Ive been wanting to visit a lighthouse with the book club for a while now, so in april we finally did it. Isabel wants to keep the child, which she sees as a gift from god. Stedman has crafted an incredible story and created characters that will stay with you long after reading. Reading this book from the perspective of so far away made it even more romantic and touching. Our reading guide for the light between oceans by m. Haunting, melancholy excerpted summary from publisher. Tom sherbourne is a young lighthouse keeper on a remote island off western australia. While some parts of the book seemed to drag, overall this story kept my interest and had me in tears by the end. Two weeks after that last catastrophe, a dinghy washes ashore containing a mans body and a crying infant. I truly appreciate a good book written by a woman without. Buy a cheap copy of the light between oceans book by m.
It is the winner of three prestigious abia awards, including their book of the year, and also won the indie awards. This is a book about decisions that haunt and love that consumes. Stedmans seductive debut, is just that sort of book. My book club met to discuss the light between oceans just before christmas. The story takes place in the town of point partageuse, australia during the 1920s. Stedmans debut novel the light between oceans is a refreshingly honest and heartwrenching work that is sure to stay with you weeks after finishing it. Tom sherbourne is a lighthouse keeper on janus rock, a tiny island a half days boat journey from the coast of western.
The light between oceans is her first novel and has so far been translated into over thirty languages. The light between the oceans is a fantastic novel and it will touch your heart. The theme of being caught between two places, two people, two decisions is woven throughout. The light between oceans is an incredibly moving novel about what happens when good people make bad decisions. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. Stedmans the light between oceansis set in a not dissimilar context, although the lighthouse that forms the key milieu of the novel is located even further away from civilisation, on an island thats wrapped about by the sea.
A lighthouse keeper and his wife living off the coast of western australia raise a baby they rescue from a drifting rowing boat. If you were in tom sherbournes position, would you have let the lightkeepers log book stay silent when the baby was. Stedman really is a story the will break your heart into a million pieces. Handpicked recommendations to other books that have a similar writing style or theme to the light between oceans. The author herself is a very interesting character. This mesmerizing australian novel has been a bestselling book around the world, and hollywood movie rights were recently snapped up by dreamworks, with david heyman harry potter set to produce.
Overall, our group agreed this was one of those books that just begged to be discussed. Each name was given with a great deal of thought, and i felt a personal involvement with every descriptive phrase. The reading guide also helped to be more alert to certain happenings as the story progressed. Our book pick was the light between oceans about a young couple who lives in a lighthouse on an island all to themselves. With michael fassbender, alicia vikander, rachel weisz, florence clery. I absolutely loved this months book club pick, the light between oceans by m. The light between oceans is exquisite and unforgettable, a deeply moving novel. The light between oceans, her first novel, is an international bestseller, having spent well over a year on the new york times bestsellers list as well as being translated into almost forty languages, the book was nominated for the miles franklin award, the womens prize for. This was very helpful in guiding our book club discussion about the light between oceans. Discuss the novels title, the light between oceans. The light between oceans book club kit omaha public.
The story begins when a light house keeper and his wife find a life boat containing a live baby and dead man on the shore of their isolated island. The light between oceans diverges from the novel in one. But isabel suffers miscarriages then loses a premature baby. Stedmans the light between oceans is a beautiful novel about isolation and courage in the face of enormous loss. Stedmans 2012 novel of the same name, which has spent years on the new york times bestseller list.
The light between oceans is a 2016 romantic drama written and directed by derek cianfrance and based on the 2012 novel the light between oceans by m. A comprehensive guide to this contemporary classic, this book includes useful literary context. Lucky boy gives voice to two mothers bound together by their love for one lucky boy. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby. It tells the story of war heroturnedlighthouse keeper tom, and his young, feisty wife isabel, on the tiny, fictitious island of janus rock.
Tom, who keeps meticulous records and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. A film adaptation of the same name starring alicia vikander and michael fassbender was released on 2 september 2016. Stedman, her debut novel, published by random house australia on 20 march 2012. The light between oceans by ml stedman mount prospect public. What do you visualize when you hear or read the light between oceans. The light between oceans discussion questions all good. The yearslong new york times bestseller and major motion picture from. An international coproduction between the united states, australia, the united kingdom, and new zealand, the film stars michael fassbender, alicia vikander, rachel weisz, bryan brown, and jack thompson. But isabel insists the baby is a gift from god, and against toms judgment, they claim her as their own and name her lucy. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving isabel hears a babys cries on the wind. This reading group guide for the light between oceans includes an introduction, discussion questions and ideas for enhancing your book club. A novel at our thursday, february, 2014 meeting at the leawood pioneer library 7 pm.
No book group should be without this companion guide to m. Stedman was born and raised in western australia, and now lives in london. It has been a bestseller around the world, including australia, italy. Into the spaces between words, stedman breathes an anxiety and pulsating intensity that roils with the ocean and the lighthouse beacon, sydney morning herald book of the week. Tom sherbourne, a lighthouse keeper on a remote island in australia, makes a decision not to report an unusual event a boat that washes ashore with a dead man and a living baby girl. This is a story of right and wrong and how sometimes they look the same. I kept wondering what i would do in that situation. Thanks to everyone who joined us for this months virtual book club. The light between oceans includes an introduction, discussion questions and ideas for enhancing your book club the suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. After four, very long years fighting on the western front, tom sherbourne returns to.
Very well written and interesting story development. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. Set just after world war i, its the story of a lighthouse keeper and his wife, tom and isabel sherbourne, who, after several failed attempts to have a child of their own, claim a baby that washes up on the islands shore. The author does a great job of setting up the characters and their backgrounds so you really understand why they chose to do what they did. Stedman scribner, hardcover, 9781451681734, july 2012, 352pp. Light between oceans book club notes penguin books australia. The light between oceans is a 2012 australian historical fiction novel by m. What to read after the light between oceans bookpage.
Do you like the variety or is the book better when focused on tom and isabel. The light between oceans cooking with the book club. After two years of maternal bliss for isabel and alternating waves of. Ill throw out a few topics for discussion, and you can write your responses about these topics or others youd like to discuss in the comment section. Between the great southern ocean and the indian ocean. Today were discussing the light between oceans by m. The light between oceans is set in the southern hemisphere, off the coast of southwest australia. We didnt go to just any lighthouse, but particularly one on an island. It gets into your heart stealthily, until you stop hoping the characters will make different choices and find you can only watch, transfixed, as every conceivable choice becomes an impossible one. Janus rock is a lonely speck of land far out to sea.
The light between oceans is an oddly oldfashioned enterprise, wedded to the principle that love conquers all. The light between oceans unfurls in small acts, at first feeling slight to touch, then building in emotional substance. Light between oceans book club notes penguin books. Stedmans acclaimed bestselling novel, the light between oceans.
Is there a particular passage or scene that stood out to you. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. The novel is rich with detailed descriptions of the ocean, the sky, and the wild landscape of janus rock. Tom sherbourne is the lighthouse keeper on janus rock, a remote island off. Notes from the author to the bookclub a conversation with m. A guide for book clubs the reading room book group notes ebook. The lighthouse seems to serve as something of a metaphor in the booka symbol of hope and safety for isabel and tom. An impossible situation set in a beautiful and captivating setting. Ryde library service community book club collection page 1 of 2 the light between oceans by m. This study guide consists of approximately 51 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the light between oceans.
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