M.L. Stedman

"A novel set on a remote Australian island, where a childless couple live quietly running a lighthouse, until a boat carrying a baby washes ashore"--

A Novel

The Light Between Oceans

M. L. Stedman

Julie Twist

This book was given to me by a friend who recommended it and I'm so glad she did. This is about Tom and Isabel and their life on Janus Rock lighthouse where Tom is the lighthouse keeper. Janus Rock is so isolated, they only see a supply boat every three months and have biennial leave. I defy any parent reading this not to be moved.

Sarah Sammis

"Now a major motion picture"--Front cover.

Lamia Hajani

Interesting setting- post WW2 Australia isn’t a time period I’ve read much historical fiction from. The plot is good, but the characters are very unlikable. The moral quandary just doesn’t feel like much of a quandary.

Peggy Walker

I absolutely loved this book...by far one of the best I've read this year...or any year, for that matter. This is a period novel, set starting in 1920, and it's setting is a remote island off the coast of Western Australia. I was fascinated with the descriptions of the working of the lighthouse, especially since my husband served on a lighthouse crew when he was in the U.S. Coast Guard. The isolation is unbelievable, with only the lighthouse keeper and his wife living there. They get deliveries by boat once a season, and get a month of shore leave once every 3 years!!! The main characters get caught up in a terrible conundrum. There are no easy answers or solutions once they start heading down their path. I felt sympathies for everyone involved, and I had tears running down my face by the end. Highly, highly recommended.

Briar's Reviews

The Light Between Oceans is a bittersweet novel that will crush your soul (in a good way).

This is M.L. Stedman's first book, and it is one fantastic first novel (to be brutally honest). This book was beautifully written, it pulled at my heart strings and it demanded my attention. Typically fictional novels that are more focused on "drama" don't pull me like this book did! I was obsessed and had to finish reading it, I had to know what was going to happen to Tom, Isobel and Lucy.

The layers of love and affection in this story, mixed with the difficult decision making (and catch-22's, as most reviewers are saying) make this a really intriguing story. It really made me question myself and my own choices - if I was Isobel in that time period (or Tom for that matter) and went through what they had been through, would I keep the baby? Would I admit I kept the baby? What would I do?

It's a difficult decision, and you see one plot line of how this story can go. It's not like a crazy soap opera, it seems realistic (to me, anyways). It's a story all about bad decisions being made by good people, and the tension and fall outs that happen because of it. Were they really doing a bad thing, if their hearts were in the right place? 

This book seems to be 50/50 for people - you either love it, or you don't. I enjoyed the slight romance, dramatic fiction, heart wrenching tale that it is....but...I also didn't read any reviews before and went in knowing I just wanted to read the book to see the movie. I had 0 expectations, and I came out loving it. In my opinion, some people seem to be reading way to far into the book. Are there themes? Yes. Is this a book that will be compared to Shakespeare (or even It...) in relation to it's themes? No. Does it identify how good people can make bad decisions? Yes. Do you have to agree with their decisions? No. Do the characters decisions have to be your decisions? No. It's simply a novel that is well written and shows one story of bad decision making. 

Overall, this book is well written and is a fun read. All I can say now is, I can't wait to watch the movie!

Five out of five stars.

Mae Erceg

5 out of 5 stars. Easily. One of the best books I’ve read in such a long time. It truly broke me. I loved the moral dilemma, the beautiful symbolism, the wonderful characters. Just phenomenal !! I couldn’t put it down. Would 100% recommend.

Jenny Vuu

It's been a while since i've read stories like this one, where it really connects to you as the reader. A must read !

Charlsy Sekyere

⭐️ 2.5-3

To begin with, I think a 3 star rating is a little generous. Particularly since I was bored to tears by the first 100 pages or so of this book, which detailed Tom Sherbourne's childhood and wartime experiences. The chunks of information about how lighthouses work and descriptions of landscapes thrown into the story didn't help either.

About half way through the book, around Part 2, things pick up once the baby is discovered and the couple decides to keep the baby, a decision I became increasingly frustrated with as the book progressed on.

For me, the writing and execution of this book aren't the problem; it's the decision and the rationale behind the couple's decision to keep the child that made me uneasy. Also, I didn't find this book particularly memorable or exciting.

As a whole, I found this book to be just okay: well-written, but too slow-moving, especially in Part 1, and with a plot line that was morally ambiguous.

Courtney

This was a heartbreaking story of love and loss. I generally don't read as much fiction as I do fantasy, but I definitely recommend this for anyone who loved The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah!

Audrey Lord

This book is so good! The way its written and the story it creates is just amazing. You really feel for every character, you cry with them. The ending is so wonderfully done and made me ball my eyes out

Tylar M

2.5 maybe? I just couldn't get into this book, but I have to admit the last 40 pages or so really tugged at my heartstrings...

Fran Lewis

Nicole Dykeman

A lot of reviews are saying this is a slow read, but I didn't think so. It was a pretty consistent pace and I enjoyed it much more than I was expecting. It gets a little crazy toward the last half of the book, as well as repetitive. It was also pretty straightforward - the author got to the point quickly in the beginning, efficiently setting the scene just the right amount so that the plot could develop immediately.

Lauren Tabor

This book was just okay for me. I did enjoy the writing and the descriptions of Janus and the ocean and their life. I was able to have clear pictures of everything that happened and I really liked that. This book just seemed to go on and on. The plot felt very stretched along, I really just wanted it to end. But once I got to the end I still cried for the characters because we went on such an intense journey with them.

Sian Wadey

I really tried but I found this book really dull, the characters weren't particularly likeable and I didn't have any desire to find out what happened.

Celeste Richardson

"Scars are just another kind of memory."

This was a fantastic book. The subject matter didn't make for an easy read, but it was a worthwhile read. Time well spent. Not gonna lie... I watered up a little right at the end.

What do you do when you’re presented with your heart’s desire, and there’s no one around to check your decisions? What do you do when the person you love most in the world makes a life-changing decision that you feel in your heart-of-hearts is wrong? What do you do when faced with an impossible decision? How far would you go for your child? These are the questions that drive The Light Between Oceans. 

This was a moving book. I could sympathize with every person involved. Every one of them felt that their actions were right, and had legitimate reasons to believe what they saw as truth. And every one of those actions led to someone else’s life being ruined. Who was right? In a way, all of them. Who was wrong? Again, in a way, all of them. It was a devastating situation for all parties involved.

On to the actual writing. Stedman’s words had a great flow, and her choices really evoked Australia to my mind and my ear. I could smell the ocean, see the light gleaming from the lighthouse, hear the mad laughter of the kookaburra. I connected fairly well with the story and the characters. (I don't really think the rest of this paragraph spoils anything, but if you're afraid it might, now's the time to skip on down to the last paragraph.) And as a woman who was unable to have children, I completely got both Isabel and Hannah. As tough as it was being unable to conceive, I’m so incredibly thankful that I never lost a child. Both mothers were blinded by their desperation. In my mind, Tom was the least at fault for everything that happened, though neither mother seemed to believe that. And that's the most I can say without spoiling anything.

On the whole, this was a wonderful book. I’ve rated it with four stars instead of five for a few reasons. First, it’s not a book I see myself rereading. Second, even though it was a terribly sad story, I could hold it at arms length; there were no tears spilled on these pages. As I said above, I watered up right at the end, but no weeping occurred. Which I really didn't mind, because I hate it when something makes me cry without my permission. Third, it’s just not one of my favorites. When it comes to rating books, in the words of Loki: I do what I want. This book didn’t change my life, but it made me think. It’s worth reading.

Melissa Schwartz

For what it's worth, the end was really great and I totally cried. Parts of the book though drove me nuts and it took a long time to get to the point. I did like it though and am curious how the movie will turn out

Jamie Mitchell

Wow this was... incredibly boring... I got about 60% of the way through and just could not finish it. The characters were terrible, the dialogue often boring, and in two hundred pages basically nothing happened. I really hate quitting books, and very, very rarely do so, but there are other books I can and should be reading instead of a book that is boring me so badly it's taken me three weeks to read two hundred pages.

Caroline Lewicki

What a roller coaster of emotions. I loved this book, its characters, the richness and detail of the story, and everything it put me through. There are so many times when you want to hate the characters for the decisions they make and then you remember what a difficult situation they find themselves in, what horrible things they've had to endure. I felt the full gambit of emotions toward each character at some point. This is a beautiful, touching story and I fell in love with it the second I started. I highly recommend!

Capucine Fachot

a very good novel, a very very very talented author! 

thank you for this moment!

Mari-Anne Hughes

heart wrenching story about how one decision can tear apart the lives of so many. Very well written, and the climax of the story had me in tears.

2.3 million copies sold The international bestselling book of the major Hollywood film starring Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander (film to be released in UK 1 Nov 16) The New York Times bestseller Goodreads historical category winner 'Extraordinary and heartrending' MARKUS ZUSAK, author of The Book Thief A boat washes up on the shore of a remote lighthouse keeper's island. It holds a dead man - and a crying baby. The only two islanders, Tom and his wife Izzy, are about to make a devastating decision. They break the rules and follow their hearts. What happens next will break yours. 'Unforgettable' Guardian 'A moving tale ...prepare to weep' New York Times

Melody Izard

Craig and I listened to this on our way to our lovely vacation week at Pawleys Island. It is about a lightkeeper and his family and a decision that seemed to be the right one at the time, but then it wasn't. And what to do about it? Then there is no easy way out.

Annalee Harris

It's 1926. A little baby girl, and her deceased father, wash ashore Janus Rock, a small island where a lighthouse warns ships of its rocky cliffs; the lighthouse is tended to by Isabel and Tom Sherbourne, a young couple who have recently suffered from a miscarriage and stillbirth. Isabel is convinced that this baby, who she names Lucy, is a gift from God--Tom agrees, if only to soothe Isabel's wounds. After their four-year contract is up, the Sherbournes return to the mainland, where they are suddenly and shockingly reminded that there are people who still exist, including a traumatized widow who is hopeful her daughter and husband are still alive.

The Light Between Oceans is a beautiful debut novel that evokes powerful emotions. From the heartache of Isabel's sufferings, to the anger of the Sherbournes taking a woman's baby (and the contradictory sadness that the Sherbournes must decide whether they want to give up their baby), to the injustice of how the baby ended up on Janus Rock in the first place. Stedman has proved she's an expert at her craft; she has a very nostalgic style, a good grasp on pacing, and can beautifully portray the internal back-and-forth struggle of trying to do the right thing. This novel is gut-wrenching, tearful, and haunting.

Tiffany Robinson

This book was tough for me to get through and the only reason I finished it was for my book club. It was dull and dragged on and on. It picked up a little by part three, but not enough to redeem the book for me.

The Light Between Oceans A Novel

Reviews