The Light Between Oceans

A Novel

By: M. L. Stedman

Narrated by: Noah Taylor

Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

A captivating, beautiful, and stunningly accomplished debut novel - the story of a lighthouse keeper and his wife who make one devastating choice that forever changes two worlds.

In 1918, after four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia to take a job as the lighthouse keeper on remote Janus Rock. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes only four times a year and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Three years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel is tending the grave of her newly lost infant when she hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up on shore carrying a dead man and a living baby. Tom, whose records as a lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the dead man and the infant immediately. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom’s judgment, they claim the child as their own and name her Lucy, but a rift begins to grow between them. When Lucy is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world…and one of them is desperate to find her lost baby.

M.L. Stedman’s extraordinarily compelling characters, still trying to make sense of life in the wake of so much death in the war, are imperfect people seeking to find their north star in a world of incomprehensible complexity.

©2012 Grasshill Communications. (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“M.L. Stedman’s The Light Between Oceans is a beautiful novel about isolation and courage in the face of enormous loss. 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. I couldn’t look away from the page and then I couldn’t see it, through tears. It’s a stunning debut.” (Maile Meloy, author of Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It)

tragic and poetic

the narration is very monotone, and difficult at times to understand. the story was wonderfully told, but very sad.

A lovely story!

Would you listen to The Light Between Oceans again? Why?

Really enjoyed the story but disliked the narrator as found he mumbled a great deal and sometimes had to go back and listen again to parts of the book.

What other book might you compare The Light Between Oceans to and why?

It is a unique story somewhat improbable and yet believable..it could happen and it is a tragedy of of two people in conflict about doing "the right thing for the wrong reasons".

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Noah Taylor?

Don't really know too many names of narrators although have listened to hundreds of books pay little attention who narrates them unless really dislike the voice. Unfortunately I noted Noah Taylor and ascertain that I never listen to a book that is narrated by him...that is how bad I thought he was!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The dilemma of making the right choices in life!

Any additional comments?

Enjoyed it because the characters were so well defined. It was interesting to feel the depth of the isolation of being on the island when Tom was alone and then to see the terrible decisions made because of their remoteness from civilization...could they have gotten away with keeping Lucy had the letter never been written, had the rattle not been discovered - you wonder and you feel so sad for them.

That is why it is such a touching story because although you know what they did was wrong you can only feel sadness for Tom, Isabelle, Hannah and Lucy. As a reader you realize there is no possible solution to a tragic misjudgement all in the name of love and you can never judge them....

great story, but buy the book.

i really liked this story. the narrator, however, was difficult to follow. his voice is very low. there are times in the story where hes completely inaudible. i considered buying a hardcopy just to read along. despite the narrators monotony and the missed bits, i was able to follow the plot and really love this book. overall, id say good listen...much better read.

too hard to understand.

it was too hard to understand the reader , I had to today so many parts numerous times in order to understand what was being read.

Could not understand narrator

So disappointed. I'm sure the book was good but I couldn't understand most of it. Narrator mumbled a lot and his sentences would dissipate towards the end so I had no idea what he was saying. I was trying so hard to make sense of his speaking that it took the enjoyment out of it. :(

AMAZING story

My only negative review has nothing to do with the book itself. Being from the Midwest in the US, the author was tough to understand at times but it wasn’t so tough that it affected my enjoyment of the book. 10/10 would recommend!

You’ll cry for both sides

Beautiful story of love, sadness. The desire of a mother’s heart is taken away, fulfilled, then taken away again.

Hauntingly beautiful

Hard to say I “enjoyed” this book. The choices made by the characters are complicated, but wrong on many levels. Still, the characters are compelling and so is the story.

If you wanna cry.. this is such a good story!!

I truly loved this book. Such a good story! Loved the characters and the way it’s written. I definitely recommend this book. Now I’m ready to watch the movie.

Great story

This story was fantastic, but it was the worst narrator I’ve ever hear. I love the Aussie accent, but sentences would start strong and trail off to become inaudible. I had to constantly adjust the volume and rewind portions just to understand the passage. I’ll listen to more books by this author but only if there is a different narrator.