Our August Selection: The Light Between Oceans

They (the stars) just kept shining, no matter what was going on. I think of the light here like that, like a splinter of a star that's fallen to earth: it just shines, no matter what is happening.

- M.L. Stedman

Dear members,

I hope everyone has been enjoying their summer so far! I certainly had a wonderful time visiting Stratford this past weekend- I took my friend to see Henry V for Stratfest, and it was divine strolling by the river, visiting the antique shops, buying a Fitzgerald at my favourite bookstore, drinking a Parisian Mist at Balzac's- it was just what the doctor ordered!

While it's hard to say goodbye to the last final weeks of summer, there are many events to look forward to come Fall! But before we head into September, let us all visit the beaches one last time, eat our favourite ice cream one moment longer, and go...to the lighthouse!

Thank you everyone who has attended this month's meeting- we discussed Rideout's Above All Things! The majority agreed that it was a superb first novel for the author, and was very well-written, even poetic at times. As well, our book club held our first ever book swap!

There were great choices: from a murder mystery, to the historic, there was something for everyone!

Finally, came about our August Selection. We borrowed Shirley's hat as the place to mix our titles in, and JoAnne had the honour to pick one out, and our pick is:

Summary: After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. 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. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore 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 man and infant immediately. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.
M. L. Stedman’s mesmerizing, beautifully written 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.

About the author (from the publisher's website): M.L. Stedman was born and raised in Western Australia and now lives in London. This is her first novel.

Here is an interesting interview for your reading pleasure!

I can't wait to get started- happy reading everyone!