M.L. Stedman’s novel, The Light Between Oceans, is one of those with quite a bit of acclaim, and now that I have read it, it does seem to be well-earned.
The story takes the reader to Australia just after the end of the First World War where we meet a former soldier named Tom Sherbourne. Tom takes a rather lonely job as a lighthouse keeper, but he has met a woman named Isabel and fallen in love. The two of them move out to some desolate coastline so Tom can take on his new duties. They have married and attempt to have a family, however each of the three pregnancies end tragically. Some years into this endeavor, a boat has washed ashore with a dead man and an infant girl who is very much alive. Tom and Isabel take her in and decide to raise the girl as their own, however the girl has a very brief past life, and a mother of her own who misses her very deeply. The fantasies of this family collide with the reality of this little girl’s origin, and it gets even messier from there.
This is one of those stories where there is not really a clear villain. No one has any evil intentions. The only real resolution is going to require what would seem to be an impossible amount of forgiveness from more than one character.
Stedman does a pretty decent job of setting the scene. She is apparently Australian, so she would likely know how to depict the setting. The characters are interesting and complex, and sometimes loyalties shift a bit throughout the story. It is definitely one of those novels where any book club is likely going to contain some pretty lively discussions on morality and forgiveness.
Stedman has a pretty decent if unremarkable prose style. She just constructed a pretty fascinating scenario and populated it with characters who are multi-faceted.
There is some reliance on a pretty unlikely set of coincidences that were at times difficult to suspend my disbelief, but I understand why so many fiction writers dop that. If I was writing my own novel, I am sure some critic would fairly be able to point that out in my hypothetical work.
Overall, I would recommend any habitual reader to slip this into their nightstand stack and actually get to it.
Next up, I will be returning to Los Angeles as depicted by crime fiction writer Michael Connelly. Former LAPD detective Harry Bosch has a chance to solve a case that has haunted him for years. He and Renee Ballard join forces to close some cold cases in Desert Star.
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