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)

Amazing , Sad, and Beautiful

This is one of my favorite audio books! Thanks for writing this! With listening to!

Book Club pick, drama so not my favorite

It was a good story with well developed characters. It will make for great discussions at Book Club. I would have never finished if I had to read it, so I'm glad I listened. I enjoyed the narrator's accent (I'm American) and I think it made the story that more enjoyable. I don't typically go for stories that are just drama so this was just ok for me.

Narration is difficult to listen to

I’m trying to listen to this book for book club. I’ve listened to dozens of audio books. For some reason I just can’t listen to this one easily. Maybe it’s the Australian accent plus the way the narrator starts out moderate volume and then gets soft at the end of each sentence, but I have to try really hard to understand what is being said.

I’ve tried slowing it down, turning it up and it’s still not helping. Please listen to a sample before you buy the audio book, bc if you’re American, it might take some effort to figure out what is being said.

...Made dim by poor narration

I like the narration to match the book setting. In other words, a book set in England seems better when narrated by someone with an English accent. While Mr Taylor's Aussie accent was no doubt the real thing, his flat tone seems to drops at the end of every sentence, and I hit "rewind" countless times in order to understand what he was saying. The story is wonderful, but I recommend listening in a soundproof room, or else just buy the book. The narration nearly ruins it.

I love this book ..

Would you try another book from M. L. Stedman and/or Noah Taylor?

yes

Who was your favorite character and why?

I just look the book.Ijust cant say.It made me cry.

Which character – as performed by Noah Taylor – was your favorite?

husband

Could you see The Light Between Oceans being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

OH YES A MOVIE.

Any additional comments?

I would like more books like this.It made me love and care about all the characters.

Passionate about Parental Feelings

Where does The Light Between Oceans rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is in my "share with others" range.

What did you like best about this story?

I was able to feel for all parents. Why they each reacted the way they did.

Which scene was your favorite?

Lucy's meeting with her Dad.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Lucy's compassion for what happened.

Great story too bad the narrator swallowed 20%

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes and no - the story was really wonderful - the twists and turns the book took were representative of the realistic consequences of the actions taken by the characters. However the narrator was really challenging to understand!

What didn’t you like about Noah Taylor’s performance?

The narrator spoke so quietly in some of the narration that the combination of lower volume and his accent made it almost impossible to understand what he was saying.

Perfect novel

Any additional comments?

Tom Sherbourne is a medaled veteran of The Great War, a man of principle and character who dragged men to safety and always followed the rules. He’s grateful for a job manning the lighthouse on Janus Rock, a remote peninsula off Australia’s coast, where he can methodically work and live his days in order and sameness.

On a trip to the mainland, he meets the lovely, spirited Isabel, and returns to Janus Rock with her to carve a life. There she loves and cares for him, explores the small island, and longs for children. She miscarries twice and Tom would do anything to see her happy again. One day, mere weeks after delivering a stillborn child, a small boat washes onto shore. Inside is a dead man—and a live baby. Isabel views this as a sign from God.

Despite Tom’s insistence that they report the man and baby, Isabel protests. The mother is surely dead, the baby has no one but them. Tom loves her beyond measure and agrees to wait. The gravity of their decision weighs on him, but the problem is, he falls in love with the little Lucy, too. Two years later, when visiting the mainland, they learn someone has never stopped looking for the little one, whose name is not Lucy at all.

Rarely does a novel come along that is so perfectly crafted, so packed with flawed, believable characters. Every word, every scene, has a purpose. The plot twists and bends to unexpected places, thrusting the characters into situations as rough as the raging ocean. Ms. Stedman is a masterful storyteller, has a keen eye and knows how to portray raw emotion on the page.

The wonderful narrator, Noah Taylor, truly brought the characters to life.
What a stunning debut. Highly recommend!

Great book, poor narration

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Yes, the narrator. His voice is muffled, slurred and very difficult to catch many of the words. I had tried whisper sync for this book, which does not work correctly, however it has been helpful to check verbiage for the words not enunciated.

What did you like best about this story?

The story is very interesting, the author writes well with great description.

What didn’t you like about Noah Taylor’s performance?

Poor enunciation, slow slurred speech, terrible performance.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Maybe

Super story, the reading not good

The story of the book is excellant, but i didn't like the reader. It was too much australian and not all people understand australian english. I lost some parts because of the reading but as i also use kindle parallel, i managed to return to parts and undestand them. Otherwise you must read the book it's great, now i want to see the movie