The Light Between Oceans, M.L. Stedman

The Light Between Oceans

By  M.L. Stedman

 

(Tansley Reads Rating: 72% -- winner for the year)

 

Icebreaker: Have you seen many lighthouses in your travels? Are you drawn to them? What is the appeal of these isolated buildings? Share photographs of your favorite lighthouses.

 

Discussion

 

1. An isolated beach, a mysterious corpse, a (presumably?) orphaned infant … What did you think of this beginning?  Did it draw you into the story?

 

2. Once you’d finished reading this Prologue, what did you imagine had happened that brought the boat to Janus Island?

 

3. "The isolation spins its mysterious cocoon, focusing the mind on one place, one time, one rhythm-the turning of the light. The island knows no other human voices, no other footprints. On the Offshore Lights you can live any story you want to tell yourself, and no one will say you’re wrong: not the seagulls, not the prisms, not the wind.” (page 110)

 

What do you think the impact of living in seclusion is on both Tom and Isabel?  Why do you think each of them is drawn to live on Janus Rock?

 

4. When Isabel tries to get Tom to open up about his family, he responds: “I’ll tell you if you really want. It’s just I’d rather not. Sometimes it’s good to leave the past in the past.”(pages 44-45)

 

Do you think it is possible to leave the past in the past? Does it have any impact on our present and future?

 

5. Do you think we are all products of our family’s past? What is the impact of family history on Tom, Isabel, Hannah, and Frank? 

 

6. Tom is haunted by what he witnessed—and what he did—during his enlistment in World War I. How do you think Tom’s experiences as a soldier impact his decisions throughout the novel? What other outside influences, like WWI, affected the story?

 

7. Tom may want to live in complete isolation, but all bets are off when he meets the high-spirited, sunny Isabel. Isabel’s warm nature and easy temperament make Tom feel hopeful, calm, and at ease for the first time since returning from the war. With Isabel, Tom dwells less on his past and is ready to look toward the future. What do you think? Are they a good match?

 

8. When Isabel brings Tom the map of Janus, complete with new names for all the locations on the island, Tom has an interesting reaction: “Janus did not belong to him: he belonged to it, like he’d heard the natives thought of the land. His job was just to take care of it.” (page 62)

 

What is the difference between Tom’s point of view and Isabel’s?  Does this difference in opinion foreshadow future events? How does it relate to their conflicting opinions of what to do with Lucy?

9. What is the impact of Isabel’s miscarriages and subsequent frame of mind on her moral and legal culpability? Is Isabel more deserving of the reader’s compassion because her actions spring from a natural and positive urge to love a child?

 

10. If Isabel had been able to carry an infant to term; do you think she would have acted any differently when she found the baby in the boat?

 

11. Tom is torn between not hurting those he loves, and following the rules. Is it ever wrong to obey the law or disobey the law? If so, when? Were you surprised by Tom? Do you think he gave in to Isabel too easily?

 

12. Were you angry with Tom for leaving the secret notes for Hannah?

 

13. At Lucy’s baptism, who did you find yourself siding with: Tom, who couldn’t live with their lie, or Isabel, who wouldn’t consider telling the truth?

 

14. Were you surprised by how Hannah’s reunion with Grace went?  Do you think she had fair expectations? Did you agree with Dr. Sumpton’s advice to Hannah about completely cutting Lucy off from Isabel and Tom?

15. Who in this novel had the best interests of Lucy-Grace at heart?

 

16. Do you think the child ended up with the right family at the end of the book? How do you think the situation should have been resolved? What did you think of the conclusion of the novel?

 

17. Janus Rock is named for Janus, the Roman God of doorways, “always looking both ways, torn between two ways of seeing things.” (page 65) Who is “torn between two ways of seeing things”?

 

Discussion points: There is a theme of opposites in this novel - darkness and light; safety and danger; land and water; truth and lies

 

18.  Why do you think the author selected The Light Between Oceans as her title? What do you visualize when you hear or read those words … The Light Between Oceans?  ]

 

19. Was there anything you wanted to mention about the book that didn’t come up in discussion?

 

20. Fast-around: What did you think of the book, overall?