© 2013 Book Chatter | Book Chatter

This has been a pretty good week. I thought it was going to be all kinds of crazy after being off for so long but all was good. Next week the kids return to school so homework will once again plague me. I know why they have it and I have no problem with THEM doing it but inevitably, I end up helping probably more than I should since the organizational skills of my youngest leave a lot to be desired. If she brings the work home, that’s always good because she usually leaves it in her desk which prompts me to send messages to the other parents trying to get the assignment.

Other things on my mind right now:

My broken tooth (which I didn’t even know was broken) will be capped tomorrow. Yep! A Saturday and will required another Saturday in two weeks to complete the process. I cannot stand dental work. I wish I could just wake up and have the whole thing done but that isn’t how it works.
Production week for The Music Man is looming. It’s the week of January 28th but I am getting a little antsy. The kids usually do alright but I get a little wound-up with the massive prep involved and making sure they are where they need to be. Two casts schedules to juggle since The Boy is in all shows and The Girl is in three. Plus, I work backstage. That part I actually like but I worry about getting the props to the right kid, etc.
I am announcing a read-along next week. It’s early but hopefully with the advanced notice many of you will be able to join me.

What am I reading?

I am finishing up Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver. I am in the final pages. I am also reading Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain. I wasn’t sure what to expect with Fountain’s book but I am liking it. It’s a slow build for me though. I am about ten chapters in and it’s starting to get good.

That’s pretty much it. No big plans for the weekend besides the dentist and watching some football. What are you reading this weekend? Any big plans?

The Light Between Oceans
By M.L. Stedman
(Scribner, Hardcover, 9781451681734, July 2012, 352pp.)

The Short of It:

An impossible situation set in a beautiful and captivating setting. A story of love and loss. It left me breathless.

The Rest of It:

After four, very long years fighting on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia a different man. After what he’s seen, what he needs is a total break from reality and he finds it in a position as a lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock. For a while it’s just him and the lighthouse and he likes it that way. But after being ashore only a few times and his only contact being the supply boat that comes every six months, he begins to wonder what it would be like to share his life with someone else.

Isabel is a bold, adventurous young woman and after a few chance encounters with Tom, it’s clear to both of them that there is more than just a friendship there. But what concerns Tom is life on the island itself. Will Isabel be able to adapt to the harsh weather? Will she be able to deal with the isolation? But she assures Tom that they will be happy, and they are but after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, Isabel’s view of the island shifts. What was once such a happy place, is now a stark reminder of their loneliness.

When a boat washes ashore with a baby inside of it, it’s clear that the events of that day will forever leave their mark.

This was an amazing read for so many reasons that I have to list them out:

The setting. Stark, yet beautiful. Stedman did an amazing job at putting me right on the island.
Tom and Isabel are so likable that when their choices cause them to go the other way, somehow I was okay with it even though I knew in my heart that such a decision would do them in.
With each chapter, I continued to question what was right and wrong. I don’t think I ever stopped doing that even when I turned the last page. I so wanted to discuss this with a book club because there is just so much to discuss.
The other characters all play significant roles in the decisions that are made and I loved that. Everyone had a purpose and there were times where it truly felt like a community even though it was a community struggling to do the right thing.
Not once did I ever question the possibility of such a thing happening. The isolation of the island made it possible and in that sense, played a critical role.
Once the story gets going I could not put it down. I needed to know about these people and what was going to happen to them.
Tom. God love him. Such a tortured soul. I wanted to scoop that man up and give him a hug.

Honestly, I could go on and on. The Light Between Oceans had me asking myself what I’d do in a similar situation and although putting yourself under a microscope for that kind of scrutiny is uncomfortable, it was also enlightening. How far will a person go to be happy? How does love change that? Apparently, quite a bit.

Loved this one. I wish everyone could stop what they are doing and read it right now. It’s that good.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher via Library Thing.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Chatting with friends about books and life…