THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS

Questions to Enhance  Book Club Gathering

GreekGirlsRead

1) Discuss where the word Janus comes from.  Why do you think the author named the island Janus Rock?
Tom actually describes this best when speaking with Isabel.

"You know Janus is where the word January comes from?  It's named after the same

god as this island.  He's got two faces, back to back.  Pretty ugly fellow."  

Isabel asks, "What's he god of?"  "Doorways.  Always looking both ways, torn between

two ways of seeing things.  January looks forward to the new year and back to the old year.  

He sees past and future.  And the island looks in the direction of two different oceans,

down to the South Pole and up to the Equator."

Upon further reading, i learned that Janus is also the god that presided over the beginning    and the end; war and peace. two oceans; two set of parents; two names.

 

2.  What does the lighthouse symbolize?

The first thing that comes to mind is isolation.  We know that a lighthouse is always set in dark, dangerous places where there is a risk of going off track.  Also, I believe a lighthouse is about light and dark.  In this story I believe the lighthouse tries to shed light on right and wrong, and because the light continues to move and shift, we never see where the light shines the brightest.  When you don't 'see' the impact you actions have on other people is it easier to live with what you have done?  Finally, I think a lighthouse is there for man to fight against nature to make a journey safer which can often be an unfair fight.  .

3.  Do you think life would have been different for Tom, Isabel and Lucy if they remained isolated on the island?

 

CHARACTER STUDY

 

1. .  Do you think Isabel felt any guilt over her part in this tragedy?
2. Tom's moral character
3. Ralph & Frank
4.  the grandfathers/the grandmothers
5. .  How did you respond to Hannah?
6.  Lucy-Grace-child and adult 

 

 

6.  Discuss the title of THE BOOK.  

 

 

7.  Favorite quote: "YOU ONLY HAVE TO FORGIVE ONCE. TO RESENT, YOU HAVE TO DO IT ALL DAY, EVERY DAY".

very POWERFUL--DISCUSS.

 

SETTING

how does the setting make this story and the events happen as they did?

Set in the 1920s; after Australians had sent their young men to a distant war in Turkey; marriage ideals at the time; postpartum & depression; morals; the right thing to do.-

 

COMPARE TO today's  VALUES AND WAYS and how would this book be so different? the characters?

 

 

 

 

Copyright © 2012, Maxine & Stella.