It seems we hit a common chord with this month’s read. An over-whelming majority of our group found this emotional tale to their liking. The entwined family relations, a long kept secret and the final days of a guilt ridden life played against a stark background of loneliness and isolation, was enough to keep us reading to the end. Although some found the conclusion less satisfying than others.
Mary, the story’s main protagonist, was thought to be a strong woman in a time when young woman did not always have the choices they do today. She lived her life on her own terms, but the guilt that this cost her was an underlying theme throughout the novel. Jean also picked up on a ‘reverse journey’ focus which found Mary’s son Tom struggling to restart his life just as hers is ending.
All this aside, we found the book beautifully written and the storyline well laid out with just enough intrigue to keep the reader happily engaged. All but Delia decided to give this book an eight out of ten score. Delia enjoyed the read but felt it lacked the depth she needs to really reward a book star status, so she could only manage a six!

Still good praise from a discerning group of readers and well worth the effort if you are looking for a summer read.

Some very descriptive passages. Found it slow and hard to get into. Still not sure how I feel about it. ( )

It seems we hit a common chord with this month’s read. An over-whelming majority of our group found this emotional tale to their liking. The entwined family relations, a long kept secret and the final days of a guilt ridden life played against a stark background of loneliness and isolation, was enough to keep us reading to the end. Although some found the conclusion less satisfying than others.
Mary, the story’s main protagonist, was thought to be a strong woman in a time when young woman did not always have the choices they do today. She lived her life on her own terms, but the guilt that this cost her was an underlying theme throughout the novel. Jean also picked up on a ‘reverse journey’ focus which found Mary’s son Tom struggling to restart his life just as hers is ending.
All this aside, we found the book beautifully written and the storyline well laid out with just enough intrigue to keep the reader happily engaged. All but Delia decided to give this book an eight out of ten score. Delia enjoyed the read but felt it lacked the depth she needs to really reward a book star status, so she could only manage a six!

Still good praise from a discerning group of readers and well worth the effort if you are looking for a summer read. ( )

Summary: Elderly and in poor health, Mary fulfills her wish to herself to live out her last days on Bruny Island off of Tasmania, with only her regrets and memories for company. Her late husband was the lighthousekeeper on Bruny, and she'd raised a family on the wild windswept island, until terrible circumstances forced them back to civilization. The long-buried secret that has haunted her for decades now threatens to break free, and she hopes to banish it in the time she has left. Mary's youngest son Tom loves Bruny as much as she does, and understands her primal connection to the island. Years before he spent a winter working in Antarctica, and returned from that empty loneliness to find his marriage over and his life destroyed. Still wounded, Tom lives a simple life, unable and unwilling to make real connections with people in case he gets hurt again—but then he meets Emma, newly returned from Antarctica and as open and welcoming as Tom is not. As Mary's time winds down, both she and Tom must face their pasts in ways they cannot even begin to imagine, and Mary finds that the script she's written to the end of her life has taken on a few twists of its own. ( )

This book tells the story of Mary, who is elderly and in poor health. In her later years she has been living in Hobart but as a young wife and mother she lived on Bruny island with her husband Jack who was the lighthouse keeper there. One day in Hobart a letter is delivered to her from a man she hoped never to see again. She struggles to decide what to do with this letter and the secret it will reveal. Her answer is to take the letter with her and return to Bruny island and live out her days with the memories of the life she had there, ignoring the worry and concerns of her children particularly her daughter. The story is told mainly from the point of view of Mary andf her son Tom. Tom spent a season, including the winter, in Antarctica and this resulted in the breakup of his marriage, and his not being there when his father died, things he is still trying to deal with. Tom loved the open spaces of Bruny Island and can understand why his mother would want to return although he is worried for her. He is finding it hard to adjust back in civilisation and wonders whether he should return to Antarctica for another season. I enjoyed this book a lot. It gave me a feel for what it would be like in Antarctica and how it would be on your return, and also a real feel for what it would be like to live on Bruny Island. The characters were well drawn and although I could work out the contents of the letter before it was revealed I still thought it was a good read. ( )