Just today I finished reading it for my book club. I'm still thinking it over. Beautifully written passages and had some fascinating moments, but I could put it down and did so several times. It has not yet jelled for me exactly why.

Janalyn, would you do me a favor, please, by asking your book club members if The Light Between Oceans reminds them of some other book or story? Or maybe you know the answer yourself. It seems so familiar to me, yet I couldn't have read this book because it's too new. What I remember is the isolated lighthouse, the wife who wanted a baby so badly, and the baby she found and decided to keep. The husband, however, doesn't fit into the story I too fuzzily remember.

I'm wondering if we're dealing with an archetype.

It seemed familiar to me as well, Frieda. I will ask them on Thursday, the person who chose the book does research on it, so it should be interesting.

I finished it last night. It was an easy read but so sappy that I'm surprised my fingers didnt stick to the pages. You could hear the violins playing in the background. Normally this subject material would easily have my lips quivering and eyes tearing but NOT ONCE did I even come close to it. I think it's because I generally found the whole thing rather unbelievable and cliche-ridden. I just couldn't develop an emotional attachment to any of the characters. Instead I found myself doing mental eyerolls.

Well, I am looking forward to hearing what the others think, and will get back to you all probably on Friday.

Oh, I did enjoy the descriptions of western Australia and the history of the lighthouses and what it was like to be a lighthouse keeper. Also the effect of WW1 on the population and individuals.

I found the story more emotionally fatiguing rather than unbelievable, but I did not really engage, either. For me the most interesting part was the main character's reactions to the aftermath of the war. A bit too much coincidence, too. And all that stuff about his family of origin seemed to be piling it on higher and deeper.

For me the book never really worked, but on the other hand, I did not think it was as dreadful as some readers did. It seems to be either a love it book or a hate it book, but I had a more neutral reaction to it.

Still, some quite lovely passages here and there.

Rosefolly

The setting was the best aspect of the story, in my opinion. I agree with you, Janalyn, about the syrupiness.

I'm getting my thoughts together for the book discussion tomorrow night, and wanted to expand on some things.
The most developed character was Tom which made him sympathetic and interesting. I thought the author did a good job there, with a few jarring exceptions. But the others were not as well drawn and seemed almost one dimensional. I didnt even like Isabelle.

When I read a book I like to think of a good author as somewhat of a wizard of oz. Behind the curtain, I know he or she is there, but I dont see him and dont need to. With this book I felt like a marionette being jerked about by a puppeteer. So many convenient (but unlikely) coincidences to move the plot along. It became predictable. And she didnt need to yank on the heart string so much. At times I felt like yelling "Stop!! enough already!" But NOOO, another forced plot twist so more yanking. Painful. And they were cliches, you could see them coming a mile away.

As Rosefolly said, some beautiful passages at times though.

I always see things as black or white and I can not accept "stealing" a child from its relatives.

Had a great discussion at my book club last night. The majority felt it was sappy and could have been much much better. One felt that Tom was totally wrong and Isabel should have kept the baby, so we had a great discussion on the moral dilemma, which to me was the best part of the book. We all agreed that the historical research regarding WW1 and the lighthouse keepers, was well done.

As for the author, she has been very private in all her interviews regarding her personal life. She won't give out her age or her family circumstances though she looks like late 40's or so. It was her first novel, she was a former lawyer and had nine publishing houses in a bidding war for the book. This is unusual, she got in the six figures for the book as well. As I assumed when I was reading it, it is already in the works as a Hollywood movie. Bring hankies, not husbands as this is going to be one big chick flick. I shall pass.

Janalyn, did you get a chance to ask your b.c. members whether they recognized similarities of this story to others? If not, it's okay, but I'm still racking my brain trying to figure out why the whole tale seems to me to have been "lifted" from some other. Original The Light Between Oceans is not, I think. Why the bidding war by the publishing companies? What were they seeing in it that I seem to be blind to? Is it the chick flick potential? I'm baffled, but then I often am with this sort of fiction.

They had a vague feeling too Frieda. It is sort of like the King Solomon story with a bit of Moses thrown in...maybe some fairy tales I have read in the past?

There was a bidding war because the publishing houses felt the theme was "universal." To me, this means more money and honestly, it has chick flick written all over it.