ending she did. The end of the book did not bring the kind of resolution I had been hoping for, but it did bring closure, and it was enough. It was unsettling, but it was realistic. After spending a few days digesting the novel, I feel that I am more satisfied with the way Stedman chose to end it than I would have if everything had turned out neatly for every character (and how could it?)

'The Light Between Oceans' reflects the fact that things do not always go the way we hope or plan, and life is not always extraordinary. However, life is to be lived, moments are to be cherished and the light is to be remembered.

"There are still more days to travel in this life. And he knows that he man who makes the journey has been shaped by every day and every person along the way. Scars are just another kind of memory .... Soon enough the days will close over their lives, the grass will grow over their graves, until their story is just an unvisited headstone. He watches the ocean surrender to night, knowing that the light will reappear." -M.L. Stedman

let the great world spin

I picked up this book by Colum McCann on a whim at a thrift store because I was fascinated by the cover. I had never heard of the book nor the author and did not know what a journey I'd be taking once I began reading. 

The stories in this novel take place in the 1970s and are loosely based around the real-life story of Phillip Petite, a man who walked a tightrope between the twin towers in 1974. The novel is made up of several interwoven stories, all from different points of view.

The author has an inspiring ability to cause a reader to invest fully in a character, when even pages ago the reader was fully invested in another life. McCann's characters range from a conflicted Irish clergyman to a middle aged woman mourning the loss of her son, from a grandmother who walks the streets to a young artist couple caught up in crisis. As a reader, I found myself connecting with each character, feeling anger, sorrow, joy, confusion and more alongside them. 

At the beginning of the novel, it seems the only common thread between the lives of its characters is some form of interacting with, noticing or being awed by the tightrope walker. By the end though, the reader is able to see how this patchwork of characters is connected in more ways than one.  

I come away from reading "Let the Great World Spin" considering the many ways in which our lives are tied together. I wonder about how little time we spend getting to know our neighbors, seeing their struggles, finding common ground. McCann's words showed me that life is full of obstacles and hardships, but when we zoom out, it truly is a thing of beauty. 

rise and shine

I just finished this New York Times best seller by Anna Quindlen yesterday and I am still not quite sure how I felt about it. Perhaps it's the daughter of an English teacher or the introspective writer in me that has trouble getting excited about books that do not have layer upon layer of meaning under the surface. maybe I had trouble connecting with the characters and the New York City lives they lived. Regardless, this was not a book I would 'write home' about (although I will, as mom lent it to me after I gifted her with it for Christmas).

The plot itself was intriguing and I did at times get lost in the lives of the characters. Quindlen does a great job of developing her characters, casting one sister as a foil to the other.The one area I was able to connect to in this novel was the relationship between the sisters. Though our characteristics and lifestyles differ greatly from those of Megan and Bridget, my sister and I are also very different people with opposite strengths and the ability to drive one another crazy. However (like Bridget's Megan) my sister is the only person that truly 'gets' me. She can read a twitch of the eye, a quiet sigh or a shift in position and know exactly what I am thinking.

I enjoyed that Quindlen's story transported me into a lifestyle so outside my own. She exposed two sides of New York City life and neither has much in common with the small city life I live.

Overall, Rise and Shine was an enjoyable read, but likely not one I would read again. It was nice to have a novel to 'escape' into but I am hoping for more depth in the next book I decide to read.