The Lightkeeper’s Daughters by Jean Pendziwol - Fiction

The Light Keeper’s Daughters is a captivating novel that is set on a remote island in Lake Superior. The story not only takes the reader into the lives of the Light Keeper and his family, but poignantly illustrates the duties of the Light Keeper and the isolation of this kind of lifestyle. And yet Pendziwol deftly describes the rich natural environs that become part of this family’s way of living.

Gradually the reader is faced with the beautiful relationship between the twins, Elizabeth and Emily—the latter being the silent one. There is a deep sense of family commitment and love. There are twists and turns that illustrate the history of the time period and the cultural nuances. In addition, there are family secrets that slowly unravel throughout the novel. 

But many years later, Elizabeth who is in a care home on the shores of Lake Superior discovers more family secrets with the aid of Morgan—a teenager sent to do community work at the care home. There are coincidences between Morgan’s life and the twins’ lives on this remote Porphyry Island. The Light Keeper’s logbooks reveal some of the family’s secrets that ultimately uncovers Morgan’s connections to this family. 

The author skilfully portrays suspense, love, loss, duty, and even murder in this engrossing yet touching tale of family and commitment to each other and the work of being a Light Keeper.