The Lighthouse Keeper: A Novel - Hardcover

Pratt, James Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312241135 ISBN 13: 9780312241131

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2000

Synopsis

The beloved bestseller that will shine in your heart forever...

From the acclaimed author of The Last Valentine comes an unforgettable story about family, loss, and eternal love. Bestselling writer James Michael Pratt once again touches our emotions and our spirit as only a great writer can...

Ten-year-old Peter O'Banyon's life changes forever when his family dies in an accident. Orphaned, he goes to live with his garrulous Uncle Billie, the keeper of the Port Hope Island Lighthouse in Massachusetts. There, as the beacon leads sailors home, Peter learns an astonishing truth about Billie's past-- and the power of love. This message guides Peter's life, even when World War II's brutality rocks his faith, even when he returns to his young bride and an unimaginable tragedy. Now, in the final days of his own life, Peter needs to pass on the lighthouse keeper's secrets to his own daughter, but to do it may take nothing less than a miracle...

About this title

Review:

Off the coast of Massachusetts, a sturdy lighthouse and its inhabitants weather the storms of life. Over three generations, the O'Banyon clan finds solace in the firm walls of the Port Hope lighthouse, and learns to "keep a light on" for each other.

In the present day, daughter Kathleen O'Banyon returns to be with her aging father, Peter, in the now retired lighthouse. As Peter reminisces about the past and his childhood with Uncle Billie, we are drawn into a family saga full of tragedy and inspiration. Through two world wars, illness, and premature deaths, the O'Banyon family has learned to trust and love fearlessly. As the characters and the readers soon learn, to be a good lighthouse keeper you must take care of not only those you love, but the "light inside yer bosom," as well.

Not for the schmaltz-allergic crowd, this nostalgic feast of emotion and sincerity could warm up your heart on an arctic vacation. Like Nicholas Sparks, James Michael Pratt knows where the heartstrings are, and plays them with all the subtlety of Tchaikovsky. But go ahead--no one is watching. Pull up the covers and let the sappiness seduce you! --Nancy R.E. O'Brien

From the Publisher:

"...this book is a good read, as Pratt constantly reiterates the symbolism, showing that the human spirit is like a lighthouse, capable of shining through the most devastating storms." Publishers Weekly

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0312241135
• ISBN 13: 9780312241131
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288