Book Club for Introverts discussion

Our group discussion of the entire book will begin on 3/28. I can't wait to hear what everyone thought of this book!

Here are the first three discussion questions. They have a common theme so I grouped them together. Feel free to answer them individually or in one reply!

1. Discuss the novel’s title, The Light Between Oceans. Why do you think the author selected this title? What do you visualize when you hear or read The Light Between Oceans?

2. The novel is rich with detailed descriptions of the ocean, the sky, and the wild landscape of Janus Rock. Is there a particular passage or scene that stood out to you? What role does the natural world play in Tom and Isabel’s life?

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) Discuss the impact of living in seclusion on both Tom and Isabel. Why do you think each of them is drawn to live on Janus Rock? Do you think, in the moments when we are unobserved, we are different people?

Okay, well here's my thinking:
This is a story about light and dark, right and wrong, love and cruelty---dualities. We see contrast in the motives of all of the characters. They have all been hurt, and they are all able to justify their actions by saying they are acting out of love, but we can also see selfishness in those same actions. We, as the readers, can see both sides, and can often empathize with the characters. For example, I felt so sad for Isabel, and I could totally understand why she would want to keep the baby. I saw how she justified her actions, but in my judgment (and it's hard to keep judgment out of it), she went way too far in wanting to love the baby, and she crossed the line into selfishness and self-preservation. There could be no real justification for her actions. There could be no justification for Tom's actions, either, even though I had compassion for his predicament. The same theme follows all of the main characters.

The fact that the story takes place between the lighthouse and the town is another example of opposites, this time in the setting. The lighthouse provides the seclusion and introspection that Tom and Isabel crave, but their isolation leads them to make decisions that are not reality-based. They can live in their make-believe world until they come face to face with the "real world" of the town. I think that any of us in isolation might be in danger of losing perspective as they did.

Do we need society's norms and boundaries to keep us safe from ourselves? To me, the light represents truth and safety. We are all tossed around by oceans and can lose our way without a light to guide us. We can easily lose perspective on our own.

When I think about the phrase, The Light Between Oceans, it’s a comforting and hopeful phrase to me. However, in the book, it might refer to the lighthouse. I also wonder if Lucy could represent the light between the two families, families that are definitely oceans apart in many ways.

I think that Tom was well-suited for living in isolation. He was at home in nature and didn’t need a lot of people in order to be happy. Isabel adapted, but I don’t think it was ideal for her. She had a connection with nature, too, but it wasn’t enough. I think she had convinced herself that living on Janus would be fine if she had a family, but without that everything unraveled.

One phrase that jumped out at me in the book was, “That’s how life goes on—protected by the silence that anesthetizes shame”. Isn’t that true of all of us?

I found the title of the book to represent the middle ground each character had to come to accept. There was light in the town and obviously light from the lighthouse. But the author chose to locate the title - and the light - somewhere in between the two. Sometimes I find the titles of books too obscure or too obvious. This title though was a perfect representation of the moral center each character either chose or strayed from. The rough waters of the ocean made it easy for me to visualize the difficult choices made in the book.

I enjoyed the rich descriptions of the island. Tom and Isabel were completely isolated and I believe that nature became their constant companion to lessen the loneliness. Unfortunately, isolation also made it very easy to conceal secrets and I believe played into Isabel's desperation for a baby.

I believe that Tom was drawn to the island as a way to atone for the actions he felt so much guilt over. If he was alone, he couldn't hurt anyone but himself. Isabel - I think she was drawn to Tom's mysterious nature as well as the adventure of living on the island.

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? What do you think of Tom’s opinion that it’s a “pity” that we’re a product of our family’s past? What does this tell you about his character? Discuss the impact of family history on Tom, Isabel, Hannah, and Frank.

5. Tom is haunted by what he witnessed—and what he did—during his enlistment in World War I. The narrator reflects that he’s not “one of the men whose legs trailed by a hank of sinews, or whose guts cascaded from their casing like slithering eels….But he’s scarred all the same, having to live in the same skin as the man who did the things that needed to be done back then.” (page 10) How do you think Tom’s experiences as a soldier impact his decisions throughout the novel? What other outside elements, like the war, influences the narrative?

6. Janus Rock is named for Janus, the Roman God of doorways, “always looking both ways, torn between two ways of seeing things.” (page 65) How does this knowledge impact your reading of The Light Between Oceans? Who is “torn between two ways of seeing things”?

Tom was a private person, but not talking about something doesn’t mean it isn’t affecting you. I think we get trapped by the things we refuse to fully face. To say that it’s a “pity” that we’re a product of our family’s past is sad to me. We can make choices to do things differently. Tom did make the decision to become a decent person, but his pain was still deep.
Isabel needed someone and to feel like she had a place in this world. Tom was a good match for her because he was kind.

Hannah was expected to be good. She needed to keep up appearances. To marry Frank was a rebellious act. Frank was a good man, too, but the prejudice he faced was heartbreaking. His need to escape set the stage for this story.

The war never really left Tom. It’s true. War affects everyone involved, some more than others. But, no one comes home the same. I see it every day in my work with service members and with my own husband, a Vietnam Nam era veteran. I think Tom did a great job of dealing with a difficult childhood and the trauma of war. He stuffed a lot of emotions, but he was also productive and a truly good human being. I found myself wondering if his own childhood experiences played a role in his inability to stand up to Isabel when he knew they needed to tell the truth. They both needed a functional family.

In terms of Janus, everyone was torn, but I think Tom was most affected. He knew what was right and believed that Truth was what was important. Isabel was torn, too, but it was different for her. She needed that baby and her own self-deception kept her from the truth. She was good at rationalizing her decisions and needed to in order to keep her sanity.