Let the waterworks begin! {The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman}

Crocodile tears? I couldn't get suckered into this one. Sorry.

Synopsis of The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman: 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. The Light Between Oceans is exquisite and unforgettable, a deeply moving novel.

My two cents

I've had this on my radar since it got such rave reviews from the blogging community when in 2012 it won a Goodreads People's Choice Award (Historical Fiction). Then I found out that a readalong was happening so I was able to snag a copy of the book (courtesy of the publisher). Besides, the movie is out now (see trailer here) so I obviously must read book before watching movie.

Love ...

I'd pinpoint this as the book's saving grace: the setting in a lesser-known area in Australia and about life in a difficult environment - how many books depict life in a lighthouse? As I was reading this, I was under the impression that the setting was real; Stedman admits that Janus Rock is fictitious (see interview here):

[...] But the region where the Great Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet is real, and the climate, weather and the landscape are more or less as I’ve described them. I wrote some of the book there: It’s a very beautiful, if sometimes fierce, part of the world. 

Promising: the themes of parenthood and of a moral dilemma of two parents, similar to the Biblical "split the baby" paradox. This was tackled quite in depth and brought forth the stronger characters - Hannah and Tom (I have reservations about him though, more later).

If you've read this and loved it, so be it. I'm not in the "love camp" so please don't read any further if you did (I'm serious). Because here's what I hated about this book.

Hate ...

I picked this up with great expectations (like all books, right?). But this isn't at all what I was expecting; it was a bit of a letdown, to be honest.  I actually sped-read about half of this because I wanted to get through it quickly and painlessly. This review has languished because I wanted to give it a chance!

I thought I'd be moved by the tragedy of the story and wowed by the literary quality of the writing. The below may sound cryptic but it is spoiler-free. So here's what I thought:

• It's generally predictable. Actually, scratch that: it's predictable. 
• The drama felt forced and even verged on melodramatic. So much emoting. If you cry at the drop of a hat, then you may love it. It'll tug at all your heartstrings. It didn't tug on mine because I was uneasy and I actually felt I was being emotionally manipulated ... and why did this all take so long? The drama was so drawn out that halfway is all that I could manage sanely.
• The characters, oh my. Don't get me started. Isabel, who I so wanted to like because of her heartbreak and her pain, was just a grating character to me. Her desperation verged on the melodramatic. Meanwhile, Tom, who I warmed up to immediately, annoyed me when he acted totally out of character during a pivotal moment. Talk about a cop-out. 
• There are niggly things, coincidences, and turns of events that seemed too easily to fall together that I was in a constant state of disbelief.
• The writing had its lovely moments, I concede, but when combined with the above, the metaphors and flowery writing merely grated on me.

All in all, this felt like a big yawn for me.

P.S. The film will be a no go for me. I suspend judgment on the movie but I fear that it'll be in the mold of Nicholas Sparks, whose books and movies annoy me no end (*shudder).

Verdict: 

Loved the setting, the promise of the themes of parenthood ... but I did not get suckered into the melodramatics of this predictable tale. I'd say pass.

If you're interested in the readalong, check out this link: Goodreads Readalong.

Love or hate camp? Tell me!

*I received a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher for review consideration.

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The House at Anzac Parade by Victor Kline

Take a page ...

About The House at Anzac Parade by Victor Kline: As a child Victor Kline was sexually, physically and emotionally abused by his mother. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, he went on to lead a diverse, exciting and often dangerous life. From medical guinea pig to Federal prosecutor to outback barrister. From provincial France to the highlands of New Guinea to dodging bullets in the Sri Lankan Civil War, The House at Anzac Parade is his story, and the story of his healing.

My two cents

This is a memoir of a good man who has had horrible things happen to him. Call it the luck of the draw but he seems to have been given more than his share. The author bares his soul with his recollections of a cold and rather terrifying childhood at the sadistic hands of his mother. In adulthood, he discovers he has a rare form of cancer.

But this is not a gloom and doom book, it is the exact opposite: it's a conversational, uplifting memoir that will inspire and sharpen your resolve to live life to the fullest.

Kline lives fast and hard, making his way into law and becoming the youngest barrister in Australia. He starts practicing in Australia's outback and gains much insight into Aboriginal life. Then somehow, he's off to London, then teaching in France, then all the way to singing Chantilly Lace in the jungles of New Guinea and then fighting for the adoption of his daughters in war-torn Sri Lanka. He's been across continents, he's held a variety of jobs, and encountered so many people that have made a difference in his life. 

Maybe he wants to escape the pain. Or maybe it's because he wants to scoff in the face of the hand dealt to him. One thing is certain: he was not going to have any of it. Wow, this man kicks back ... and hard.

Through it all, the universe conspired to turn the devastating circumstances so that Kline could find strength in some key people in his life, like his grandfather, his wife, and later his Katherine and his lovely daughters.  It also conspired to bring about ways so he could help others learn about mental illness, and of the difficulties of foreign adoptions.

Nor does he comes out unscathed. Dealing with the hurt and abuse, kicking a deadly disease, having to suffer a failed marriage, and fighting to keep his kids, all these take a toll on him. He discovers healing and serenity in stepping back from his circumstances and taking stock in what truly matters to him. This is what this book is about. That's what sets this story apart: adversity has only made Victor Kline stronger with a greater resolve to continue living life as if each day were his last.

I think we could all take a page from this man's book.

Uh-oh

I cringed a few times throughout the book because of some typos (e.g. shoe in for shoo in, p 133).

Verdict: An inspiring memoir that drives home the point that life is meant to be lived to the hilt. I'm humbled that the author has the courage, the humility, and the humour to share his experiences without wallowing in self-pity. I heartily recommend this memoir.

About Victor Kline

Victor Kline started his working life as Sydney's youngest barrister. He worked as a Federal prosecutor in Sydney before going on to become a defence barrister in the Northern Territory in its wild west days. Victor has also worked as a playwright, theatre director and actor off Broadway and in various parts of Australia. As well as New York and Central Australia, he has lived and worked in London, Paris, the South of France and New Guinea. He has returned home to Sydney to become Editor of the Federal Court Reports and Federal Law Reports, and lives with his wife Katharine and a little grey cat called Spud.

Check out his website www.victorkline.com or the book's Facebook page.

See also Victor Kline's guest post and find out the backstory to his book.

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Victor, it was a pleasure reading your story!

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