Thanks to everyone who joined us for this months virtual book club. While some parts of the book seemed to drag, overall this story kept my interest and had me in tears by the end. I truly appreciate a good book written by a woman without. It has been a bestseller around the world, including australia, italy. Overall, our group agreed this was one of those books that just begged to be discussed. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby. The author herself is a very interesting character. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving isabel hears a babys cries on the wind. Stedmans 2012 novel of the same name, which has spent years on the new york times bestseller list. The light between oceans cooking with the book club.
The light between oceans tells the tragic story of lighthouse keeper tom sherbourne and his wife isabel who, after discovering a baby in a shipwrecked boat, must face the terrible consequences of their decision to raise the child as their own. A lighthouse keeper and his wife living off the coast of western australia raise a baby they rescue from a drifting rowing boat. When she is two, tom and isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Stedman really is a story the will break your heart into a million pieces. The light between oceans book club kit omaha public. The light between oceans is a beautiful narrative that whisks the reader on a journey across time, love and a vast amount of water. The theme of being caught between two places, two people, two decisions is woven throughout. The story takes place in the town of point partageuse, australia during the 1920s. Stedman the yearslong new york times bestseller and. My book club met to discuss the light between oceans just before christmas. The light between oceans is her first novel and has so far been translated into over thirty languages.
The story begins when a light house keeper and his wife find a life boat containing a live baby and dead man on the shore of their isolated island. Having survived wwi tom sherbourne takes a job as a lighthouse keeper on a remote island off western. The island, aptly named janus, for the two faced roman god who looks simultaneously in two directions, is not. Dec 31, 2014 my book club met to discuss the light between oceans just before christmas. The orchardist by amanda coplin the lightkeepers wife by karen viggers latitudes of melt by joan clark. The light between oceans diverges from the novel in one. Light between oceans book club notes penguin books. This is a story of right and wrong and how sometimes they look the same. With michael fassbender, alicia vikander, rachel weisz, florence clery. The light between oceans is set in the southern hemisphere, off the coast of southwest australia.
This mesmerizing australian novel has been a bestselling book around the world, and hollywood movie rights were recently snapped up by dreamworks, with david heyman harry potter set to produce. After two years of maternal bliss for isabel and alternating waves of. But isabel suffers miscarriages then loses a premature baby. Tom, who keeps meticulous records and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately.
A comprehensive guide to this contemporary classic, this book includes useful literary context. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. Stedman was born and raised in western australia and now lives in london. It is the winner of three prestigious abia awards, including their book of the year, and also won the indie awards.
Notes from the author to the bookclub a conversation with m. Aug 25, 2016 light between oceans book club notes share this whether you share this mesmerising australian novel with your reading group before you catch the screen adaptation, or followup the film with the book, the light between oceans is sure to spark a memorable discussion. Into the spaces between words, stedman breathes an anxiety and pulsating intensity that roils with the ocean and the lighthouse beacon, sydney morning herald book of the week. Discuss the novels title, the light between oceans.
The light between oceans discussion questions all good. Reading this book from the perspective of so far away made it even more romantic and touching. If you were in tom sherbournes position, would you have let the lightkeepers log book stay silent when the baby was. Tom sherbourne is the lighthouse keeper on janus rock, a remote island off the western coast of australia. Ill throw out a few topics for discussion, and you can write your responses about these topics or others youd like to discuss in the comment section. The book is split into three sections, including a first one which alternates chapters between the time of ellies disappearance and the present and a second section that begins as laurel and floyd meet. The light between oceans is a 2016 romantic drama written and directed by derek cianfrance and based on the 2012 novel the light between oceans by m. The light between oceans is an incredibly moving novel about what happens when good people make bad decisions. The light between oceans the books the book club abc tv. Stedman is a heartwrenching story about a relationship between two people and the risks theyre willing to take for each other. Stedmans debut novel the light between oceans is a refreshingly honest and heartwrenching work that is sure to stay with you weeks after finishing it. Stedmans the light between oceans is a top pick among bookbrowse readers. Haunting, melancholy excerpted summary from publisher. Stedmans acclaimed bestselling novel, the light between oceans.
Buy a cheap copy of the light between oceans book by m. I kept wondering what i would do in that situation. Remote and rocky, it is set between two oceans, treacherous waters. At the opening of the novel, tom has just left service in wwi and has signed on a lighthouse keeper. Jul 31, 2012 years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving isabel hears a babys cries on the wind. Stedman was born and raised in western australia, and now lives in london. Is there a particular passage or scene that stood out to you. In the book, janus is an island off the coast of australia. Tom sherbourne is a lighthouse keeper on janus rock, a tiny island a half days boat journey from the coast of western. Im going to say that for me, the story was heartwrenching. The light between oceans is exquisite and unforgettable, a deeply moving novel.
What do you visualize when you hear or read the light between oceans. May 09, 20 the light between oceans unfurls in small acts, at first feeling slight to touch, then building in emotional substance. Ryde library service community book club collection page 1 of 2 the light between oceans by m. The light between oceans is the first novel by australianborn author, m. The light between the oceans is a fantastic novel and it will touch your heart. The lighthouse is between two oceans in a very rough area, which isabel considers going on the night tom is taken away. May, 2016 dreamworks pictures the light between oceans is a heartbreaking drama about fate, love, moral dilemmas and the lengths to which one couple will go to see their dreams realized. Stedmans seductive debut, is just that sort of book. Light between oceans book club notes penguin books australia. An international coproduction between the united states, australia, the united kingdom, and new zealand, the film stars michael fassbender, alicia vikander, rachel weisz, bryan brown, and jack thompson. He was sitting in a spartan room, barely cooler than the sultry day outside. Janus rock is named for janus, the roman god of doorways, always looking both ways, torn between two ways of seeing things. Today were discussing the light between oceans by m.
This reading group guide for the light between oceans includes an introduction, discussion questions and ideas for enhancing your book club. The light between oceans diverges from the novel in one key. Stedman, author of the light between oceans interview by tess taylor the opening sequence of your book captures the solitary beauty of living on a lighthouse and looking back to land. Each name was given with a great deal of thought, and i felt a personal involvement with every descriptive phrase. A novel at our thursday, february, 2014 meeting at the leawood pioneer library 7 pm. It tells the story of war heroturnedlighthouse keeper tom, and his young, feisty wife isabel, on the tiny, fictitious island of janus rock. Stedman has crafted an incredible story and created characters that will stay with you long after reading. The novel is rich with detailed descriptions of the ocean, the sky, and the wild landscape of janus rock. A film adaptation of the same name starring alicia vikander and michael fassbender was released on 2 september 2016. I absolutely loved this months book club pick, the light between oceans by m. This study guide consists of approximately 51 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the light between oceans. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. Tom sherbourne is the lighthouse keeper on janus rock, a remote island off. Sep 30, 2016 the light between oceans is based on m.
The light between oceans, her first novel, is an international bestseller, having spent well over a year on the new york times bestsellers list as well as being translated into almost forty languages, the book was nominated for the miles franklin award, the womens prize for. A veteran of the first world war, 27yearold tom sherbourne takes a position with the commonwealth lighthouse service and finds himself on a remote island off the west australian coast, at the meeting point of the indian and southern oceans. Isabel wants to keep the child, which she sees as a gift from god. The light between oceans presents a wellacted and handsomely mounted adaptation of its bestselling source material, but ultimately tugs on the. The light between oceans is an oddly oldfashioned enterprise, wedded to the principle that love conquers all. Discussion questions book club recommendationsdiscussion. No book group should be without this companion guide to m. The light between oceans reading group guide one book one city resources lit lovers discussion questions reflection on a light between oceans book discussion. The light between oceans is a deep reflection on two mothers love for the same child, although different to each one. Tom sherbourne is a young lighthouse keeper on a remote island off western australia. Between the great southern ocean and the indian ocean. Stedman, her debut novel, published by random house australia on 20 march 2012.
Dreamworks pictures the light between oceans is a heartbreaking drama about fate, love, moral dilemmas and the lengths to which one couple will go. Stedmans the light between oceansis set in a not dissimilar context, although the lighthouse that forms the key milieu of the novel is located even further away from civilisation, on an island thats wrapped about by the sea. The author does a great job of setting up the characters and their backgrounds so you really understand why they chose to do what they did. Have you ever found yourself in a spot where it seems like the right thing is no longer possible.
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