(Read by Noah Taylor, Simon & Schuster Audio, 9 CDs, 10.5 hours)
It is 1926 and Tom is the lighthouse keeper on a tiny island nearly 100 miles off the Australian coast. The only other inhabitant, his wife Isabel, is grieving over the loss of a third pregnancy when a wailing infant girl washes ashore in a small boat, accompanied by the dead body of a man. The couple keeps the baby, only to discover a couple of years later that the mother is alive on the mainland. Though the novel occasionally lingers in melodrama, this is mostly a solid tale with much food for thought. Narrator Taylor, however, is the problem, as he speaks too softly, sounds depressed throughout the entire production, and sometimes lowers his voice so much that one cannot hear him. Grade: B
