Books of the Month

'Lighthousekeeping' by Jeanette Winterson

Much as I admire Jeanette Winterson's writing generally, I'm the first to admit that she can get a bit carried away sometimes. I enjoyed Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, and loved The Passion. But I've started a few of her other books full of anticipation, only to find the writing slipping into verbosity, verging on the pretentious, and losing me in the process.

With Lighthousekeeping though, Winterson makes a welcome return to form. Tighter than some of her other books, it weaves two engaging stories together, but not in a conventional, linear way (this is Winterson after all). As the orphaned narrator Silver says, 'The continuous narrative of existence is a lie. There is no continuous narrative, there are lit-up moments, and the rest is dark.'

As with many of Winterson's novels, the telling of stories is both method and subject matter. Taken in by the mysterious blind lighthouse keeper Pew, Silver learns that the trade she's to be apprenticed to is as much about generating stories as it is about keeping a light burning. The story of Babel Dark, former resident of the isolated village where she lives, proves to be the key she needs to understanding herself and her place in the world. Through probing Pew for more details and more stories about Dark, she learns about love and the decisions it forces on us when it arrives. But when the authorities decide to mechanise the lighthouse and force Silver and Pew to leave it forever, she must make a new life away from what she's known, using what she's learnt.

     Tell me a story, Pew.

     What kind of story, child?
     A story with a happy ending.
     There's no such thing in all the world.
     As a happy ending?
     As an ending.

Having warned us like this, it's a pleasant surprise to find that Lighthousekeeping actually does have a pretty happy ending after all. It's certainly worth a read.

Susan Tranter

Back to main page