Title: In The Lighthouse
Author: Jeanne Farewell
Publisher: Puddingdale Press
ISBN: 0-9778509-3-5
Pages: 270, Paperback/Kindle
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Suzanne Gattis, Pacific Book Review
Book Review
Let’s face it; we have all known someone that seems to have it all: beauty, talent, grace, and true virtues of compassion and humility. But can they really be as ‘perfect’ as they come across? Can anyone? With our own insecurities and human nature, this book points out that we all tend to look for a chink in their armor.Jeanne Farewell’s In the Lighthouse tells this age old story of jealousy, friendship, and self-discovery in an easy-to-read, entertaining way that is also very enlightening. Starting out in small town Massachusetts, around an awe-inspiring old lighthouse, Farewell quickly introduces us to two very distinctive, very different characters: Kate Cullen, the inspiring dress designer who has yet to meet a person who does not love her, and Beth Beavers; the very un-inspiring, under-appreciated church bookkeeper who has spent much of her life being overshadowed by her very overpowering, domineering mother. It is immediately easy to development a mental attachment to Ms. Beavers, you are rooting for her almost as quickly as the story begins, while the reader quickly finds themselves second guessing the means and motives of the seemingly irreproachable Mrs. Cullen.
One could easily say this distrust stems from a diary entry written by Kate and secretly tucked away, but deep down each reader, and I think Beth, knows that this isn’t really the case. While it definitely adds mystery and intrigue to the story, the true story is the inner struggles that the characters must go through to reach their goals. For Kate, it’s launching a business and coming to terms with the disappearance of her husband; for Beth, its gaining self-confidence and finding courage to stand on her own two feet. Despite a mistrust that has grown between to the two, they aid each other immensely in reaching their goals.
Underneath the mystery and the friendship, love stories also unfold. Each woman is able to come to terms about what true love really means for them. While this novel is a fun to read story, the underlying story of human relationships and self-awareness permeates strongly throughout. Because of Farewell’s writing, the characters become people you want to laugh and to cry with. She also writes in a way where the reader doesn’t want to put the book down, because you want to know where Farewell is taking you next. Part pure fiction, part human interest story, this book is must read.
