The Light Between The Oceans by M L Stedman

Publshed by Doubleday

This is a beautifully written first novel, and a great choice for book groups.

Janus is the God of gateways, with two faces so that he can look to the future, as well as the past. He’s also associated with light, and is the namesake of the remote Janus Rock Lighthouse, set between two oceans off the South Coast of Australia.

Previous keepers have struggled to cope with the isolation, but after returning from Gallipoli, Tom Sherbourne is craving peace and structure in his life. He meets his future wife Isabel in Partaguese, the small town nearest the lighthouse. They create their own world on Janus Rock, where the supply boat calls four times a year, and shore leave is only granted every year or two.

Tom, haunted by survivor guilt and his family’s past, is lifted by Isabel, his ‘other half of the sky’. But Isabel becomes fragile and grief stricken following her miscarriages, and it’s the start of a distance between them. When a boat is washed up with a dead man and small crying baby onboard, she persuades Tom to keep the child. As time goes on, they begin to learn more about the child’s background, and the dark event that has lead to what Isabel believes to be a gift from God. With every passing day, Tom regrets more and more the choices they’ve made, and the gulf widens.

It’s very much a book about decisions and consequences, and how difficult it can be to see the right action to take. The Janus Light illuminates the way for others, but not for those on the rock itself. It’s not just a novel of light and dark, it’s more about what happens in the shadows. Anyone reading about each of the main characters will struggle to judge, as they are written with such compassion, and their actions seem understandable in each set of circumstances.

I was completely absorbed in the world of Janus Rock, which took on a real existence, and by the sadness of the lives it touched.  This is a book that stays with you long after you’ve put it down. 

If you're interested in novels about the world of lighthouses, why not try 'Light' by Margaret Elphinstone? It's based on our Calf of Man in the early 1830s, so also interesting from the point of view of local history. The lighthouse is being looked after by a woman and her family, and Margaret Elphinstone traced a connection with female lighthouse keepers from 1831 back through the centuries to Saint Bridget. Tensions arise when the lighthouse engineer, Robert Stevenson, sends his surveyors there...

Robert Stevenson's grandson, Robert Louis Stevenson said:

'There is scarce a deep sea light from the Isle of Man to North Berwick, but one of my blood designed it'.

This Month's Reads

Our next meeting is in November, month of remembrance, so we decided to read books themed around war and conflict - old and new. Here's a few of the books the group have decided to try:

The Greatcoat
By Helen Dunmore

Isabel Carey finds herself lonely and isolated after moving to Yorkshire during the winter of 1954. It's austerity Britain, and Isabel is adjusting to married life with her GP husband, who is frequently out on call. She spends much of her time alone, in rented accommodation that has come complete with a dour and creepy landlady.  When Isabel wraps herself in an old RAF greatcoat found in a cupboard, she starts to dream. Woken by a knock on the door, she answers her door to an airman, and starts an intense relationship with him.



The Book Thief
By Zusack Page

This book is narrated by the character of Death. It's 1939 Nazi Germany, and he's watching Liesel, a nine year old girl. She's living with a foster family on Himmel Street because her family have been taken to a concentration camp. Liesel starts stealing books, and both the events of the war and the words on the pages, change her life, and the lives of her community on the street.






Valentine Grey
By Sandi Toksvig

The Boer War is at the centre of this book, and so is the British Empire. When a soldier goes to South Africa to fight, there's not only the conflict of war, but also class, gender and sexuality, because Valentine Grey is a woman.









The Garden Of Evening Mists
By Tan Twang Eng

Elizabeth has read this already, and loved it. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, it's Tan Twang Eng's second novel. It's set in Malaya around the Japanese Occupation in World War II. A young law graduate and concentration camp survivor becomes an apprentice to the only Japanese gardener in Malaya when she sets out to create a garden to the memory of her sister.







A Whispered Name
By William Brodrick
Moving novel of The Great War, highly recommended by Edith. Click here to read her review...

Book Fanatics Quiz Night and More

Manx Litfest

Lots to look forward to this September at Manx Litfest. Tickets are now on sale, and it looks like we're going to be spoiled for choice. Find out more, sign up for a newsletter and keep up with what's happening on the Manx Litfest web site.

We were talking about the Book Fanatics Quiz Night at the last meeting, and some of the group are keen to have a go if we have enough people free that night to make a team. Just a quick reminder that it's on Thursday 27th September @ 8.15 pm. at the Villa, and tickets are £8.00. Please contact Pam if you would like to join in as an Onchan Book Group team.

State of Wonder by Anne Patchett

Research scientist Marina Singh is sent to the depths The Amazon rainforest to find out how her research partner and friend Anders Eckman had died there. He was tracking progress on a new fertility drug being developed by the maverick Dr Swenson, a mentor of Marina's in a former life she would prefer to forget. Marina endures side effects from malaria drugs, insects, snakes and arrows to follow in Anders' footsteps through the rainforest and discover the mystery surrounding Dr Swenson. This book was shortlisted for the Orange Prize 2012, and Anne Patchett's Bel Canto is a former Orange Prize winner.





 

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Howard Fry by Rachel Joyce

Harold Fry seems a most unlikely hero – recently retired, modest and unassuming.
His life is humdrum in the extreme. A letter from a former colleague leads him to undertake a journey on which he will eventually confront his past, and become something of a reluctant media celebrity. Journeying through Britain on foot, wearing only his yachting shoes and without mobile phone or credit cards, he encounters a rich variety of characters along the way, who, despite having their own problems, encourage and help him on his long journey. This is a gentle, amusing and at times heart-breaking novel, which was greatly enjoyed by everyone who read it. Cath

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Howard Fry was a 5 star read for us. It's been selected for this year's Booker Prize Long List:

Nicola Barker, The Yips (Fourth Estate)
Ned Beauman, The Teleportation Accident (Sceptre)
André Brink, Philida (Harvill Secker)
Tan Twan Eng, The Garden of Evening Mists (Myrmidon Books)
Michael Frayn, Skios (Faber & Faber)
Rachel Joyce, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Doubleday)
Deborah Levy, Swimming Home (And Other Stories)
Hilary Mantel, Bring up the Bodies (Fourth Estate)
Alison Moore, The Lighthouse (Salt)
Will Self, Umbrella (Bloomsbury)
Jeet Thayil, Narcopolis (Faber & Faber)
Sam Thompson, Communion Town (Fourth Estate

The Shortlist will be announced on Tues 11th Sept.

SAFE HOUSE coming soon

chrisewan.com

A great read to look forward to this summer is SAFE HOUSE, the new crime novel from Chris Ewan.  It’s set in the Isle of Man, and is a change of direction from ‘The Good Thief’s Guides.’ Plumber Rob Hale wakes up in hospital following a motorcycle accident. He’s concussed, but is certain that there was a girl on the back of his bike, but she’s disappeared, and no one will believe she ever existed...

There’s been a host of excellent advance reviews. I like this from Mean Streets: ‘Actually, Ewan hasn’t so much lost the humour as strapped it on to a 1000cc plot that tears around the Isle of Man (and a few other locations) like a TT superbike. It’s a thrilling ride: full of bumps, swerves, and bone-breaking crashes.’ Read more here

There’s going to be a launch party for Safe House hosted by Henry Bloom Noble Library this Thursday 2 Aug at 7.30 pm at the Nobles Park Pavillion.  Chris will also be talking about Safe House at The Manx Blind Welfare Society in Corrin Court on Friday 3^rd Aug, 7.30 for 8 pm. Find out how to book tickets for both events here

Ann Cleeves' Raven Black by Susan Moore

 “Raven Black” is the first book of a quartet by Ann Cleeves.   Set in the Shetland Isles, it is a crime thriller, but one with a difference.   Ann Cleeves moved to the Shetland Isles when she was 19, and her descriptions of these cold, isolated and snow covered islands could only have been written by someone who had spent time there and learnt to love this isolated area of Scotland.

 I have to say it was like a breath of fresh air reading a crime novel that, for once, did not bog me down with too much emphasis on police personnel or the technicalities and procedures of the investigation.

I instantly warmed to the main character, Inspector Perez, an Islander (or “insider”), who found himself in charge of a murder enquiry when the body of a young girl is discovered in the snow.  Black ravens were circling around the body and the girl had black hair, giving the book its title.   Perez was a rather scruffy, untidy but warm individual, more a man than a policeman, and contrary to his appearance, lived in an immaculate, tidy house near the sea front. 

 The Shetland Isles reminded me of how the Isle of Man used to be – the locals, the come-overs - in Shetland there are “insiders”, “incomers” etc., with everybody knowing everyone’s business (or thinking they do!), with old traditions, and families that go back to Viking times..   And no murders to brag about either!   

The murder enquiry becomes more complex and the “Big Boys” are called in (police from the mainland – Aberdeen), and Perez has to reluctantly hand over the case to Taylor (an Englishman to boot!).  When another child is found dead, it is vital that a suspect has to be found quickly, and a result achieved. 

The finger of suspicion points to Magnus Tait, the local weird character (every small community has one) and he is eventually arrested.  Perez and Taylor are both of the same mind that they have the wrong man behind bars, and even when the mainland police leave the islands, with an apparent case closed, Taylor stays on to assist Perez find the real murderer, and a respect for each other begins to emerge.   

  I found it amusing that when the CSI from the mainland commented that the murdered girl was not carrying her keys, the local police pointed out that here in Shetland, no-one locked their doors!  Just like the Isle of Man a few years ago!  Perez was considering leaving the police to take up crofting, and join the lifeboat crew as his forefathers had done, but the buzz of a strong case like this could maybe change his mind.  I also felt the beginnings of a romance for Perez with another character, Fran, divorced with a small child.   As the story unfolds, it is apparent that the murdered girl, was a “dark horse” and many of the characters had been involved with her in one way or another.  I had absolutely no idea who the murderer was until the very last, and exciting few pages, which shows what an excellent story teller Ann Cleeves is.  Raven Black had me turning the pages, and thinking - “just one more chapter, and I really will turn the light off!”    I will certainly read the next three books in this series ... especially want to see if Perez and Fran do “get it together”!