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    The Light Between Oceans: A Novel
    The Light Between Oceans: A Novel
    The Light Between Oceans: A Novel
    Audiobook10 hours

    The Light Between Oceans: A Novel

    Written by M.L. Stedman

    Narrated by Noah Taylor

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    The years-long New York Times bestseller and major motion picture from Spielberg’s Dreamworks is “irresistible…seductive…with a high concept plot that keeps you riveted from the first page” (O, The Oprah Magazine).

    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, 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, who keeps meticulous records and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel insists the baby is a “gift from God,” and 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.

    Editor's Note

    A mother’s love…

    Moral codes, maternal instincts, and a young couple’s marriage are put to the test when a boat carrying a dead man, and a very alive baby girl, washes onto the shore of a remote Australian island.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateJul 31, 2012
    ISBN9781442350304
    Author

    M.L. Stedman

    M.L. Stedman was born and raised in Western Australia and now lives in London. The Light Between Oceans is her first novel.

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    Reviews for The Light Between Oceans

    4.5/5

    218 ratings102 reviews

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    • 5/5
      An incredible book that broke my heart and made me cry.The story of a couple who so desperately want a child, that they do the unthinkable by keeping a child that arrives unexpectedly on the shore of their island where they are lighthouse keepers. The wife convinces the husband to keep the child and cover up an accident that has killed the child's natural father.They live a life of bliss together however the father is continually haunted by the crime they have committed. So much so that over the years he leaves hints for the child's natural mother when they visit the mainland. This eventually leads to unbelievable consequences.Beautifully written and heart wrenching.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This was my favorite book of 2013, so far. What an emotional book about the love between the mother and the child and between a wife and husband. The isolation of Janus Rock came across loud and clear. This would make a great movie.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      My favorite book of the year thus far....It encompassed all my fav's the sea, a moral dilemma, and very well written real characters. Bravo to this debut author, BRAVO!!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I loved the story itself, but was disappointed at some of the language choices, ie: taking the Lord's name in vain.
    • 4/5
      How can you choose between the love of a spouse and the love of a child? How do you take something so precious away from someone you love because it is the right thing to do? These are the questions that are asked and answers searched for in this wonderful book that will delight fans of A Reliable Wife, The Forgotten Garden and The Good American. Tom and Isabel Sherbourne are lighthouse keepers in Austraila who are happy in their solitude but want to have a family. We grieve for the happy couple as Isabel suffers one miscarriage after another until one day when a row boat washes up on the island's shore and their world will change forever.
    • 5/5
      This book was simply AMAZING! It is not something that I would have ever picked up to read on my own, but I am so glad that I joined the book club and read it! It really had a spell-bounding story that did have a bit of a slow start, but from Chapter 3 on, I found it quite difficult to put it down each night! This author did jump from subject to subject rather quickly sometimes, but I think that kept you interested! You can't help but wonder exactly what you would do if you were in Tom or Izzy's shoes and then later on Hannah's shoes and your heart aches excruciatingly bad for poor little Lucy! Even though the story is based in the 1920's, the writing reflects modern language, which I myself personally really appreciated! I finished this book hours ago and it has left me with lingering thoughts about the story and how it ended! It was so nice to see that Tom and Izzy truly had an ever-lasting love and took their for better or worse, in sickness and in health vows very seriously! I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to add this book to my collection of read books! This is probably by far one of the best books I've ever read!
    • 4/5
      Tom and Isabel are a young couple in the middle of the ocean--literally, as the lighthouse keepers on Janus Rock. When they come to Janus as newlyweds they are full of hope, until a series of miscarriages threatens to destroy them both. When a baby washes ashore, Isabel believes its a sign from God, while Tom is more reluctant to say the child is their own, but goes along with it. As time passes, questions arise about the child, and Tom must decide between his family and his conscience.The Light Between Oceans is a good story, and I enjoyed it as a whole. So why the three stars? For me, at times, the novel became very tedious, and I felt like the characters, particualarly Tom and Isabel, became moral charicatures, not real people. This killed a lot of the emotional momentum of the story for me, and really took away from the story as a whole.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyed the book - used it for my book club. They all thought it was a very interesting book.
    • 5/5
      Amazing writing, gripping story and characters. Its a touching story of love, and family, and life on a remote island and at the same time its this gripping drama just full of heart wrenching tragedy and everyone just being SO MISERABLE, but not in an annoying way. Its more complicated and true to life than that; its about consequences to the choices we make, its about how when you absolutely love someone you put them entirely before yourself. Amazing, enthralling right to the end. A wonderful read.
    • 4/5
      M.L. Stedman's debut effort would have earned 5 stars from me had there not been a couple of pivotal plot developments that felt rushed along, but even those lapses could not diminish the raw emotional power the novel held in store.

      Stedman, and her story, are at their very best when she exercises economy of language, trusting the wholeness of her character development to fully inform the reader's empathy, even when the characters are not deserving of it.

      There was a scene at the end of the book that was so emotionally perfect I could scarcely bear to turn the page. I wish I could say more, but trust that it struck such a true and resonating chord within me that I have written down my thoughts in my personal journal.

      The developing buzz on this one drew me to it -- and I am glad I didn't wait any longer to pick it up.
    • 4/5
      Great Australian story of a family on a lighthouse island.
    • 5/5
      I found The Light Between Two Oceans by M.L. Stedman to be a powerfully, engrossing novel. Tom Sherbourne is a hero returning to Australia after the war has ended and is looking for a place of peace and isolation where he can heal from the atrocities he has seen. He takes a job on Janus Rock as the lighthouse keeper. Janus Rock is a secluded island and Tom's only real connection with the mainland is through Ralph and Bluey, two men who navigate the supply boat that comes to Janus Rock once a season. Though many a man has gone mad in this lonely existence, Tom thrives and heals. He is a meticulous lighthouse keeper, abiding by every rule. He is very good at his job and well suited for this solitary life. He comes to love Janus Rock.Tom eventually meets (through a series of events explained in the book) and marries Isabel Graysmark. Isabel moves to Janus rock and their life is ideal. Isabel initially is a dynamic, bold and playful character who loves Tom very much, but after 3 miscarriages, one being fairly recent, she is mentally fragile. A boat washes up on Janus Rock. In the boat is a dead man and a baby girl wrapped in a cardigan sweater. Convincing Tom that the baby must be an orphan, better off with them, and that it is the will of G-d, Tom and Isabel keep the baby as their own. They bury the dead man and never report their findings. Tom and Isabel fall desperately in love with the baby they name Lucy and can't imagine their world without her. When the Sherbournes discover that Lucy's birth mother is actually alive, has never given up hope of finding her husband and baby, and has been severely suffering with her losses, Tom and Isabel are faced with an overwhelmingly tragic dilemma, keep the child that they love and allow the birth mother to agonize over her losses or release the child back to her birth mother and shatter from their own broken hearts.The book is well-written and absorbing.
    • 3/5
      This novel features a series of excellent ethical dilemmas, as the two central characters (Tom and Isabel) are first confronted with the consequences of a choice they made for their own happiness that has come with a heartbreaking loss for another, and then must face a series of escalating, harrowing decisions as a result. It's one of those books that really causes you to wonder what would you do if you found yourself in the same situation. The author does a good job of demonstrating the pain on all sides that comes to the characters, and the burden of a guilty conscience.

      But I had a lot of difficulty in buying into the premise. Yes, a lighthouse isolated from the outside world is a well chosen scenario for experimenting with choices that can be made without society's judgment a concern. But I could not believe that both characters, portrayed throughout the book to be fundamentally good people, would ultimately choose to do something so clearly wrong. While I can believe that being so far away from the rest of the world might cause one to lose one's moral compass a bit, these were two people who mutually seemed to lose sight of right and wrong. Even when they learn of the devastation they have wrought, they do not turn back, at least not at first. And this was enough to take me out of the book and left me more or less shaking my head in disbelief as this narrative path continued.

      Well written and a decent bit of fiction, but when your entire plot hinges on an unbelievable decision (which could have been made very believable if either of the main characters were not so seemingly saintly) it drags the effort down a bit.
    • 5/5
      Stedman has produced a great debut novel. Tom Sherbourne has returned to Australia after fighting in World War I, and takes the job of lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock. Shore leaves are rare, but Tom enjoys the work and the solitude. Eventually he marries Isabel, and they plan on having a family together. After two miscarriages and a stillbirth, a boat washes up on shore. The man in the boat is dead, but Isabel immediately falls in love with the baby, claiming her as her own, and convincing her husband to report neither the death or the baby to the authorities. As the next four years pass, Tom's conscience bothers him more and more; when he learns that the girl's mother is living he tries to make things right. However, with each decision the problems continue to escalate. Stedman's characters are real, and she convincing conveys the problem of finding justice when no matter what is done, someone will be forever hurt. This is a wonderful read and an author to watch.
    • 3/5
      This was the first selection for the book club that I just joined. Reviews were excellent and I was excited to open the book. What a disappointment. The writing was average and felt like it just plodded along. The characters were so unlikeable that I was actually rooting for something bad to happen to them. It was, however, a good book to show how the loss of a dream can have disasterous consequences.
    • 5/5
      The Light Between Oceans by M.L. StedmanI am weeping having just finished this book, one of the longlisted for the Women's Prize. (still Orange Prize to me)Tom, a Veteran of WWI & guilt ridden that he lived through the war when so many did not, has found that he is unable to cope in the world he has returned to. And so he has put in for a post on lighthouses where he will have solitude to ease his mind and soul. He works several relief 'Lights' before being sent to Janus Rock Lighthouse off Partageuse, Australia. The job requires him to be there 24/7 with supply boats coming out every three months and every three years he will have a leave. "For the first time he took in the scale of the view. Hundreds of feet above sea level, he was mesmerized by the drop to the ocean crashing against the cliffs directly below. The water sloshed like white paint, milky-thick, the foam occasionally scraped off long enough to reveal a deep blue undercoat. At the other end of the island, a row of immense boulders created a break against the surf and left the water inside it as calm as a bath. He had the impression he was hanging from the sky, not rising from the earth. Very slowly, he turned a full circle, taking in the nothingness of it all. It seemed his lungs could never be large enough to breathe in this much air, his eyes could never see this much space, nor could he hear the full extent of the rolling, roaring ocean. For the briefest moment, he had no edges."While in Partageuse before heading out to Janus Rock he meets a young lady and they are taken with each other and write back and forth as the supply boats come and go. Within a short time they decide to marry and Isabel joins him out at the lighthouse. She quickly fell in love with the rocky island and all of it's little inlets and coves. Beginning their family, Tom and Izz were so excited but then to be horribly disappointed when she miscarried the child. The babe was buried up on the high cliff and a rosemary bush was planted at the grave. But they didn't give up and soon Isabel was expecting again. It couldn't happen again but sadly it did. The second babe was buried near the first and another rosemary bush planted.They went on, Tom lighting the lamp at night and shutting it off in the morn and keeping the lighthouse and all of it's workings sparkling clean and shiny. Isabel gardened, kept a few chickens and kept busy with the house. Then they found that she was pregnant again. Happy and yet frightening news for Isabel mourned her babes so & wanted one so very badly. This little boy babe she carried for much longer but in the end he was stillborn. She raged at God and tore at her hair, she mourned so. Again the infant son was buried beside his two siblings and another rosemary bush was planted. They tried to go back to life as they knew it but this time it was so different and so much more difficult.Then one day when Isabel was up on the cliffs she thought she heard a baby crying, but surely not. It must be the wind or sea. But then she saw Tom come running out of the Lighthouse and heard him calling for her: A boat, Isabel, a boat! She ran down to him and he helped her as they climbed down the steep path to the sea where there was a small row boat. They could indeed hear a baby crying and could see a man lying in the boat. Tom checked the man for signs of life but he was quite dead. However tucked under the bow he could see a bit of color and there wrapped in a woman's cardigan was a little baby girl crying and very much alive. Isabel took the baby from Tom and it was love at first sight. Tom needed to report the boat, dead man & baby but Izz begged him to wait until morning. His heart sank but he felt so horribly sad for his wife, having just lost their third child two weeks prior, that he gave in. By the next morning she had convinced him that they should bury the man and keep the baby. Obviously the mother had fallen overboard and drowned beings the baby was wrapper in her sweater.No one would know because the supply boat hadn't been since she had lost this last little one.I found this to be an excellent story. I highly recommend it and I rated it 4 1/2 stars.
    • 5/5
      The cover says it all... A story of right and wrong. Sometimes the line is very fine . I just loved this book . Couldn't put it down. Can't wait for her next novel!7
    • 4/5
      Beautifully written. Heartbreaking but beautiful. In the 1920's, an isolated lighthouse keeper and his wife on an island off the Australian coast suffer miscarriage after miscarriage. When one day a boat washes ashore carrying a dead man and a live infant, the wife thinks her prayers have been answered; the husband is uneasy and wants to report it immediately. The wife convinces him that the baby's parents must be dead, they keep the baby and raise her as their daughter. When they discover that the child's birth mother is still alive, the wife rationalizes that they can't possibly tear their daughter, now four, away from the only life she's known. The husband's guilt is overwhelming and he seeks ways to make the situation right. Of course, there is no way to make the situation right, and that is the beauty of this book- the author pursues an issue so heartbreaking that there can be no way to right it. Life is filled with situations where there is no right or wrong, or where there is no way to truly right a wrong that has impacted so many lives, and Stedman has embraced this moral truth and steered it to a conclusion that felt, to me, most acceptable. As I read, I didn't think the conclusion could possibly be tolerable, but it was. This would be a great book for a book group-- lots to discuss-- and it is definitely one that provokes you to ask "what would I do?" Stedman is an amazing storyteller. This book was painful-- it's the first book that has made me tear up in a long time-- but worth it.
    • 5/5
      So good! Very heartwarming, makes you think about living in this moment of your life
    • 5/5
      This is a novel that will be read by many and may even end up on the big screen – this is that type of book. With that being said, this is also going to be a difficult book to review. There are so many layers of this novel. First of all, this book was beautifully written; the words and descriptions Stedman uses to describe the scenery and the lighthouse, really allows you imagine what it would be like to be at that location, in that time period. Second, the storyline; this novel is a deeply moving and extremely thought provoking story about the depths of love and the moral limits of what a person may do in the name of that love. Finally, Stedman really does make you think about the situations that both Tom and Isabel were placed in (mainly by each other) and makes you wonder – what would I do if I was in this situation? Overall, I really enjoyed this book.
    • 5/5
      Tom Sherbourne, a decorated hero of World War I, is a haunted man: he's haunted by the men he killed, by the comrades who died alongside him, and by an unhappy childhood--none of which he is willing to talk about. In an effort to find peace, Tom takes a position as a lighthouse keeper on Janus Island, 100 miles out from the Australian coastal city of Partageuse. No one is more surprised than Tom when he finds love with Isabel Graysmarks, a beautiful and spirited local girl who is willing to marry him and move to the isolated island. Both of them grow to love the spare landscape and the magical light itself. But if there is one thing that blights their happiness, it is Isabel's inability to bear a child. She has suffered two miscarriages and, just two weeks earlier, a stillbirth, when a boat washes ashore, inside it a dead man, a woman's cardigan--and a live infant. As always, Tom feels obligated to do the right thing . . . but just what is the right thing?Stedman has written a compelling novel, one that captivates the reader and moves him/her through a myriad of emotions, from sorrow to joy, from peacefulness to suspense, from anger to acceptance. Her characters are individual and believable (although I found the child Lucy just a bit too precious) and always deserving of empathy. Stedman's descriptions of the island and of the beloved lighthouse are so vivid that you can smell the salt sea, the polish, and the vapor. Overall, a fine novel--and an amazing debut. I look forward to her next endeavor.
    • 4/5
      Basically this was a very sad book. That said the writing was stellar. The characters were soflawed but immensely well drawn. It just might make it's way onto my top 10 list by the end of theyear!
    • 4/5
      When you read as much as I do, there are times when suddenly a theme or idea seems to be everywhere. This summer, I read both The Snow Child and The Light Between Oceans, which I was fortunate enough to win through the Early Readers Program. Both books are set in the recent past, in remote locales (Alaska, for the Snow Child, and a lighthouse a hundred miles off the Western Australian coast, for Light); both feature women who are grieving their inability to have children who suddenly have a child enter their lives in a miraculous way. The novels both explore the intense love and the precarious fragility of that love of a mother for a child -- both women end up having to say good-bye and let go. While in some ways I think the Snow Child is the better book (its fairy tale quality makes the book more of a complete, perfect whole created world), I loved the Light Between Oceans as well. The lighthouse on Janus Island, as well as the whole world of western Australia, is described in sensuous loving detail. The characters are wonderful. The crucial decision that Tom and Izzy make, in keeping a baby that they know is not theirs, plays out like hubris in the Greek plays, with an inevitability and sadness that is very affecting. There are no bad guys in this book, just people making wrong and difficult choices. And just when you think there is no way Stedman can give us anything approximating a happy ending, she crafts a bittersweet coda that leaves us very satisfied. A very good book. If you like it, read the Snow Child as well!
    • 2/5
      I spent most of this book, with the exception of the beginning, angry with most of the characters. Perhaps this is good writing, but I would like to at least like some of the characters in the novels I read. In this case, however, I disagreed with most of the characters' decisions and how they handled the consequences. For example, Isabel is grief stricken over a recent stillbirth when a live baby is found on Janus Rock and she takes the child as a "gift from God." However, even after she and her husband learn the child's mother is still living and hoping for the child's return, Isabel argues to keep the child because, in her view, it's all part of God's plan. While I can understand Isabel's actions, I still feel they are inexcusable and I struggled to feel any kind of sympathy for her character. The main redeeming quality of this book is that finally, by the end, characters do the right thing.
    • 4/5
      “He turned his attention to the rotation of the beam, and gave a bitter laugh at the thought that the dip of the light meant that the island itself was always left in darkness. A lighthouse is for others; powerless to illuminate the space closest to it.” (Ch 20)In 1918, having spent four excruciating years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as lighthouse keeper on remote Janus Rock. The isolated island, a full half day’s journey from the coast, is the home to which he brings his new wife, Isabel – young, bold, and mysterious. Years later, after their lives have been jarred by two miscarriages and a stillbirth, Isabel hears a baby’s cry on the shore. A boat has washed up, carrying a dead man, a living, crying baby, and a woman’s cardigan. Tom, ever meticulous with his duties as lighthouse keeper, proceeds to report the incident immediately. But Isabel has latched the tiny infant to her breast, and begs Tom to waylay his report. Eventually, against his better judgment, Tom agrees to raise the child with Isabel, and they name her Lucy. Alas, there still exists a world outside of the timelessness that is Janus; and their actions will devastate the life of at least one other.“Hundreds of feet above sea level, he was mesmerized by the drop to the ocean crashing against the cliffs directly below. The water sloshed like white paint, milky-thick, the foam occasionally scraped off long enough to reveal a deep blue undercoat. At the other end of the island, a row of immense boulders created a break against the surf and left the water inside it as calm as a bath. He had the impression he was hanging from the sky, not rising from the earth. Very slowly, he turned a full circle, taking in the nothingness of it all. It seemed his lungs could never be large enough to breathe in this much air, his eyes could never see this much space, nor could he hear the full extent of the rolling, roaring ocean. For the briefest moment, he had no edges.” (Ch 3) The Light Between Oceans is beautifully written. Stedman creates a sense of timelessness, of infinity on Janus that is just lovely. And the irony of the light, capable of illuminating the way for distant others, but powerless to illumine its immediate space, is effective. I did not care for the denouement of the novel – a little too contrived for my taste. That said, it is certainly a worthwhile read, and I highly recommend.“Right and wrong can be like bloody snakes: so tangled up that you can’t tell which is which until you’ve shot ’em both, and then it’s too late.” (Ch 20)
    • 5/5
      Tom Sherbourne has endured great tragedy during the Great War. It has changed him and made him a different person. Always a loner, Tom becomes a lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock on the west coast of Australia, a job not normally given to single men....it is a lonely enough existence without having a wife and family for company.Isabel Graysmark has taken a fancy to Tom. She sees passed his shyness and is determined to marry him and join him at the lighthouse. She gets her way and they both settle down to wedded bliss. Sadly, Isabel miscarries three babies and is truly heartbroken by their loss. One day, a small boat drifts in to the bay, and the couple are shocked to find a dead man aboard, together with a small baby girl who is very much alive. Assuming that both parents are dead, Isabel believes this baby is a gift from God and despite Tom's obvious misgivings, she is set on keeping the infant and raising her as their own. Baby Lucy becomes the centre of their lives and she thrives under their care. How do you reconcile the doubts that Tom has every day? What if the baby's mother is still alive? Isabel refuses to listen to Tom's protestations, but things begin to go badly wrong.At the heart of this book is the dilemma of right and wrong. The couple have saved this baby's life and she has brought them great joy. What can be wrong about that?I found M L Stedman's writing very effective and her characterisation is wonderful. It is a heartbreaking story, told with empathy and skill. She leaves the reader wondering what they would do under similar circumstances.Highly recommended. This book was made available to me, prior to publication, for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      This is a story of love and devotion. This is also a story laced with betrayal, but to find who betrayed who is difficult to say, because it was to be found in many small corners of the story. Tom is a man touched by war. The war to end all wars tore the life from some, the innocence of others. To be sure it changed the lives of everyone in the industrialized world in some why, I think. He was grateful to just be alive, and was content to tend the light on Janus rock, an offshore light that saw the shops safely on their way or helped to guide them home. Finding love was not something he ever thought to would happen for him, and yet?Through happenstance or divine intervention, Izzy came into his life. Light shown through and around her for Tom. When she made it plain that she was willing, no...that she wanted to leave her home and family and join him on Janus rock, he was nearly unable to believe his good fortune. And he was happy. Quietly, mind you, but happy. And so the very best years of their lives began on a bit of rock offshore of Australia. Life just doesn't hand us happiness without taking something back, does it? And so during the first otherwise content and happy years of their marriage Izzy lost a child. And then two more. As she attended the grave of her latest baby lost, she heard the cry of a child. At first, she thought it was her imagination. But, she walked toward the sound and changed the direction of their lives, forever. She did it for love, the love of a child. And tom did it for the love of Izzy.
    • 5/5
      The Light Between the Oceans is a deeply moving and thought provoking story about the depths of love, and the limits of what a person is capable of doing in the name of love. The characters and setting are unforgettable, and the moral dilemma posed by the plot kept me reading and turning pages until I finished. I can usually guess plot twists and turns but I wasn't sure how this one was going to end. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as well as the author's beautiful writing and found myself moved to tears by the end. Highly recommended reading.
    • 5/5
      Just a lovely book about love mothers and babies and the love they create. The twists of fate are hard and the decisions made make us all think.
    • 4/5
      What an unusual story! It includes wonderful descriptions of remote parts of Australia in addition to the tragic plot. I could not put it down.