I read a lot of books, by most people's estimation, and it is not often that one tugs at my heart strings the way The Light Between Oceans did. Most of the time, I read a chapter or two of a book before I fall asleep, and that's that. Not this one. I started it a few days ago, and finished it today after several marathon sessions. I really just wanted to know what happened.
The story centers on a lighthouse keeper in the 1920's, Tom Sherbourne. A World War I veteran, he doesn't mind tolerating the loneliness and isolation of the job he's chosen off the coast of mainland Australia. Of course, he doesn't mind until he meets Isabel, the woman who would later become his wife.
Isabel and Tom have the kind of relationship any couple would want. They love each other deeply, and they love hard. When it is found that Isabel cannot bear children, they are heartbroken. That is, until a boat washes ashore containing a dead man and a baby who is very much alive.
The heartbreak of their most recent loss via stillbirth, following two miscarriages, still runs deep with both Tom and Isabel, and they decide to keep the baby and raise her as their own. Tom wants to report the dead man and the baby, and give her back, but Isabel falls in love with the baby, which they name Lucy, almost immediately.
Both of them have questions, such as is there a mother on the mainland missing her child as deeply as they love her? How did they wind up washing ashore so many miles off the mainland? The story that transpires is deeply heartbreaking. Each piece comes together to create a gripping, beautiful tragedy for nearly everyone involved.
