Lighthouse, The (SALT MODERN FICTION)

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It seems while Amy is there visiting the old abandoned lighthouse once again streams it's powerful beacon. The whole town is obsessed with this lighthouse and every one thinks it is haunted. So why does Amy end up inside the lighthouse? What will she learn? What will she gain? What will she lose? This book does a great job hitting the reader in all the right places to get them to experience the heavy emotions it was trying to convey. It deeply explores grief, an emotion we all experience at one point in life. It does a great job showing us how grief can greatly damage our mental health, making us believe that there is no realistic path forward after an irreversible loss, even though there is always a way out of that dark tunnel, if one changes their perspective, and allows time to slowly make the wound hurt less. We walk with Amy through this dark path, and get to see how Ryan shines a beacon of light in her life that allows all of these shadows to start losing their influence on her. We get to experience the simple purity of kindness that Ryan embodies through his character, which is a very refreshing breath of air, since this kindheartedness is very difficult to come across in our day to day lives. This book was very enjoyable to read. Emma Carroll explains all of the characters in great depth and each character is unique in some sort of way. The main theme of this book is how peopole have to leave home to fight for their country but Olive soon realises that her father isn't coming home. After being evacuated, Olive and her brother Cliff are evacuated to Devon and the only place available is a lighthouse. To try and be helpful she becomes a postman and starts sending secret messages to her sister Suki who was lost in an air raid, but she finds a code which she is convinced relates to her but how far will she go for her sister? Six friends travel to a remote island north of the Scottish Highlands for an old school reunion. They’ve rented The Lighthouse – a stunning, now abandoned building that was once notorious for deaths at sea. The party vow to put the strange night behind them and enjoy the rest of their stay, but when more unexplained things begin to occur, tensions escalate. It’s clear James knows something, but nothing will persuade him to give up the secrets of the island. Is he protecting his friends from a terrible truth, or leading them into more danger?

This novel shattered my expectations with the force of a violent tide in the North Atlantic. The storytelling started off simple and not too detailed so as to become boring. We are introduced to Ethan, the lighthouse keeper, and provided with his life story interspersed with his daily comings and goings as a lighthouse keeper at Brendan's Harbour. Nearly thirty-eight years old, his life seems to be going nowhere, and he is content in his solitude. Moments of excitement come and go, but he has learned to only rely on himself. His upbringing from a single mother who abandoned him has taught Ethan not to hope for anything beyond a quiet life. Still, an encounter with a welcoming large family evokes intense emotion and longing in Ethan. He begins to carve his own pretend family from wood, as he expresses his longing through art. What are the most admirable qualities of Kate Miskin, Francis Benton-Smith, and Adam Dalgliesh? Do Kate and Francis seem to have the skill, talent, and sensibility that have allowed Dalgliesh to rise to the top of his profession? Is Kate the real heroine of the story? Mrs. Ramsay throws a dinner party and does her best to make the evening go smoothly. As a devoted housewife, Mrs. Ramsay delights in her parties and dotes on her guests, especially the men, whom she sees as burdened by life's worries. What was it then? What did it mean? Could things thrust their hands up and grip one; could the blade cut; the fist grasp? Was there no safety? No learning by heart of the ways of the world? No guide, no shelter, but all was miracle, and leaping from the pinnacle of a tower into the air? Could it be, even for elderly people, that this was life?--startling, unexpected, unknown?" (pg. 125). Character driven and emotional, this story will touch your heart. The author gives authenticity to how deeply grief and hardship can impact one's life both physically and mentally.When the old lighthouse mysteriously begins to glow brighter and brighter, what could it mean? Is it a sign of something to come? Is it real or imagined? I am unsure if Secrets of the Lighthouse is set on a particular lighthouse. Possibly Slyne Head or Clare Island Lighthouse. The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex

Dalgliesh, James’s master detective who rises from chief inspector in the first novel to chief superintendent and then to commander, is a serious, introspective person, moralistic yet realistic. The novels in which he appears are peopled by fully rounded characters, who are civilized, genteel, and motivated. The public resonance created by James’s singular characterization and deployment of classic mystery devices led to most of the novels featuring Dalgliesh being filmed for television. James, who earned the sobriquet “Queen of Crime,” penned 14 Dalgliesh novels, with the last, The Private Patient, appearing in 2008. stars for the story, 3 stars for the audiobook averaging to 3.25 stars. I enjoyed this author's creative story and look with interest at what he comes up with next. This is the first Michael O'Brien novel I've read/listened to (narrated on Audible by Kevin O'Brien [no relation to the author], who did an excellent job). It comes across as a simple story of a quiet, unassuming lighthouse keeper stationed on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia. The keeper, Ethan McQuarry, enjoys the solitude and responsibilities, and has respect and admiration for the power of the ocean and its denizens. Through various visitations and interactions, he learns to trust other people, and is marveled at some of these secondary characters' motivations and acts of unwarranted kindness.

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READERS GUIDE“One of the most compelling books of her remarkable career. . . . A magisterial and subtle exploration of all-too-human emotions.” P. D. James, byname of Phyllis Dorothy James White, Baroness James of Holland Park, (born August 3, 1920, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England—died November 27, 2014, Oxford), British mystery novelist best known for her fictional detective Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard. Initially, I didn't want to read a WW2 book, but having read it, I'm really glad that I did and it has left me in the mood for more Emma Carroll books. It gave me a feel for WW2 and the contrast between countryside and city life. I think it should be for aged 9 and above as it would go over the heads of younger children. It was accurate, clever and intriguing, and it also was fun and had a satisfying ending. I highly recommend it. This is the way people are, he thought. These are habits of speech, of manners and disposition. These are wounds and tempers. These are frail breakwaters that guard the harbor of the soul. And I too, he reminded himself, am shaped by what life does to us.”

Chiar si cand e autentica, durerea poate fi cea mai inselatoare dintre emotii si extrem de rar era lipsita de complicatii." I have read Letters from the Lighthouse by Emma Carroll which I have thoroughly enjoyed. The characters and the setting was descriptive with selective vocabulary suitable for the themes. The story was set in February 1941 at the beginning of the second World War in London and Devon, two very different cities. The characters include a mature girl named Olive, her older sister Sukie who has a strange pen pal, her younger brother Cliff and her widowed mother. There is a good variety of characters in the story as their culture, personality and behaviour.

Amy’s right in the middle of a mystery, and she somehow finds herself entering the forsaken and crumbling lighthouse. What does Amy find inside? How does it change her life and Ryan’s? What does this mean to the Seabrook and its people who are already obsessed with the lighthouse?