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