However, I found this was a novel that divided me, I loved the storyline as told by the men isolated at the lighthouse, with some great descriptions really setting the scene. This entity determines the living arrangements,life shifts and social hierarchy governing the lives of each of the men and women in this story. Lighthouse by Tony Parker, a very special book I would urge anyone to read, not just those interested in lighthouses but in human nature full stop, informed me deeply.

Book Review: The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex | Theresa Smith Book Review: The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex | Theresa Smith

We discover that Arthur had been dealing with guilt over an incident in his past, and felt that he needed a fresh start. The descriptions of the damp, briny, windowless interior of the Maiden, the shifting seas, the choking fogs and sudden, unnatural sounds, are simply breathtaking; and, like all the best literary writing, they don’t halt the action, they lift and propel it. We got to know the three lighthouse keepers but we also got to know wives and girlfriends who were left behind after the disappearance.There was storm damage on the landing stage, and the Principal Keeper’s weather log described tumultuous conditions at a time when records showed no such thing.

The Lamplighters - Book Ending Explained - Wrote a Book The Lamplighters - Book Ending Explained - Wrote a Book

The portrayal of these characters and relationship dynamics is a major strength of Stonex’s writing. This gave me an insight into what life was like for the families left ashore, living in purpose-built communes that, subject to personal preference, signalled life security or life imprisonment.On New Year’s Eve 1972, a boat arrives at the Maiden Rock lighthouse, 15 nautical miles southwest of Land’s End, to relieve assistant keeper and family man Bill Walker from a two-month tour of duty. Of course, Dan is himself a fiction, as is the novel … a satisfying circularity that leads us back to our own world, holding the book in our hands, wondering what might have happened on the real lighthouse in the Outer Hebrides, all those years ago. The set-up can carry as many intriguing details as you like, but at the whiff of an answer, it loses its power. However, I found the ending to be contrived and most disappointing; it lacked resonance and authenticity, contrasting austerely with all that had preceded it, and eclipsing the enchantment and dynamism. Egal, ob ihr Lust auf einen atmosphärischen Pageturner habt oder eure Sehnsucht nach dem rauhen, schroffen Meer stillen wollt - "Die Leuchtturmwärter" wird euch sicher in seinen Bann ziehen!

Book Review: The Lamplighters, by Emma Stonex - Litro Magazine

As the book unfolds, we see the friendship between the three men grow and deepen, as they work together to keep the lighthouse running and support each other through their personal struggles. The complicated relationship between the women that are left behind is more strained at times than between the three men with little in common who are forced to live together for weeks in the lighthouse. Someone out there knows more than we realise,” he tells a newspaper and embarks on an investigation that centres on interviews with the three women that the Keepers left behind. However, as he digs into the past, more is revealed about the lives, secrets, and transgressions of the three men and in the present the women have an uneasy and strained relationship. Then there were the long periods without a husband, adjusting to that and then getting him back for a block of time, having to readjust to each other only to then be separated again.The lighthouse is manned by three keepers, Principal Keeper Arthur Black, assistant Keeper William ‘Bill’ Walker and Supernumerary Assistant Keeper Vincent ‘Vinny’ Bourne.