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)

doing the right thing

Any additional comments?

I felt there would be a lot of mixed feelings and internal strife present in the characters and the reader in this book and it did not disappoint. Would recommend this for sure! Very nice tale of a family faced with hard decisions and how if the wrong decision is made how it affects others. could have made for a more happyer ending but not everything in life works thats

Lovely Story, excellent performance

What made the experience of listening to The Light Between Oceans the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed the narrator, and can only imagine the ratings are low for his performance b/c the people rating him have little tolerance for accents.

Have you listened to any of Noah Taylor’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Started slow but great story

What a heartbreaking and beautiful story of love and loss. It took me a chapter or two to get into it--or maybe to get used to the narrator's wonderful accent--but once I was in, I was hooked. I never thought a story about a lighthouse keeper could be so fulfilling.

Accent difficult at times

My American ear had trouble understanding the Australian accent at times; however, the story was beautiful and engaging.

Good but sad.

Not your feel good book of the year but deep and good. Well performed. Interesting story.

I highly recommend

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

Yes. Not only is The Light Between Oceans beautifully written, but Noah Taylor did an excellent job of bringing the story to life. The subtle changes in his voice as he becomes different characters is perfectly performed. I felt like I was watching/listening to a movie that I didn't want to end!

Who was your favorite character and why?

I can't decide between Tom and Isabel. They both become so real and are such complex characters.

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

Lucy

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes and no. Yes because the novel kept me in suspense, wanting to know what happens next but no because of how long it is.

Any additional comments?

This was my first audio book and I am sure it will not be my last!

narration

narration ran together hard to understand parts of what was said. I enjoyed the book overall

Happy/sad ending

The story started out slowly but by end of book I could hardly wait to get back to story. So much sadness and so much joy. I had the Audible version and found it difficult to hear/understand. For an American listener, the accent of the reader was very strong. I am accustomed to listening while I am cooking or doing other chores around the house. With this reader, I had to listen intently to understand him well. When I did this, the reading was excellent and lent a great deal to the story.

I like it

Very sad but the ending was good, the performance of the book was very good

Superbly drawn characters. Uniquely sad story.

I absolutely loved this devastatingly sad and unique story. M. L. Stedman told me a story of love, tragedy, perseverance. She allowed me to love characters who did terrible things. She gave Tom a strength of character that I wish to emulate. This story made me tear up more than once and I found myself questioning what was the right outcome. Logically I knew the answer but my heart shattered into a million pieces when the right thing happened. Ms. Stedman allowed me to grieve the three babies I miscarried right along with her characters. She deftly handled my emotions and pulled me along ... my heart was in her hands.

All of that makes this story sound like a sappy love story, and I suppose that in some ways it is. But it is truly more of a story of humanity: it is a story that illustrates just how bad good people can be.

I notice that many reviewers have said how much they disliked the narration, but I disagree. I found Noah Taylor's narration to be quiet and subtle. It was nuanced and gentle. All of this is perfect for the story, in my opinion. This story is one of light and shade; it is a quiet story which deserves quiet narration.