The first one was The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman. Originally, I had been draw to this novel merely because it was set in Australia and after spending time in Oz, I do have a soft spot in my heart for the country. The book tells the tale of a husband and wife who live on Janus Rock and are lighthouse keepers in the 1920's. They are secluded and on their own, suffering through life and miscarriages as they learn how to endure on their own. But when a boat washes up on the shore with a dead man and an alive little baby, they decide to claim the baby as their own. Upon leave to the mainland, they learn the back story to the man and the baby which sends them in to a moral dilemma as they learn the truth and wrestle with what to do with it.
The book propels the reader into the midst of the action before backing up and giving what came before to then further the story. The characters are well written, the island and the lighthouse come alive, and the prose is easy to follow. There isn't too much Aussie slang either to follow. The plight of the lighthouse keeper, Tom and his wife resonates in the heart of the reader. It's a story of loss, of profound happiness and just how far people will go to protect those they love and hold on to what they think life has given them. Definitely a good read and worth it.
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher was a book I had held onto for a while, waiting for the right time to read it and this month seemed to be it. The book follows Clay, a high school guy, who receives a set of 13 tapes from a classmate who committed suicide. Each of the tapes, he learns, is his classmate Hannah telling a story about a different person who led her to this decision and Clay is one of them although he has no idea what he had ever done to give reason for him to be on the tapes. It's an intense, heart-wrenching, and challenging story that for me left me changed at the end. It reminded me of how little things we do and how we interact with people really can effect someone in ways we don't always realize. The story ebbs and flows between Clay's thoughts and actions and Hannah telling the stories and it is an amazing book. It's a profoundly simple thriller but one that is definitely worth the read. It gives amazing truth and a reminder that how we treat people has consequences both good and bad. It's challenged me to make the most of my interactions with people just as it challenges Clay to make sure he's reaching out to those who may seem unreachable.
The last novel I undertook was The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons. The book takes place slightly before the onset of the WWII. Young Elise comes from a privileged Jewish family in Vienna, Austria but is shipped off to England to become a housemaid when things begin to get dangerous for her and her family in Vienna. Soon she finds herself falling for the young master of the house, Kit, which profoundly changes her and the ways she views the world. Soon, they do find themselves at the start of the war and the romance with Kit has to change as he is sent off to war.
The best way to describe this book was if Jane Austen and Ian McEwan sat down in the same room and decided to write a book, I am fairly certain this is what they would have come up with. In the same vain of Atonement, the readers crave a happy ending and find it to be a bittersweet happy. The book is well written, the main character is enjoyable and the reader really does root for her and her happiness, although the ending was a bit interesting with where Elise ends up. But it does tell of the tragedy of war and how people in the midst of despair are called upon to rise above and attempt to move on even when moving on seems to be impossible. I enjoyed the historical context as well. It was a good read and I was hooked. I do hope she continues to write and publish other stories.
Sometimes it's just the purely fictional books that draw us in, the books that glean from real life and plunge us into a real but fictional world in which we learn and grow ourselves. They challenge us as we learn from the characters, the new situations and the trials they go through without ever having to step into those things ourselves. Each of the books this month were excellent and I would definitely recommend all three.
Next month; Inspired by The House at Tyneford, this next month is going to be books set between 1938 and 1949 or books written between those years. Quite excited to see what comes of it.
The Light Between Oceans- ML Stedman
Thirteen Reasons Why- Jay AsherThe House at Tyneford- Natasha Solomons
