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Lighthouse
I want to marry a lighthouse keeper. And live by the side of the sea. So says the old song, but Parker's 1975 portrait of a handful of these men and their families shows it to be a hard and solitary existence. A vocation more than simply a profession."--Library Journal.
- GenresNonfictionTravelHistory
296 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1976
7 people are currently reading
313 people want to read
About the author
Tony Parker
174 books32 followersTony Parker (25 June 1923 – 3 October 1996) was an oral historian whose work was dedicated to giving a voice to British and American society's most marginalised figures, from single mothers to lighthouse keepers to criminals, including murderers.
Born in Stockport, Cheshire, Parker was a conscientious objector during World War II, and directed to work in a coal mine. He moved to London and worked as a publisher's representative at Odhams Press. He campaigned against capital punishment and became very interested in prisons and their occupants, eventually focussing on the experiences of prisoners after release.
Tony Parker died in Westleton, Suffolk, having just completed his study of his American counterpart Studs Terkel.
Born in Stockport, Cheshire, Parker was a conscientious objector during World War II, and directed to work in a coal mine. He moved to London and worked as a publisher's representative at Odhams Press. He campaigned against capital punishment and became very interested in prisons and their occupants, eventually focussing on the experiences of prisoners after release.
Tony Parker died in Westleton, Suffolk, having just completed his study of his American counterpart Studs Terkel.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
July 5, 2016
"One of the most fascinating social documents I have ever read" - William Golding.
As the 1960s turned into the 70s British social documentarian Tony Parker decided to record the lives of lighthouse keepers and their wives. Armed with a tape recorder he visited land lights, rock lights and tower lights, staying in all three types of lighthouse as a guest and encouraging keepers and their families to open up about their lives and their reasons for choosing such an unorthodox, isolating existence. What came out of the experience is a revealing portrait of a romanticized vocation documented through a whole gamete of personalities.
More often than not the lighthouse keepers in the book are men who have drifted through life before they took on the job. They come across as outsiders who live on the margins of society so they rejoice when, by chance, they see the role of keeper advertised. As lighthouse keepers they remove themselves from mainstream society. On rock or tower lights, for instance, they work 2 months on and 1 month off. It is apparent that the time away from their families benefits many of their marriages while keeping the men hermetically sealed away from a life of socializing and, dare I say it, “real” life (one man, for instance, is pretty much an alcoholic while on land but is dry when in the lighthouse.. he feels the lighthouse service has saved his life).
But lighthouse keepers aren’t exactly loners. The ones stationed on rock and tower lights (where the real separation from family occurs) are quartered extremely closely with the other keepers. Typically three of them live together at any one time, taking turns to cook for one another, clean up after each other and develop bonds that can seem almost homosexual in their strength. In fact one of the keepers interviewed in the book does question his sexuality. He loves his wife and child but it does not have the same power as the love he feels for his male partners out there waiting for him in the tower.
The difference in male and female perspective is also very telling. Husbands and wives are shown to be thinking very different things about the situation they find themselves in. It’s something of a Venus/ Mars situation and offers an interesting exploration of wildly different marriages. There is also, of course, differences in perspective among the lighthouse keepers themselves. Some see their place of work as a prison, others as an ivory tower where they go to escape the world and its problems. Throughout, the sea is personified. It (along with the weather) is so crucial to the lives of the keepers and their families that it is perceived as being angry and resentful when it's so fierce that it will not allow the keepers to be relieved from their duties and to be returned home. The sea is a force not unlike a god.
In almost every interview keepers insist that a key benefit of the job is that it is one for life. But just over 20 years after it was published the last manned lighthouse in the UK became fully automated, so the pathos in reading this work now is the awareness that it is a world that has- rather unexpectedly for the lighthouse keepers and their families- ceased to exist.
This is the first work by Tony Parker I have read but he produced numerous social documents of this type, interviewing people who lived on the streets, single mothers, prison "lifers", etc. He has an uncanny ability to allow people the space to reveal much about themselves. So many of the interviews start with people declaring they don’t have much to say- before they let rip with page after page of illuminating information about their lives. I'll definitely be seeking out more of his work. With ‘Lighthouse’ he has produced a captivating book that anyone interested in people should enjoy reading.
As the 1960s turned into the 70s British social documentarian Tony Parker decided to record the lives of lighthouse keepers and their wives. Armed with a tape recorder he visited land lights, rock lights and tower lights, staying in all three types of lighthouse as a guest and encouraging keepers and their families to open up about their lives and their reasons for choosing such an unorthodox, isolating existence. What came out of the experience is a revealing portrait of a romanticized vocation documented through a whole gamete of personalities.
More often than not the lighthouse keepers in the book are men who have drifted through life before they took on the job. They come across as outsiders who live on the margins of society so they rejoice when, by chance, they see the role of keeper advertised. As lighthouse keepers they remove themselves from mainstream society. On rock or tower lights, for instance, they work 2 months on and 1 month off. It is apparent that the time away from their families benefits many of their marriages while keeping the men hermetically sealed away from a life of socializing and, dare I say it, “real” life (one man, for instance, is pretty much an alcoholic while on land but is dry when in the lighthouse.. he feels the lighthouse service has saved his life).
But lighthouse keepers aren’t exactly loners. The ones stationed on rock and tower lights (where the real separation from family occurs) are quartered extremely closely with the other keepers. Typically three of them live together at any one time, taking turns to cook for one another, clean up after each other and develop bonds that can seem almost homosexual in their strength. In fact one of the keepers interviewed in the book does question his sexuality. He loves his wife and child but it does not have the same power as the love he feels for his male partners out there waiting for him in the tower.
The difference in male and female perspective is also very telling. Husbands and wives are shown to be thinking very different things about the situation they find themselves in. It’s something of a Venus/ Mars situation and offers an interesting exploration of wildly different marriages. There is also, of course, differences in perspective among the lighthouse keepers themselves. Some see their place of work as a prison, others as an ivory tower where they go to escape the world and its problems. Throughout, the sea is personified. It (along with the weather) is so crucial to the lives of the keepers and their families that it is perceived as being angry and resentful when it's so fierce that it will not allow the keepers to be relieved from their duties and to be returned home. The sea is a force not unlike a god.
In almost every interview keepers insist that a key benefit of the job is that it is one for life. But just over 20 years after it was published the last manned lighthouse in the UK became fully automated, so the pathos in reading this work now is the awareness that it is a world that has- rather unexpectedly for the lighthouse keepers and their families- ceased to exist.
This is the first work by Tony Parker I have read but he produced numerous social documents of this type, interviewing people who lived on the streets, single mothers, prison "lifers", etc. He has an uncanny ability to allow people the space to reveal much about themselves. So many of the interviews start with people declaring they don’t have much to say- before they let rip with page after page of illuminating information about their lives. I'll definitely be seeking out more of his work. With ‘Lighthouse’ he has produced a captivating book that anyone interested in people should enjoy reading.
June 22, 2019
First off, I have to confess to being a huge fan of any of Tony Parker’s books. I am a naturally nosey person and his books allow me to find information out about people that I would never meet in life, and if I did, I’d not be able to find out about them like Tony manages. In the case of Lighthouse, the people in this book just simply do not exist anymore. Tony allows his interviewers time and space to talk, and this really is his greatness, there is very little of him in his books, rather he lets his subjects speak for themselves. Lighthouse tells of a profession now obsolete, and the attitudes of the men and their wives in the book seem incredibly dated. I appreciate it was written in the early ‘70s and perhaps that’s also why it fascinates me. I realise I’ve not said much about the book... all I can say is that you should read it for yourself. It’s simply brilliant, as are all his books.
October 19, 2012
A pure joy to read and an account filled with human emotion. Being a lighthouse keeper is for many a romantic dream of many 9-5ers wishing for isolation and solitude living an existence on the sea. This account brings the job of lighthouse keeper alive through the author's personal experiences and interviews with the keepers themselves, their wives and families and other key individuals who are involved.
It is a harsh existence that only a focussed mind and accommodating temperament could endure both on the lighthouse and at home. Suffering, heartache and despair are as common as joy, fulfilment and fun.
Nowadays lighthouses are unmanned and the job of lighthouse keeper made obsolete but nonetheless this account should still provide interest and invoke the same romantic dreams of many.
It is a harsh existence that only a focussed mind and accommodating temperament could endure both on the lighthouse and at home. Suffering, heartache and despair are as common as joy, fulfilment and fun.
Nowadays lighthouses are unmanned and the job of lighthouse keeper made obsolete but nonetheless this account should still provide interest and invoke the same romantic dreams of many.
April 13, 2020
10/10 A perfect read
April 23, 2024
Somehow, this book about lighthouse keepers might be one of the best things I've ever read.
July 30, 2018
I"d not heard of Tony Parker and only came across this book cause it was published by Eland, who like NYRB I think publish some wonderful books.
According to the introduction, Tony Parker was oral historian, taking his tape recorder to various places (like prisons, russia, lighthouses) and interviewing those people to get their stories. Sounds simple.
But, he then disguises the characters - changes names, places, descriptions etc so that they are unrecognizable and he has met his objective of true confidentiality (even destroying the tapes afterwards).
The skill, is in then taking all his material and creating a book from it which has a flow and rhythm, almost a storyline to it. This book reminded me very much of Alice Munro's short stories, ordinary people telling the story of their lives, doing ordinary things, the only common thread being the usual vocation of one family member working on a lighthouse. It also captures a lost world which no longer exists as all the UK lighthouses are now automated.
Fascinating, riveting and very enjoyable.
According to the introduction, Tony Parker was oral historian, taking his tape recorder to various places (like prisons, russia, lighthouses) and interviewing those people to get their stories. Sounds simple.
But, he then disguises the characters - changes names, places, descriptions etc so that they are unrecognizable and he has met his objective of true confidentiality (even destroying the tapes afterwards).
The skill, is in then taking all his material and creating a book from it which has a flow and rhythm, almost a storyline to it. This book reminded me very much of Alice Munro's short stories, ordinary people telling the story of their lives, doing ordinary things, the only common thread being the usual vocation of one family member working on a lighthouse. It also captures a lost world which no longer exists as all the UK lighthouses are now automated.
Fascinating, riveting and very enjoyable.
April 19, 2023
Lighthouse is a wonderful relic from a bygone age. An age that, beautifully, isn't that long ago at all. Tony Parker's unknown report into the life of the lighthouse keeper is a brilliant piece of structured journalism, the art of the interview used to perfection to open a door into other people's lives. The topic could be, should be, dry and dull. Parker shows that nothing is uninteresting when people's lives are at play. Admittedly, the book starts with a fairly dreary chapter outlining the different terms and abreviations one needs to understand in order to enter into the world of Trinity, the organisation responsible for running Britain's lighthouses. We learn about the three types of lighthouse and Parker offers echoes of voices, unnamed at first, interset with almost ghostly descriptions of the setting. What begins disorientatingly quickly finds its form. Parker structures his book around the three lighthouses, beginning with the shore lights, then moving on to island lighthouses and "tower" lighthouses, buildings standing alone in the ocean. Each section is split into various interviews with lighthouse keepers and their wives, each interview bookmarked by brief scene setting paragraphs by the ever-present, but mostly silent, author.
The trick in such a book is to let other people's words tell their stories while creating an original piece of work that belongs to the author. Parker is very present in the structure of the book and in the choice of stories that he allows to be told. He positions the lighthouse keepers and their wives very well, he chooses interviews with boatmen and service men to compliment the picture. Later he jumps in to tell his own experiences; the adventurous journey by boat to the lighthouse, a tour of the tower, glimpses of his own experience of the process of writing this book. The individual interviews are fascinating and they get better and more interesting as the book progresses. Basically, each lighthouse presents a more extreme version of the previous, increased isolation and the growing presence of the ocean. The lighthouse organisation, Trinity, also becomes a character in the book, directing the lives of its employees through tradition and bureaocracy. The shore lighthouse creates an isolated community in which the wives look after each other as well as the men. Mostly, the keepers are satisfied with their unusual existence, although many complain about the arbitrary changes of location which uproots their families. One also gets the impression that, while supporting its employees, Trinity also ensnares them. There is little opportunity of getting out of the lighthouse business and joining more regular employment.
On the whole, the keepers are people who do not fit in with society. Later in the book we meet two men who love their lighthouse and don't look forward to their one month on shore. One is an ex-theif and the other an alcoholic who spends his entire month on shore clouded in drink. He claims that without the lighthouse he would be ruined. For many, the lighthouse offers purpose, security and escape. The tower is the most interesting part of the book, Parker diving into the society of three close knit men who revel in the life they lead. Weirdly dull details, like shopping lists, become interesting. Parker inserts timely descriptions of waves crashing against seventh floor windows to evoke the setting. he observes them cooking and reading and smoking and working. It's easy, monotonous work but for most of the men it provides an escape. Even their relationships are disconnected from this life. In one brilliant dialogue, the men discuss the phenomenom of swearing - something they only do on the lighthouse. They talk about how they immediately switch back to the lighthouse mode, whereas the other way round takes adjustment. One of the men even talks openly about the homosexual nature of the community, a revealing monologue for the 1970s for a man in his position.
Lighthouse takes an unassuming topic and uses it to tell much more. There is so much about gender roles, in family and in work. There is so much about Great Britain and its working institutions and its welfare state. There is so much about the working class and the opportunities or lack of opportunities in British society. There is so much about the durability of marriage, about the stability of children, about the mechanics of human relationships. Basically, Parker's book does what non-fiction should do. It opens windows on unknown worlds and uses what is found there to comment, here so inconspicously and with a genial neutrality, on greater, more universal themes. On top of that, this is a book about something on the edge of disappearance. A few years later, these lighthouses were gone, automatised. What happened to all these men who could only find their place in a tower in the middle of the ocean? What happened to the decades in which we would throw bags of rubbish into the ocean? Where do places like this exist today for those who don't know where they fit in? I began Lighthouse with no preconceptions and ended it with a clutter of fascinating questions that are still very relevant to our modern world.
The trick in such a book is to let other people's words tell their stories while creating an original piece of work that belongs to the author. Parker is very present in the structure of the book and in the choice of stories that he allows to be told. He positions the lighthouse keepers and their wives very well, he chooses interviews with boatmen and service men to compliment the picture. Later he jumps in to tell his own experiences; the adventurous journey by boat to the lighthouse, a tour of the tower, glimpses of his own experience of the process of writing this book. The individual interviews are fascinating and they get better and more interesting as the book progresses. Basically, each lighthouse presents a more extreme version of the previous, increased isolation and the growing presence of the ocean. The lighthouse organisation, Trinity, also becomes a character in the book, directing the lives of its employees through tradition and bureaocracy. The shore lighthouse creates an isolated community in which the wives look after each other as well as the men. Mostly, the keepers are satisfied with their unusual existence, although many complain about the arbitrary changes of location which uproots their families. One also gets the impression that, while supporting its employees, Trinity also ensnares them. There is little opportunity of getting out of the lighthouse business and joining more regular employment.
On the whole, the keepers are people who do not fit in with society. Later in the book we meet two men who love their lighthouse and don't look forward to their one month on shore. One is an ex-theif and the other an alcoholic who spends his entire month on shore clouded in drink. He claims that without the lighthouse he would be ruined. For many, the lighthouse offers purpose, security and escape. The tower is the most interesting part of the book, Parker diving into the society of three close knit men who revel in the life they lead. Weirdly dull details, like shopping lists, become interesting. Parker inserts timely descriptions of waves crashing against seventh floor windows to evoke the setting. he observes them cooking and reading and smoking and working. It's easy, monotonous work but for most of the men it provides an escape. Even their relationships are disconnected from this life. In one brilliant dialogue, the men discuss the phenomenom of swearing - something they only do on the lighthouse. They talk about how they immediately switch back to the lighthouse mode, whereas the other way round takes adjustment. One of the men even talks openly about the homosexual nature of the community, a revealing monologue for the 1970s for a man in his position.
Lighthouse takes an unassuming topic and uses it to tell much more. There is so much about gender roles, in family and in work. There is so much about Great Britain and its working institutions and its welfare state. There is so much about the working class and the opportunities or lack of opportunities in British society. There is so much about the durability of marriage, about the stability of children, about the mechanics of human relationships. Basically, Parker's book does what non-fiction should do. It opens windows on unknown worlds and uses what is found there to comment, here so inconspicously and with a genial neutrality, on greater, more universal themes. On top of that, this is a book about something on the edge of disappearance. A few years later, these lighthouses were gone, automatised. What happened to all these men who could only find their place in a tower in the middle of the ocean? What happened to the decades in which we would throw bags of rubbish into the ocean? Where do places like this exist today for those who don't know where they fit in? I began Lighthouse with no preconceptions and ended it with a clutter of fascinating questions that are still very relevant to our modern world.
April 4, 2021
They say the hardest thing when talking to people is to listen. And Tony Parker can listen, what with the Lighthouse keepers and wives and children telling their stories.
Overall, it's a book of interviews, but interviews where the voice is not the author's. Tony does an excellent job drawing out the recluses and separating the essential from the chatter, yet letting the common speech grow into a voice worth understanding. (Having led a project that prints interviews myself, I understand how difficult it is to get people going, and Tony has (had) a real knack for it.)
I wanted to understand from this book why people choose the withdrawal of lighthouses, and how they and their families cope with it. I think I get it now - it's about the straight line; it's hard (mental) work, but it's a clear path and a steady job, even if the Service can move you around, at times like a storm; and some need to just get away from their own bad past and nasty habit.
I was mildly curious about the technical detail. There are such and such lighthouses, there are so and so procedures to follow, there is this and that material to follow it with. All good, but the book is from the mid-1970s so it's more relevant a a time-capsule.
I thought some of the interviews are amazing, even when accounting for the need to maintain privacy (which Tony does by mixing and matching paragraphs from different persons). Some of the interviews reveal a tender youngster, other a hardened wife, yet other a trio of hilarious middle-aged men trapped in the middle of the sea (Jerome K. Jerome seems a natural fit).
What I didn't like? Can't think of it now, but I've crossed off lighthouse keeping as a career choice. FFS.
Overall, it's a book of interviews, but interviews where the voice is not the author's. Tony does an excellent job drawing out the recluses and separating the essential from the chatter, yet letting the common speech grow into a voice worth understanding. (Having led a project that prints interviews myself, I understand how difficult it is to get people going, and Tony has (had) a real knack for it.)
I wanted to understand from this book why people choose the withdrawal of lighthouses, and how they and their families cope with it. I think I get it now - it's about the straight line; it's hard (mental) work, but it's a clear path and a steady job, even if the Service can move you around, at times like a storm; and some need to just get away from their own bad past and nasty habit.
I was mildly curious about the technical detail. There are such and such lighthouses, there are so and so procedures to follow, there is this and that material to follow it with. All good, but the book is from the mid-1970s so it's more relevant a a time-capsule.
I thought some of the interviews are amazing, even when accounting for the need to maintain privacy (which Tony does by mixing and matching paragraphs from different persons). Some of the interviews reveal a tender youngster, other a hardened wife, yet other a trio of hilarious middle-aged men trapped in the middle of the sea (Jerome K. Jerome seems a natural fit).
What I didn't like? Can't think of it now, but I've crossed off lighthouse keeping as a career choice. FFS.
November 12, 2022
What a fantastic book this is! I’d recommend this to anyone wishing to learn more about the realities of being a lighthouse keeper back in the day.
Lighthouse keeper is one of my impossible dream jobs, so I had to pick this book after finding about it in the acknowledgments of a fictional novel about lighthouse keepers, “The Lamplighters” by Emma Stonex.
“Lighthouse” does a great job detailing this type of life the way it truly is. No romanticizing, no glorifying, no sugarcoating. This is one of those jobs where you need a specific temperament more than you need the skills. There’s training to teach them those skills, but your temperament is yours.
All in all a highlight book of the year for me. Even though I was reminded that I could never be a lighthouse keeper, because I am a blind woman and this is a job for men with perfect eyesight, it is still a book that let me into that life for a while, that solitary, badmouth reader who’s all right with one’s own company.
Lighthouse keeper is one of my impossible dream jobs, so I had to pick this book after finding about it in the acknowledgments of a fictional novel about lighthouse keepers, “The Lamplighters” by Emma Stonex.
“Lighthouse” does a great job detailing this type of life the way it truly is. No romanticizing, no glorifying, no sugarcoating. This is one of those jobs where you need a specific temperament more than you need the skills. There’s training to teach them those skills, but your temperament is yours.
All in all a highlight book of the year for me. Even though I was reminded that I could never be a lighthouse keeper, because I am a blind woman and this is a job for men with perfect eyesight, it is still a book that let me into that life for a while, that solitary, badmouth reader who’s all right with one’s own company.
March 22, 2023
I read this book for research for a fictional story I'm working on and this book has been invaluable, a wealth of information on the lives of lighthouse keepers & their families.
It is an incredibly honest portrayal of those lives and Tony Parker must have been a fantastic interviewer in his time.
This book was enjoyable to read from start to finish and despite being non-fiction, it never felt like stark facts - it felt very personal to lives examined and gave valuable insight.
I have filled up many pages with notes and there is no doubt this book will be a great help whilst I work on my story.
It is an incredibly honest portrayal of those lives and Tony Parker must have been a fantastic interviewer in his time.
This book was enjoyable to read from start to finish and despite being non-fiction, it never felt like stark facts - it felt very personal to lives examined and gave valuable insight.
I have filled up many pages with notes and there is no doubt this book will be a great help whilst I work on my story.
July 27, 2021
A brilliant piece of oral and social history about an industry long-since disappeared - manned lighthouses ended in 1998. What is particularly impressive is that Parker spends almost as much time interviewing the wives (and even the children) as he does the keepers. And he allows each person the space to tell his or her story without pushing himself into the narrative. Few writers would be so ego-less. I note some reviewers are critical of Parker's use of composite characters. I can understand this. But I can also understand why Parker did it. The world of lighthouse keeping must've been a small one indeed. And the trouble it could've caused if individuals were recognised would've been serious. One can romanticise such things, but it's a shame they don't still have manned lighthouses. For a certain type of person they obviously offered the perfect kind of job. And the perfect escape from the world around them. The book is easy to read, with a conversational style that obviously comes from the interviewees. I will certainly be looking up other books by Parker.
October 23, 2023
Un libro que recuerda el estilo de Svetlana Aleksievich, son los protagonistas los que hablan mientras que la voz del entrevistador está ausente, sus preguntas solo se adivinan.
Sobre la base de una serie de entrevistas realizadas a fareros ingleses y sus familias a principios de los años setenta, Tony Parker construye un retrato vivo y sorprendente de la vida en aquel oficio hoy obsoleto, desmitifica su aparente romanticismo y muestra el impacto, a veces terrible, en la vida de aquellos hombres.
Muy recomendable.
Sobre la base de una serie de entrevistas realizadas a fareros ingleses y sus familias a principios de los años setenta, Tony Parker construye un retrato vivo y sorprendente de la vida en aquel oficio hoy obsoleto, desmitifica su aparente romanticismo y muestra el impacto, a veces terrible, en la vida de aquellos hombres.
Muy recomendable.
June 29, 2023
The back cover calls this a very human book and that's the perfect description of it. Mostly taking the form of testimonies from lighthouse keepers and their wives, it's an incredible and highly detailed insight into a way of life that no longer exists. At turns funny, insightful, and a little bit heartbreaking, it's an absolute must for anyone researching lighthouses or interested in what it was like to live and work in those amazing structures.
October 6, 2025
Every time I find myself near a lighthouse, I can’t help but wonder what the everyday life of a lighthouse keeper was like back in the day. After my recent visit to Phare des Baleines on Île de Ré, I finally asked myself why on earth I had never tried to learn more about it. So, after a bit of research, I came across this book — and it turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. An absolute delight; I couldn’t put it down.
September 6, 2021
Absolutely fascinating book. Primarily because the whole book is about people and people are fascinating. Also as it is a way of life that no longer exists. A lot of the keepers and their wives would have been older than my parents were at the time of the interviews so interesting insight to how ordinary people were then.
July 30, 2023
What an excellent book. Thoroughly enjoyable, fascinating, informative, ponderous and deep. I loved every page of it. The skill Tony Parker brings is his stepping back and allowing the subjects to tell their story, giving them a voice and then selecting their words to tell a story of the men and women who live life within the lighthouse service. I can hardly wait to read more of his books.
Halfway through 2023, this is my book of the year.
Halfway through 2023, this is my book of the year.
October 30, 2023
Wow! This book is insightful and exceptionally well written. It takes you into the long-lost world of lighthouse keeping in an unassuming way, before powerfully entrancing you as if you were right there with one of the many people and places that were subject of the book. 10/10! And I am on my way to finding another book by Parker to read next, what a brilliant find.
December 28, 2025
I loved this book. I loved this book so much I find it depressing how difficult it was to find and how few ratings it has. Tony Parker made a living giving voices to unseen and/or marginalized groups and the effect is palpable. he's like the UKs Studs Terkel. This book is equal parts gritty and romantic, with complex descriptions of the men who used to keep the lights running around the world.
June 14, 2023
This is a unique book. Not for everyone. A look at a very specific experience- being a light house keeper in the 70s in the UK. Almost claustrophic in detail. But some how by the layering of different voices and the way he moves out to wilder and wilder locations it has a mesmerising effect.
Want to read
November 22, 2023Source:
Andrew Male
@Andr6wMale Twitter
Do you know this amazing book, Jude? If not I think you'd love it. https://travelbooks.co.uk/shop-online...
https://twitter.com/Andr6wMale/status...
Andrew Male
@Andr6wMale Twitter
Do you know this amazing book, Jude? If not I think you'd love it. https://travelbooks.co.uk/shop-online...
https://twitter.com/Andr6wMale/status...
August 12, 2021
The insight into these people's lives and mind is simply fascinating.
August 13, 2021
An excellent hidden gem. Everyone should read it. At turns very funny, then takes a more serious turn in later chapters. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
September 1, 2023
One of the best books I’ve ever read. Tony Parker is a genius. You learn about types of lighthouses, work schedules, thoughts of keepers and spouses, philosophies, and the ethos of solitary work.
December 28, 2023
Tony Parker's books are just extraordinary.
February 1, 2024
Incredible. And kind of melancholy. An obsolete profession and way of life.
March 7, 2025
Tony is a prince
August 24, 2015
Fabulous
April 26, 2017
Brilliant reading. Interesting perspectives and stories
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews