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Alison Moore
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The Lighthouse Kindle Edition

by Alison Moore (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.1 3.1 out of 5 stars 570 ratings
See all formats and editions
Futh, a middle-aged, recently separated man heads to Germany for a restorative walking holiday. During his circular walk along the Rhine, he contemplates the formative moments of his childhood. At the end of the week, Futh returns to what he sees as the sanctuary of the Hellhaus hotel, unaware of the events which have been unfolding there in his absence.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    192 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Biblioasis
  5. Publication date
    July 10, 2017
  6. Reading age
    18 years and up
  7. File size
    557 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A haunting and accomplished novel.” - The Independent on Sunday (UK)

“It is this accumulation of the quotidian, in prose as tight as Magnus Mills’s, which lends Moore’s book its standout nature, and brings the novel to its ambiguous, thrilling end.” - The Telegraph (UK)

“Though sparely told, the novel’s simple-seeming narrative has the density of far longer work. People and places are intricately evoked with a forensic feel for mood.” - The Daily Mail (UK)

“Moore’s writing has a superb sense of the weight of memory.” - The Times (UK)

“The Lighthouse is a spare, slim novel that explores grief and loss, the patterns in the way we are hurt and hurt others, and the childlike helplessness we feel as we suffer rejection and abandonment. It explores the central question about leaving and being left: even when it feels inevitable, why does it hurt so much, and why is this particular kind of numbness so repellent to others? The brutal ending continues to shock after several re-readings. ” - The Guardian (UK)

“The Lighthouse looks simple but isn't, refusing to unscramble what seems a bleak moral about the hazards of reproduction, in the widest sense. Small wonder that it stood up to the crash-testing of a prize jury's reading and rereading. One of the year's 12 best novels? I can believe it.” - The Observer (UK)

"[The Lighthouse] deserves to be read, and reread. No laughs, no levity, just a beautiful, sad, overripe tale that lingers in the mind.” - Financial Times (UK)

"What must have gone some way to earning The Lighthouse a place on the longlist, though, is the admirable simplicity of Moore’s prose. Like Futh, its without flourishes, yet beneath its outward straightforwardness lies a hauntingly complex exploration of the recurring patterns that life inevitably follows, often as a consequence of one’s past.” - The Sunday Times (UK)

About the Author

Alison Moore was born in Manchester in 1971. Her stories have been published in various magazines and anthologies including Best British Short Stories 2011 . She has been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize and the Manchester Fiction Prize, and for the Scott Prize for her first collection. She won first prize in the novella category of The New Writer Prose and Poetry Prizes. She lives near Nottingham with her husband Dan and son Arthur.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B06XKJ9L4R
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Biblioasis (July 10, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 10, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 557 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.1 3.1 out of 5 stars 570 ratings

About the author

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Alison Moore

Alison Moore

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Alison Moore is a novelist and short story writer. Her first novel, The Lighthouse, was shortlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Prize and the National Book Awards (New Writer of the Year), winning the McKitterick Prize. Both The Lighthouse and her second novel, He Wants, were Observer Books of the Year. She recently published her fifth novel, The Retreat, and completed a trilogy for children, beginning with Sunny and the Ghosts. Her short fiction has been included in Best British Short Stories and Best British Horror anthologies and broadcast on BBC Radio. The title story of her first collection, The Pre-War House, won the New Writer Novella Prize. A second collection, Eastmouth and Other Stories, was published in 2022. Born in Manchester in 1971, she lives in a village on the Leicestershire-Nottinghamshire border. She is an honorary lecturer in the School of English at the University of Nottingham. www.alison-moore.com

Customer reviews

3.1 out of 5 stars
3.1 out of 5
570 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

annika
3.0 out of 5 stars It was ok, I wish I had waited for a deal on it though.
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2012
Verified Purchase
This was a fast read, and while I enjoyed it, I don't think it was worth the price. It was however, a lovely story-- and unlike the other reviews i read it was not so awfully haunting etc-regaridng all the "bad choices" etc that other reviewers wrote about-
i would like to say why i feel that way, but don't want to spoil it for you bc it's worth a read, but at a lower price. The storyline is not a really new one, but the writing is beautiful- When i finished the book i was satisfied, but was not overwhelmed although i was moved at certain parts by the prose itself-- the plot not so much-- it was in my opinion a not so original plot although i did really like the ending (which i won't tell you about).
In sum, if you have money to burn and want to read a good book this is one of them, if you want to wait and get it at a better price I think you would enjoy it more. I hope this helps.
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KasaC
4.0 out of 5 stars The Importance of Scents
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2012
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Futh is a man in his 40s whose life was stunted early on when his mother abandoned him when he was still a child finds himself hiking in Germany. His marriage has collapsed. For him to plan such an excursion is remarkable given his total lack of experience. He didn't even learn how to drive until late in life. The one thing he clings to is his absorption with odors -- even to the unusual choice of career. Evocative smells form the basic theme of this very short novel -- the emotional thunderbolt that can be unleashed at a whiff of a familiar odor, which scientists have reported as inspiring deeper nostalgic impulses than any other sense. This may not find its way onto the Booker shortlist, but it is an admirable, original debut novel.(less)
3 people found this helpful
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January
2.0 out of 5 stars Pathetic Characters
Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2012
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I was so looking forward to reading this book -- which I did to the bitter end. It was the lighthouse,in the title, that moved me to buy it. I was disappointed -- the lighthouse was a bauble. The main character, "Futh", was truly pathetic. The other characters bordered on the strange and violent. I forced myself to read to the bitter end -- empathy toward the characters was lacking. Apparently, there are others who thoroughly enjoyed this book. Thank goodness we have so many from which to choose. I don't understand how it was considered for a Booker prize, but then I'm not a professional reviewer.
One person found this helpful
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usha
5.0 out of 5 stars Like a murder mystery
Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2012
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A very lucid novel with a suspense in the end which just lets your imagination go wild........what will happen to Futh? When the bathroom door opens, will Bertrand find him, or will Ester, or will Futh assert himself.......
I was initially attracted to the minute details that were described........food on a plate, on someone's face......the missing mother...the scents and aromas of coffee, of violets. The young Futh and his neighbour Kenny.......the adult Futh and the relationship with his wife Angela, the ever present Dad and the acute loss that Futh feels for his mother who abandoned him.....make up the running theme in the entire book. Tautly written, I felt I was reading a murder mystery and wanted to make sure I remembered all the details given.....just in case I was called to solve the mystery....
One person found this helpful
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Rob Kennedy
1.0 out of 5 stars Un-readable
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2012
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I do not get it. I read up to 10% thinking the book was a parody on bad writing, but oh no, as I read to 60%, I found it is serious. There are so many flaws in the writing. Incorrect tenses. Hundreds of run-on sentences. Confused viewpoint. Passive all the way through.

The whole book is told. There is no showing at all. There are ridiculous metaphors. Incorrect plurals. Surely this is a parody on bad writing. If it is, I forgive it, but don't see the point.

I am not a good writer. I have much to learn and many years to go before I could consider my words worthy of a serious submission to a publisher. But this, is simply bad. I thought it must have been written by a 10 year old.

Normally I would not react to such bad writing so strongly, but to know that this is selected for the short list of the 2012 Man Booker prize, gives a bad writer like me hope.

I want my money back.
3 people found this helpful
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lanyardlover
3.0 out of 5 stars Deftly written, but tedious
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2012
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The Lighthouse suffers from the failure of imitative form. It's an often tedious book about a man who lives a tedious life.
The book's strength is its character development, both that of the sadly named Futh and of the lesser players, and it scores as a careful psychological study of the formation of a man with a stunted, self-delusional nature.
And, there are dramatic events in the book; Allison Moore creates a sense of impending doom and offers up red herrings like a good detective novelist.
However, none of that succeeds in offsetting its repetitive structure and that fact that it's a story about folks who don't understand their own natures and motivations and can therefore only repeat self-destructive patterns. The author takes on a classic challenge of the serious novelist - writing a serious book which draws mostly on stories of small players - life, I think that's called. It's hard to pull off and Moore, while she's extraordinarily talented, doesn't fully succeed.
P.S. As she acknowledges, Moore is in great debt to Muriel Spark.
One person found this helpful
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outofprintwriting
4.0 out of 5 stars An excellently crafted novel... much to be learned from
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2012
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This is a fabulous book - that many writers would benefit reading. The non-linear structure, that loops around and around - each time reveals more about Futh and his past. The writing is understated and much is left to the reader to decide - which makes it really interesting. In fact, the reader is left more with a feeling, than a visual memory. It is an eerie book, it also reeks with sadness ... but the reader feels as though they are in safe hands with such an excellently crafted novel. I'll be posting a review of this on my blog for my indie book a month in the next few weeks [...]
5 people found this helpful
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DD Burlin
2.0 out of 5 stars Lighthouses, Lots of 'Em
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2012
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Shouldn't metaphors be more subtle than a frying pan in the face? The note I wrote to myself late one night while reading this book was, "I'm tired of this boring loser and his dumb symbolic lighthouse." That pretty well sums it up. I'll try to stay positive: I liked the epigram a lot.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written but disappointing ended
Reviewed in Australia on December 13, 2018
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Beautifully written book of the show not tell school. Built to a climax and then just left it. As a result the characters weren't quite believable
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Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Good book for discussion
Reviewed in Italy on May 21, 2016
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Il book club ha dato 1.5 stelle a questo libro per i personaggi antipatici e racconto 'dark' - tuttavia tutti hanno apprezzato la discussione che ne é seguita - interessante ed intensa.
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Albert G
2.0 out of 5 stars random
Reviewed in Germany on September 24, 2014
Verified Purchase
somewhat random story and character development. The characters never caught my real interest and I felt the author is desperately trying to do a "deep dve" into the past to unearth why life has been so complicated without really achieving a great deal of insights. The "lighthouse" in the book is just a rather disconnected tool used to keep random stories half way together...
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AR
3.0 out of 5 stars One to watch
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 5, 2012
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I like stories about journeys, physical and psychological, so I chose to read this book about a man's journey. My attention was drawn to it because it was on the Booker shortlist.

I found it to be a spare, poetic novel - definitely as much a poem as a novel, with its simple overall concept and repeating symbols and images. It sets out to demonstrate that earlier experiences in life influence those in the future (what goes around comes around). These elements of the book greatly appealed to me and I found the detailed development of the main theme to be honest, if rather too simplistic.

However, the storyline and the characters were lacklustre and depressing - one couldn't emphathise with any one of them - and in general the book left me feeling rather queasy.

It was an accomplished piece of writing, however, and I shall look out for this author in the future because, based on this start, I think her next novel could be very good.
4 people found this helpful
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Elva Cornford
4.0 out of 5 stars Loved it.
Reviewed in Australia on July 30, 2016
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A simple read became one that drew you in with sense of unease. Fascinating how it evolved. Loved it.
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