Isabel, filled with grief from her last three miscarriages, begs her husband to kidnap the baby and bury the dead man in a ditch so she can be fulfilled as a woman and finally have a child. So basically the premise is that a couple, Tom and Isabel, living on a island in a lighthouse in Australia, find a dead man and baby ashore. It left a distinctly bitter taste in my mouth. The conclusion didn’t help the novel’s case. DEAD WRONG (ok that is a little dramatic.) If I was describe my reading experience like the ocean tides, sometimes I would be fine, floating near the shore, but other times it would sweep me out to sea with its ridiculousness. Combined with being on the New York Times Best Seller list, and having an first rate premise, I thought this one was a winner. I am not one to judge books by their covers, although a good cover is always a bonus, and this book has a excellent one. Stop here for spoilers (although you might regret it! It’s an awesome review.) I do not think that you are inferior to me. You don’t have to agree with me, and you could think that this was the most AMAZING book and your eyes almost exploded from all the awesomeness that traveled through them to reach your brain which leapt in your skull with every sentence you read, and that is fine. I thought this book was terrible, bad, no good. This review is subjective, from my point of view etc. I am going to start with review with a disclaimer. Stedman's mesmerizing, beautifully written debut novel seduces us into accommodating Isabel's decision to keep this "gift from God." And we are swept into a story about extraordinarily compelling characters seeking to find their North Star in a world where there is no right answer, where justice for one person is another's tragic loss. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Against Tom's judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Tom, whose records as a lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.
Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby's cries on the wind. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. After four harrowing years fighting on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns home to take a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day's journey from the coast. Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found hereĪustralia, 1926.
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