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A review by ablotial
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
2.0
After reading the synopsis of this book, I was hooked. Trying to place myself in these people's shoes ... finding a baby , raising her as my own, discovering who the child belonged to and the state she was in... what a situation! I can't even begin to imagine how I would react in such a situation. Or the other shoes -- losing my baby and husband, and discovering, years later, that the baby is still alive and has been raised by someone else! My mind reels trying to imagine either event.
But I hope with all I am worth that I would not be as horrible as the women in this book!
Yeah. I was really disappointed in this book, overall. I liked Tom, for the most part, but every other character in the book (well, except the baby) were really ... awful. I liked the young Isabel -- feisty! I guess, never having gone through multiple miscarriages and living in isolation in the middle of the ocean I am really not one to judge her but ... Man, I hated her a lot by the end of the book.
And then the ending! How completely unsatisfying. I mean, I guess I'm glad Hannah finally came around, that Lucy was able to learn about her past... that Tom got to see the child grown up (I still feel like he was the only good character and maybe deserved it more) but I feel like it would have been more satisfying to either let Isabel see Lucy while on her death bed, or else just have ended it before that epilogue and let us imagine how the future ended up.
The only real redeeming qualities were the historical aspects. I loved learning about the workings of the lighthouse, the trips back to shore, the rules and regulations. The author did a great job describing both the town and the island - I had a vivid picture of these places in my mind and was disappointed and surprised to learn that they were made up.
But yeah. Not impressed. Very surprised that this won the GR choice awards. There were many much better books out there this year.
But I hope with all I am worth that I would not be as horrible as the women in this book!
Yeah. I was really disappointed in this book, overall. I liked Tom, for the most part, but every other character in the book (well, except the baby) were really ... awful. I liked the young Isabel -- feisty! I guess, never having gone through multiple miscarriages and living in isolation in the middle of the ocean I am really not one to judge her but ... Man, I hated her a lot by the end of the book.
Spoiler
But not for keeping the baby. No, I probably would have done that, too, to be quite honest. But the first time I had learned the mother's story and what had happened, I believe I would have talked to her about it. Yes, by the time she finally did it was really traumatic for Lucy, who was old enough now to care, but if she had done it right from the get-go it would have been fine. And, ok, sure, it sucks for HER, but seriously... really that self centered? And besides, who in their right mind would have thought Hannah would be such a bitch. Again, I'd like to think that I would have allowed the baby to spend time with the woman who was her mother for the first part of her life. And I would have expected that when I returned the child, we would all stay in touch -- maybe Lucy would come out to the island for one quarter a year? I couldn't believe when Hannah so forcefully took her away. Now, I suppose that Hannah was mostly so upset because they had waited so long to say anything (and obviously weren't planning on it). So if Isabel had just come out with it right at the beginning that would have solved everything.And then the ending! How completely unsatisfying. I mean, I guess I'm glad Hannah finally came around, that Lucy was able to learn about her past... that Tom got to see the child grown up (I still feel like he was the only good character and maybe deserved it more) but I feel like it would have been more satisfying to either let Isabel see Lucy while on her death bed, or else just have ended it before that epilogue and let us imagine how the future ended up.
The only real redeeming qualities were the historical aspects. I loved learning about the workings of the lighthouse, the trips back to shore, the rules and regulations. The author did a great job describing both the town and the island - I had a vivid picture of these places in my mind and was disappointed and surprised to learn that they were made up.
But yeah. Not impressed. Very surprised that this won the GR choice awards. There were many much better books out there this year.