Modern Reader

I was immediately attracted to this book, pulled in by the melancholy undertones promised via the cover and the fact that it's historical fiction.  In my experience, I have found that stories of this genre have strong hearts at their center, and they invariably leave me struck with a sense of nostalgia. The Light Between Oceans is no exception. While some may be turned off by the creeping pace of M.L Stedman's writing, I couldn't help by mentally applaud him for his painstaking care to fully elucidate that the feeling of loss does not simply cease when the war is done.  

Stedman's protagonist, Tom Sherbourne, isolates himself in an effort to process the tragedies inflicted by the proverbial hand of war.  As the lighthouse keeper, he lives in solitude; that is until he marries the fiery Isabel.  What follows is a story about variations of love, but most importantly the sacrifices one makes for those who mean the world. The book is worth reading and it's worth crying over.