The Light Between Oceans meets The Snow Child in this novel set in a Scottish village in the weeks after a young boy mysteriously washes up on shore, causing the buried secrets of the insular community to come to light and rekindling an old love story.
‘Breathtaking. An exquisitely written, pitch-perfect look at love and shame, what is lost and what is found.’ —Jeannette Walls, New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle and Hang the Moon
It’s 1900 and Skerry, a small Scottish fishing village, is destined for an unyielding winter. During a storm, a young boy washes up on the shore. He bears an uncanny resemblance to teacher Dorothy’s son, lost to the sea at the same age many years before, his body never found.
The village is soon snowed in, and Dorothy agrees to look after the child until they can uncover the mystery of his origins. But over time, the lines between reality and desperate hope start to blur as the boy reminds Dorothy more and more of her own lost child.
The boy’s arrival also finally forces Dorothy to face the truth about her brief but passionate love affair with Joseph, the fisherman who found the boy on the shore and who has been the subject of whispers connecting him to the drowning of Dorothy’s son years earlier.
As the past rises to meet the present, long-buried secrets are unearthed within this tight-knit community, and the child’s arrival becomes a catalyst for something far greater than any of them could imagine.
Genre: Historical
‘Breathtaking. An exquisitely written, pitch-perfect look at love and shame, what is lost and what is found.’ —Jeannette Walls, New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle and Hang the Moon
It’s 1900 and Skerry, a small Scottish fishing village, is destined for an unyielding winter. During a storm, a young boy washes up on the shore. He bears an uncanny resemblance to teacher Dorothy’s son, lost to the sea at the same age many years before, his body never found.
The village is soon snowed in, and Dorothy agrees to look after the child until they can uncover the mystery of his origins. But over time, the lines between reality and desperate hope start to blur as the boy reminds Dorothy more and more of her own lost child.
The boy’s arrival also finally forces Dorothy to face the truth about her brief but passionate love affair with Joseph, the fisherman who found the boy on the shore and who has been the subject of whispers connecting him to the drowning of Dorothy’s son years earlier.
As the past rises to meet the present, long-buried secrets are unearthed within this tight-knit community, and the child’s arrival becomes a catalyst for something far greater than any of them could imagine.
Genre: Historical
Praise for this book
"As searing as a winter wind. With perfect pacing and vivid prose, Kelly shows us not just what was but what could have been, and therein lies this book's real gift." - Rachel Beanland
"A beautiful story of grief, hope and love; of dark snowy nights, the mysteries of the sea and, above all, redemption." - Lucy Diamond
"A hauntingly beautiful piece of storytelling, exceptionally written... It speaks of motherhood, loss, longing, love, with characters so authentic they live and breathe well beyond the page. Julia Kelly is a writer of extraordinary talent and I adored this book." - Fíona Scarlett
"Spectacular... a gift to readers everywhere...a treasure. This layered, heartfelt and sturdy novel is beautifully told and deeply rendered. Scotland in winter can be brutal, so can memories that haunt us with the desperation that comes from guilt. Yet, the heart of this novel is a blazing fire, throwing warmth and light. I imagine that this novel will be shared and read in the years to come by readers who long for a great story well told. I didn't want it to end." - Adriana Trigiani
"A beautiful story of grief, hope and love; of dark snowy nights, the mysteries of the sea and, above all, redemption." - Lucy Diamond
"A hauntingly beautiful piece of storytelling, exceptionally written... It speaks of motherhood, loss, longing, love, with characters so authentic they live and breathe well beyond the page. Julia Kelly is a writer of extraordinary talent and I adored this book." - Fíona Scarlett
"Spectacular... a gift to readers everywhere...a treasure. This layered, heartfelt and sturdy novel is beautifully told and deeply rendered. Scotland in winter can be brutal, so can memories that haunt us with the desperation that comes from guilt. Yet, the heart of this novel is a blazing fire, throwing warmth and light. I imagine that this novel will be shared and read in the years to come by readers who long for a great story well told. I didn't want it to end." - Adriana Trigiani
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Used availability for Julia R Kelly's The Fisherman's Gift