mikeiswhere's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
At its heart this book is a reflective, interesting story of characters brought together by place and circumstance.
Despite its short page count this book did feel like a slig in the middle, at tomes the narrative is lost in the reveries of the characters.
Ultimately, worth a read.
Despite its short page count this book did feel like a slig in the middle, at tomes the narrative is lost in the reveries of the characters.
Ultimately, worth a read.
kellyyou_'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
myliteraryshelf's review against another edition
2.0
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Light Keeper is certainly an emotional novel, tackling issues of grief, suicide and infertility. Unfortunately, I found the book too triggering and did not finish. This was a shame as I did really enjoy the writing style. I would look out for any subsequent work by Moreton but only if the subject matter is considerably lighter.
The Light Keeper is certainly an emotional novel, tackling issues of grief, suicide and infertility. Unfortunately, I found the book too triggering and did not finish. This was a shame as I did really enjoy the writing style. I would look out for any subsequent work by Moreton but only if the subject matter is considerably lighter.
gw_xx's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
lucsbooks's review against another edition
2.0
The book starts off interestingly enough divided by the pov's of a man who is looking for his wife, afraid she has committed suicide and a lighthouse keeper whose wife died. The characters are relatable at first and the setting of the story is really interesting but after a while, all the desperation and memories get very tiring. The themes in this book range from loneliness to suicide, inability to have children and loss. My favorite part was the way the people that live close to a suicide point are portrayed.
raoionna's review against another edition
4.0
Love lost is terrible, but worse when the loss is due to death. This is a very emotional book and could be triggering to some.
This is a lovely, sad book about mental health and suicide. The prose is slow, though, this might be due to the main character’s path towards acceptance of loss. The lighthouse, and the crashing waves below, are a metaphor, in some ways, but also a setting where loss often happens.
I really enjoyed this book, but I was not expecting the heavy tenor when I saw the cover. I don’t have personal experience with suicide, so I was able to focus on the beautiful words. I don’t know if this book would be challenging for someone dealing with suicide.
Thanks to Netgallery for the book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a lovely, sad book about mental health and suicide. The prose is slow, though, this might be due to the main character’s path towards acceptance of loss. The lighthouse, and the crashing waves below, are a metaphor, in some ways, but also a setting where loss often happens.
I really enjoyed this book, but I was not expecting the heavy tenor when I saw the cover. I don’t have personal experience with suicide, so I was able to focus on the beautiful words. I don’t know if this book would be challenging for someone dealing with suicide.
Thanks to Netgallery for the book in exchange for an honest review.
booksnotcooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Gorgeous book. Well written, just beautiful descriptions of the scenery.
gemmiejewel's review against another edition
2.0
Ok, firstly I would like to say thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review this book. That said, I wish I could be more positive but I simply can't.
Sarah is going through IVF unsuccessfully, her husband Jack is unhinged with worry and the mysterious Keeper of the title just wants everyone to go away.
The premise is good and thought through. The issues at hand are serious but I am afraid the plot is all over the place. The perspectives jump from one to another and the copy I received was extremely badly formatted so it was hard to keep up.
As I said the issues are serious but I am afraid the author may have missed the mark completely. I myself have suffered with some of the issues mentioned and I just felt ill at ease reading the whole thing, which I will be honest I was close to DNF'ing at several points.
All in all, I am sorry to say that I cannot recommend this book.
Sarah is going through IVF unsuccessfully, her husband Jack is unhinged with worry and the mysterious Keeper of the title just wants everyone to go away.
The premise is good and thought through. The issues at hand are serious but I am afraid the plot is all over the place. The perspectives jump from one to another and the copy I received was extremely badly formatted so it was hard to keep up.
As I said the issues are serious but I am afraid the author may have missed the mark completely. I myself have suffered with some of the issues mentioned and I just felt ill at ease reading the whole thing, which I will be honest I was close to DNF'ing at several points.
All in all, I am sorry to say that I cannot recommend this book.
artemisienne's review against another edition
3.0
TW: mental health, suicide, death, loss, grief, abusive relationship, domestic violence
Last year, after I first got this ARC, I opened it, excited to read it, then closed it not long after. And so began a month-long attempt at reading this book, finally ended with a close that lasted a year.
Last week, I came to it again. In the middle of a pandemic, having moved to a country which has no plans of controlling the virus, and having recently graduated from uni, I found myself looking for things to do again. And so I found myself revisiting this ARC, long after its date of publication (sorry Mr. Moreton and SPCK!), determined to finish it and finally write a review.
You see, the reason I couldn't get through much of this book the first time wasn't because of the story. It was a horrible formatting of the digital copy on Kindle that I got, filled with different-sized text and empty pages in the middle for no reason at all. It disturbed my reading experience so much I couldn't continue.
But as I pushed past it this last week, I am glad I decided to give this book another chance. It's a beautiful character study and a deep dive into grief and the different ways people deal with it. The setting Moreton chose was apt - a desolate but absolutely beautiful oceanic scene, filled with imagery of landscapes and rural life. Though the story was slow enough for me to consider if there was even a plot, Moreton consistently pulled out twists that kept it interesting.
That being said, despite all of the above, this book wasn't able to pull me in and immerse me into the story. Though I would marvel at the writing, I felt detached the whole time, as if I was watching over everything happening from a distance that prevented me from empathising with these characters. Even at the end, I felt like I had missed something, like there should have been a conclusion that the author seemed to stray away from. Moreton tackled large issues like loss and marriage and mental health but seemed to forget in the process what point he was trying to make.
As mentioned above, this book does have some pretty graphic trigger warnings, but if you like slow-moving stories that focus on character, gorgeous landscapes that are also characters, and an exploration of interpersonal relationships, try this one on for size.
(Thank you to Netgalley and SPCK for this ARC.)
Last year, after I first got this ARC, I opened it, excited to read it, then closed it not long after. And so began a month-long attempt at reading this book, finally ended with a close that lasted a year.
Last week, I came to it again. In the middle of a pandemic, having moved to a country which has no plans of controlling the virus, and having recently graduated from uni, I found myself looking for things to do again. And so I found myself revisiting this ARC, long after its date of publication (sorry Mr. Moreton and SPCK!), determined to finish it and finally write a review.
You see, the reason I couldn't get through much of this book the first time wasn't because of the story. It was a horrible formatting of the digital copy on Kindle that I got, filled with different-sized text and empty pages in the middle for no reason at all. It disturbed my reading experience so much I couldn't continue.
But as I pushed past it this last week, I am glad I decided to give this book another chance. It's a beautiful character study and a deep dive into grief and the different ways people deal with it. The setting Moreton chose was apt - a desolate but absolutely beautiful oceanic scene, filled with imagery of landscapes and rural life. Though the story was slow enough for me to consider if there was even a plot, Moreton consistently pulled out twists that kept it interesting.
That being said, despite all of the above, this book wasn't able to pull me in and immerse me into the story. Though I would marvel at the writing, I felt detached the whole time, as if I was watching over everything happening from a distance that prevented me from empathising with these characters. Even at the end, I felt like I had missed something, like there should have been a conclusion that the author seemed to stray away from. Moreton tackled large issues like loss and marriage and mental health but seemed to forget in the process what point he was trying to make.
As mentioned above, this book does have some pretty graphic trigger warnings, but if you like slow-moving stories that focus on character, gorgeous landscapes that are also characters, and an exploration of interpersonal relationships, try this one on for size.
(Thank you to Netgalley and SPCK for this ARC.)
fictionophile's review against another edition
5.0
“The stories we tell define us. So do the stories we don’t tell and the ones we never finish.”
Sarah and Jack Bramer are a young couple who are desperate to have a child. Or at least Sarah is… After seven years of disappointment, their relationship has reached a crisis point. Sarah is a mixed race British woman. Jack is an American. Lately, his love for her has taken a sour turn. Sarah knows that this is her last chance to become pregnant. She wants to know, yet she doesn’t …. She runs away to her favourite place on the South Downs to come to terms with her rampant emotions. Jack, goes in search of her. He is distraught, manic, and increasingly desperate.
His name is Gabriel Keane, but they call him the ‘Keeper’. A man in his forties, he lives alone in a decommissioned lighthouse located at Beachy Head, East Sussex. He is a raggedy, handsome, and battered man.
The Keeper does not keep a light. He keeps sorrow, heartache, and a crippling sadness. He mourns for his love – Maria an artist, who went by the name of Rí (rhymes with free).
“It’s so hard to be here without her, but he can’t leave, because she is still here, at least in his head. His heart. Her things in the tower, the art she made.”
Before he came here, the Keeper was a war correspondent, then an investigative journalist. Now, he questions no one. All of the sad stories he keeps locked away in his mind. From long experience, he is a good listener.
When the grieving Keeper meets up with the emotional fragile Sarah, both lives will be forever changed.
The place. The striking white chalk cliffs of the South Downs. A place where people come to admire the beauty. A place where others come to end their lives. In fact, this area is the third most common suicide location in the world! So many people come to this area to commit suicide that there are regular patrols to try to locate and stop potential cliff jumpers.
MY THOUGHTS
What a delightful surprise this novel was. Slow-paced, literary fiction that cover themes of loss, hope, childlessness, suicide, and most of all… the ways that grief and bereavement can shape a life.
The characters are written with deep empathy and compassion. The setting was rendered with affection which caused the reader to feel as if they are ‘there’.
“My place. There is a symmetry that appeals. The sea and the sky. The white and the green, the chalk and the down. The drop and the rise. Falling and rising.”
I highly recommend this novel to anyone who reads and cherishes moving, well-written, thoughtful, literary fiction. Loved it!
“The Light Keeper” will be available for purchase on August 15, 2019. Pre-order your copy today!
I received a complimentary digital copy of “The Light Keeper” from the publisher, Marylebone House, via NetGalley in consideration of my review.
Sarah and Jack Bramer are a young couple who are desperate to have a child. Or at least Sarah is… After seven years of disappointment, their relationship has reached a crisis point. Sarah is a mixed race British woman. Jack is an American. Lately, his love for her has taken a sour turn. Sarah knows that this is her last chance to become pregnant. She wants to know, yet she doesn’t …. She runs away to her favourite place on the South Downs to come to terms with her rampant emotions. Jack, goes in search of her. He is distraught, manic, and increasingly desperate.
His name is Gabriel Keane, but they call him the ‘Keeper’. A man in his forties, he lives alone in a decommissioned lighthouse located at Beachy Head, East Sussex. He is a raggedy, handsome, and battered man.
The Keeper does not keep a light. He keeps sorrow, heartache, and a crippling sadness. He mourns for his love – Maria an artist, who went by the name of Rí (rhymes with free).
“It’s so hard to be here without her, but he can’t leave, because she is still here, at least in his head. His heart. Her things in the tower, the art she made.”
Before he came here, the Keeper was a war correspondent, then an investigative journalist. Now, he questions no one. All of the sad stories he keeps locked away in his mind. From long experience, he is a good listener.
When the grieving Keeper meets up with the emotional fragile Sarah, both lives will be forever changed.
The place. The striking white chalk cliffs of the South Downs. A place where people come to admire the beauty. A place where others come to end their lives. In fact, this area is the third most common suicide location in the world! So many people come to this area to commit suicide that there are regular patrols to try to locate and stop potential cliff jumpers.
MY THOUGHTS
What a delightful surprise this novel was. Slow-paced, literary fiction that cover themes of loss, hope, childlessness, suicide, and most of all… the ways that grief and bereavement can shape a life.
The characters are written with deep empathy and compassion. The setting was rendered with affection which caused the reader to feel as if they are ‘there’.
“My place. There is a symmetry that appeals. The sea and the sky. The white and the green, the chalk and the down. The drop and the rise. Falling and rising.”
I highly recommend this novel to anyone who reads and cherishes moving, well-written, thoughtful, literary fiction. Loved it!
“The Light Keeper” will be available for purchase on August 15, 2019. Pre-order your copy today!
I received a complimentary digital copy of “The Light Keeper” from the publisher, Marylebone House, via NetGalley in consideration of my review.