Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Harvest Books (2006), Paperback, 252 pages
Description
Motherless and anchorless, Silver is taken in by the timeless Mr Pew, keeper of the Cape Wrath lighthouse. Pew tells Silver ancient tales of longing and rootlessness, of ties that bind and of the slippages that occur throughout every life. One life, Babel Dark's, opens like a map that Silver must follow.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Cariola
I tried to read one of Janette Winterson's books several years ago but gave up on it. It leaned towards magical realism, a genre I'm not fond of, and I gave up on it. Still, I decided to give this little book a chance, and I'm vert glad that I did. I rarely reread books, but I think I'll be
Outcast from the Scottish town of Salts after becoming pregnant out of wedlock, a woman and her daughter Silver move into an unstable house cut into the side of the rocky coast. When an accident leaves Silver orphaned, the only person willing to take her in is Pew, the blind, elderly lighthouse keeper. There have always been Pews keeping this lighthouse, he tells her, and Pew plans for Silver to take over when he passes on. The two of them bond over Pew's wonderful stories of his ancestors and of Babel Dark, minister and son of a town founder who led a mysterious double life. Among the "real" persons who inhabit the stories are Robert Louis Stevenson and Charles Darwin. Pew claims that both visited his lighthouse, and their meetings with Babel Dark both opened possibilities and created conflicts within him. When circumstances force Silver to set out on her own, she becomes a storyteller as well.
Winterson's writing is beautiful, often magical, and the interwoven plots are both quiet and compelling. She injects a measure of philosophy into her tale--something I find that most writers botch with heavy handedness, but her touch is light and therefore all the more effective. It's only near the end of the book that you realize how many themes she has managed to explore: the nature and origin of man, our relationship to God (if there is one), the enduring need for love, the importance of personal history and personal myths, the value of storytelling as a connection between people both past and present, and much, much more. 'Lighthousekeeping' is a short novel with a long and wide-ranging impact. Don't miss it!
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returning to 'Lighthousekeeping.'Outcast from the Scottish town of Salts after becoming pregnant out of wedlock, a woman and her daughter Silver move into an unstable house cut into the side of the rocky coast. When an accident leaves Silver orphaned, the only person willing to take her in is Pew, the blind, elderly lighthouse keeper. There have always been Pews keeping this lighthouse, he tells her, and Pew plans for Silver to take over when he passes on. The two of them bond over Pew's wonderful stories of his ancestors and of Babel Dark, minister and son of a town founder who led a mysterious double life. Among the "real" persons who inhabit the stories are Robert Louis Stevenson and Charles Darwin. Pew claims that both visited his lighthouse, and their meetings with Babel Dark both opened possibilities and created conflicts within him. When circumstances force Silver to set out on her own, she becomes a storyteller as well.
Winterson's writing is beautiful, often magical, and the interwoven plots are both quiet and compelling. She injects a measure of philosophy into her tale--something I find that most writers botch with heavy handedness, but her touch is light and therefore all the more effective. It's only near the end of the book that you realize how many themes she has managed to explore: the nature and origin of man, our relationship to God (if there is one), the enduring need for love, the importance of personal history and personal myths, the value of storytelling as a connection between people both past and present, and much, much more. 'Lighthousekeeping' is a short novel with a long and wide-ranging impact. Don't miss it!
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LibraryThing member hemlokgang
This is a story about stories and the role they play in life and in love. Beautifully written...lyrical......oh to be named Silver, "part precious metal part pirate." A unique and wonderful journey.
LibraryThing member wandering_star
Silver, an orphan girl, is apprenticed to Mr Pew the lighthousekeeper. Pew, blind and ancient, is a great teller of stories about the village's history. His tales focus on Babel Dark, a Victorian priest with a mysterious double life, who is unnerved by his discussions with Darwin (and discovery of
I started out thinking that this could be described as magical realism, but actually it's more like poetry - a flood of metaphors and interlinked ideas, sometimes elliptical.
Sample: You were chopping vegetables and telling me about a day in Thailand when you had seen turtles hatch in the sand. Not many of them make it to the sea, and once there, the sharks are waiting for them. Days disappear and get swallowed up much like that, but the ones like these, the ones that make it, swim out and return for the rest of your life. Thank you for making me happy.
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a cave of fossils) and may have inspired Robert Louis Stevenson's most famous creation(s). At some point, round about the time that the decision is made to automate the lighthouse, the reader realises that the stories are actually about the many layers of our pasts, our lives, our various stories - and above all, the way that love both creates, and is built of, layers of memories.I started out thinking that this could be described as magical realism, but actually it's more like poetry - a flood of metaphors and interlinked ideas, sometimes elliptical.
Sample: You were chopping vegetables and telling me about a day in Thailand when you had seen turtles hatch in the sand. Not many of them make it to the sea, and once there, the sharks are waiting for them. Days disappear and get swallowed up much like that, but the ones like these, the ones that make it, swim out and return for the rest of your life. Thank you for making me happy.
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LibraryThing member thorold
Sometimes I read a novel and can't help suspecting that it was born in some kind of drunken parlour game where friends write down random ideas on a piece of paper and the author is challenged to write a novel tying together all the plot elements she draws out of a hat. "Robert Louis Stevenson,
Whether or not that's what really happened, the result is an ingenious pastiche of the postmodern-Victorian-novel genre (think French lieutenant's woman or Persuasion), opening with the memorably Chaplinesque image of the narrator and her mother living in a house built on such a steep slope that they weren't allowed spaghetti or peas. It's great fun and runs at a lightning pace, we get bombarded with casual references to Treasure Island, Dr Jekyll, and much else, and there's a semi-serious underlying idea about the importance of stories in helping us to make sense of an impossibly dynamic universe.
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Tristan & Isolde, Capri, adoption, Great Exhibition, Charles Darwin, Death in Venice, car-wash, ...," it must have gone on this occasion. Whether or not that's what really happened, the result is an ingenious pastiche of the postmodern-Victorian-novel genre (think French lieutenant's woman or Persuasion), opening with the memorably Chaplinesque image of the narrator and her mother living in a house built on such a steep slope that they weren't allowed spaghetti or peas. It's great fun and runs at a lightning pace, we get bombarded with casual references to Treasure Island, Dr Jekyll, and much else, and there's a semi-serious underlying idea about the importance of stories in helping us to make sense of an impossibly dynamic universe.
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LibraryThing member terena
Jeanette's usual beautiful prose, but th plot of this novel was not as strong.
LibraryThing member booksmitten
In "Lighthousekeeping," Jeanette Winterson returns to the spry wit of
her earliest works and yet brings with her the language and precision
of a more seasoned writer. With the tale of blind Mr. Pew, who has
kept the Cape Wrath lighthouse for as long as anyone can remember, and
Silver, who is orphaned
us of the importance of preserving one's history through the telling
of stories. And it has one of the best opening paragraphs I've seen in
years.
her earliest works and yet brings with her the language and precision
of a more seasoned writer. With the tale of blind Mr. Pew, who has
kept the Cape Wrath lighthouse for as long as anyone can remember, and
Silver, who is orphaned
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and has nowhere else to go, Winterson remindsus of the importance of preserving one's history through the telling
of stories. And it has one of the best opening paragraphs I've seen in
years.
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LibraryThing member msjoanna
This is actually the first Winterson book I've read (though I've had Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit on my TBR shelf longer). I really enjoyed the quality of the writing and I read this book almost all the way through in one sitting. The elliptical narration and the interweaving of storylines was
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compelling and I became quite involved in the story. This book has gotten lukewarm reviews, but I think expectations are set high for this author -- many reviews say something like, "well, not her best work, but pretty good." I'll definitely need to read more by this author soon. Show Less
LibraryThing member the_awesome_opossum
Lighthousekeeping is a simple and elegant story about a girl named Silver, who is orphaned and taken in by Pew, who maintains a lighthouse off the coast of Scotland. Weaved throughout the story is another about Babel Dark, a minister from the 1800s who saw the beginning of the lighthouse, and
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struggled with the changes the future was bringing; there are extensive portions dedicated to Darwin, and to Jekyll and Hyde. Winterson writes about the power of storytelling, and the beauty in nature against an increasingly automated world Show Less
LibraryThing member 391
I'm a pretty big fan of Winterson's work, but this book really did very little for me. I didn't enjoy Dark's story, and I thought Silver's was severely underdeveloped. The ending was much, much better than the first half of the book, but it felt tacked on and didn't flow well. Overall, I don't
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think this is one of her best books. Personally, I enjoyed "The Powerbook" a lot more. Show Less
LibraryThing member brokensnowpea
Winterson never ceases to amaze me with her storytelling and power over words. This novel is elegant, grisly, and haunting.
LibraryThing member nocto
I've never read Winterson before but I can't resist a lighthouse. And this was fascinating; very sparse and well written with a deceptively detailed storyline. Definitely someone I'll read more of.
LibraryThing member nocto
I've never read Winterson before but I can't resist a lighthouse. And this was fascinating; very sparse and well written with a deceptively detailed storyline. Definitely someone I'll read more of.
LibraryThing member librarybrandy
The plot is... well, indescribable, in its way. It's not surreal (exactly) and it's not fantastic (as in, of fantasy), and it's not fully realistic. But the plot hardly seems the point. It's a romance (though not of the heaving bosom variety), and it's so beautifully written that nothing seems to
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matter beyond the language. Show Less
LibraryThing member MinaIsham
-- Silver is an orphan who lives with blind Mr. Pew in a lighthouse. He tells her stories about the history of Cape Wrath & its founder, a 19th century clergyman. LIGHTHOUSEKEEPING unfolds in present, past, & future. Babel Dark & Miss Pinch are interesting names as well as characters. The author
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compares life to ocean. LIGHTHOUSEKEEPING is like a beach vacation without sand in bathing suit. I looked forward to reading it. Chapters are short. -- Show Less
LibraryThing member paisley1974
This novel valiantly weaves in several timelines that all related to the keepers of a particular lighthouse. In that respect, it came off as being a little too "literary"--imagery of blindness combined with the ideas of stories being lighthouses. I could see writing a paper about this book.
For me,
For me,
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my favorite novels are those that are character driven, and here, the characters were more literary devices than people. Show Less
LibraryThing member lysne
How beautiful. This is just what I needed to read today. I have to go back and read the last few pages again. so many lines that just resonated with me.
LibraryThing member whybehave2002
Almost done with this...I've read the reviews of others who love it and others that love the author. I find it to be a very easy/quick read but the book jumps around a lot and I feel as if I am not getting a chance to know the characters or grow attached to them the way I like to in most books. It
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is poetic in it's own way but I'm waiting for the end so I can suddenly say ahhh that was worth the time it took to read. (I hope) Show Less
LibraryThing member Auntie-Nanuuq
Rather odd & yet lyrical writing.
Silver was born of a father from the sea and orphaned early on. Silver & his dog are sent to live in the lighthouse with Old Pew, who is blind.... Eventually Pew opens up and tells the stories of the lighthouse & its founder that have been stored away in his
Silver was born of a father from the sea and orphaned early on. Silver & his dog are sent to live in the lighthouse with Old Pew, who is blind.... Eventually Pew opens up and tells the stories of the lighthouse & its founder that have been stored away in his
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memory. Show Less
LibraryThing member ClareRhoden
I wanted to love this book more. Perhaps I shouldn't have approached it with the expectation of a story, because it reads better as a fanstastical poem. The language is extraordinarily beautiful, as one would expect with Winterson.
I found the stop-start nature of the multiple layers of stories
It's quite a feat, but ultimately unsatisfying for me. Others absolutely love it, and it is definitely worth trying.
I found the stop-start nature of the multiple layers of stories
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quite distracting. It was like watching those films with multiple screens going at the one time. I find that I want to become involved in a story, or even in several stories, but this particular choppy presentation didn't allow me to completely invest in any of the stories on offer.It's quite a feat, but ultimately unsatisfying for me. Others absolutely love it, and it is definitely worth trying.
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LibraryThing member wordsampersand
What's most frustrating about this book, I think, is how the language dips between breezy, fluid prose and forced, clunky passages. I love how Winterson segments the narrative (or partial narrative, really), but there were spots that I just groaned and groaned.
LibraryThing member jscape2000
Unparalleled. The only author I can compare to Jeanette Winterson is Jeanette Winterson. She meets Borges and Garcia Marquez and Rhys and Kingsolver at a nexus of magic and pathos, and she bests them all.
LibraryThing member AJBraithwaite
Really liked this book, written as series of little stories, shedding illumination onto parts of the life of the narrator, Silver. The reflections on the way humans carry their stories with them, the nature of memory and the changeability of life all struck me as interesting and thoughtful.
LibraryThing member pocketmermaid
This was one of those books where there were two stories going at once and I really only preferred one of them. I loved reading about the orphaned Silver who found herself thrown into a life of lighthouse apprenticeship .But my eyes sort of glazed over whenever I had to jump back in time to the
I expected a lot more from this because Winterson is a fabulous writer, but when it was good it was REALLY good. The unevenness just made it so-so for me.
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19th century to read about Dark/Lux. I expected a lot more from this because Winterson is a fabulous writer, but when it was good it was REALLY good. The unevenness just made it so-so for me.
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Subjects
Awards
Lambda Literary Award (Nominee — 2005)
Language
Original publication date
2004
Physical description
232 p.; 7.87 inches
ISBN
0156032899 / 9780156032896