Ruth Group discussion

Janus Rock is a tiny blip on a map with just a lighthouse and small amount of land. Would you like to live so isolated?

My first response is yes. The beauty and solitude appeals to my introverted side, but I think after a while I'd become bored. I guess if i wasn't the keeper, I'd feel a lack of meaning after being on the island for a while. Tom has so many responsibilities. His life has purpose. I think having a sense of purpose for our lives gives us a sort of peace.

Yes, a sense of purpose is so important and I think this is one of the ways children help us find peace. We get beyond ourselves and live for someone else. I think Tom likes Janus because he can retreat there from his war experiences. I find there are times when I just want to be away but the being away usually leads to wanting to be renewed in order to return to the world of people and interaction.

Hello everyone! Sorry I am so late to the party as at were. I just picked up the book yesterday from the library; THANKS BECKI FOR THE TIP!! So far, I have only read about 30 pages and Tom has just met Isabel and is leaving for Janus Rock in the next chapter. But, I did want to comment that Janus Rock sounds wonderful to me for about 90 percent of your time on this earth. I find we all get too busy with our lives to just sit back and enjoy solitude and time with ourselves and God. I would totally miss contact with other human beings and find that they need us as much as we need them. I think that is what is so great about having kids as Don pointed out. Sometimes you do feel like you are on your own Janus Rock with them and their purpose becomes the only purpose you have to keep you going. Enjoying the book immensely so far!

Welcome Lori. Glad you are enjoying the book. I've been thinking about how being secluded or private can lead to being deceptive. That seems to be the progression for Tom. Isolation brings a certain freedom but with that freedom there is a certain temptation that you can do anything because no one will know. I found the passages about the miscarriage and still birth heartbreaking.

I agree Don! The passages about miscarriage and still birth are heartbreaking. Isabel is all alone on Janus Rock without anybody to talk to about these unfortunate events except Tom. This would be a good example of the need to draw from faith and also the positives of a community whether church or family to talk about feelings and issues she is having.

There is a great passage about this on page 110 of my copy: "The isolation spins its mysterious cocoon, focusing the mind on one place, one time, one rhythm- the turning of the light. The island knows no other human voices, no other footprints. On the Offshore Lights you can live any story you want to tell yourself, and no one will say you're wrong: not the seagulls, not the prisms, not the wind." We need each other to challenge our assumptions even when we don't like it otherwise we are in danger of slipping into an unreal world of our own creation.