Almost two years ago, I joined a book club. Our club is made up mostly of military spouses in the area, and we are all very different, but we have one main thing in common – we all love to read! (Sometimes we meet up as much for the wine as we do for the book, though. ;)) It’s been a great experience – a way for me to broaden my horizons and read books I might not always choose for myself.
“The Light Between Oceans” by M.L. Stedman, however, had been on my list for some time when we read it this past fall. I really enjoyed it. It started a little bit slow (which for me just means I wasn’t dying to finish it in one evening), but I loved the depth of the characters. Once the pace sped up a little bit I just couldn’t put it down.
I found myself alternately mourning for Isabel and getting angry with her for her tenuous grasp on reality. But I’ve never lost a child so I cannot even begin to understand how that might feel. And I certainly cannot understand what it must be like to contemplate giving up a child. Her pain must have been unbearable.
Then when Hannah was introduced, I couldn’t decide whether she had it worse, or Isabel did. What an impossible, heartbreaking situation!
But I thought the end of the book had as perfect of a resolution as anyone could have wanted.
The author’s descriptive writing made the island seem so beautiful. Australia is one of the places on my “bucket list” to visit, and reading this book didn’t do anything to change my mind. (Also, I’m really excited to see the movie. I usually don’t like the movie adaptation of books I’ve loved, but I can’t wait to see this one.)
Since this book was for book club, I had to make a snack to go with it. I like to make dishes that somehow relate to the book we have read, but at the time of our meeting I was on a doctor-ordered gluten-free diet, and a couple of our book club members are vegetarians, so it was a tall order.
But since Lucy and Isabel talk about both potatoes and eggs, and I found a lovely-sounding recipe for a cheesy caramelized onion tart on potato crust from Natural Comfort Kitchen, I thought that related closely enough.
