The Light Between Oceans

When I started this book, I was confused. I kept reading and became intrigued. I soon became compelled to finish it. I never went in search of a book based on living in a lighthouse in the southern hemisphere in the year following WWI, but that's what I got. And it turned out to be a great read.[bc:The Light Between Oceans 13158800 The Light Between Oceans M.L. Stedman https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1336683021l/13158800.SY75.jpg 18337340] The Light Between Oceans gave a glimpse of what it was like to live in Australia in the 1920s and '30s. Set on the most southwestern tip of Australia, where the Pacific meets the Indian Ocean, it becomes the chronicle of what NOT to do if you've had several miscarriages, live on an almost uninhabited island, and find a dead man's body in a boat with a live baby.I found the conflict of the situation fascinating. A young married couple, starting out life far from civilization soon become ensnared in a drama neither can handle. The young husband, a soldier haunted by WWI, wants to give his new wife everything he can, which is little. Tom has taken a position as a lighthouse keeper which pays little and promises a lot of work filled with long, lonely hours on a remote spot. His young wife, Isabel, is full of life, completely in love, and ready to start a family. Of course, the universe has other plans.After several, nearly deadly miscarriages, all occurring miles from any medical care, Isabel believes a shipwrecked rowboat that washes ashore containing a dead man and a newborn baby is a sign from God. Isabel wants to take care of the baby and convinces Tom not to tell anyone—at least for a while. It's an easy secret to keep when you don't get shore leave for 18 months, and supplies are only delivered once every three months. The moral struggle starts over whether the baby's mother is alive and missing her child. Both Tom & Isabel believe the dead man in the boat is the baby's father. Eventually, their ability to keep the secret about Lucy's origins begins to fray.I want to talk about the ending for a second, without spoiling it. It didn't turn out like I thought. It was well done and, in the end, believable. In fact, the whole book was well done, accurately evoking the time period and the continent in an eloquent way. I could almost feel the salt spray. READ THIS BOOK!