The Lighthouse Keeper

Rating:
Summary: It isn't about lighthouses
Review: Oddly enough, this book was inspired by the memory of the author's father, who served in the First Armored Division in WWII in North Africa and Italy. Its not really about the First Armored, nor is it about lighthouses. This is a good thing of sorts because Mr. Pratt not only knows nothing about lighthouses, he doesn't even suspect something. "Write about things you know something about if you want to be believable", and here is where JMP falls down, his complete lack of knowledge about lighthouses, southeastern Massachusetts, ships, WWII, aircraft identification made for a difficult read. Even in fiction, accurate research is essential. Everything about his Port Hope lighthouse smacks common sense in the face: from the year it was allegedly built, the type of illuminant employed, the manning of the station, the organization which administered it, to its sale into "private hands". All of it nonsensical. His knowledge seems to be derived from paper placemats with bad poetry about lihghthouses printed on them and used in "Ye Olde Chowder Shoppe". As for the other points, they are too many to mention and to an uninformed reader don't really matter. However, practically every word jarred with things I know to be vastly different. If this were a nonfiction book it would never get past the editting stage. However, it isn't and it did. If one can suspend belief a bit further and get past the insipid Irish brogue that his characters are condemned to speak and write, then there emerges just another emotional rollercoaster ride. Perhaps a better title for this book would be "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished" as everyone who experiences an emotional high is almost instantly thrown into the abyss. Uncle Billie's travails make Job seem like a namby-pamby lightweight. Too much evidence that showed the author was setting his story in very unfamiliar ground ruined what might otherwise have been just a passable, if hopelessly contrived love story of unimaginable loss, and faith. I can't say that I really recommend it, but it is light fluff and shouldn't take you long, so at least you won't waste alot of your time.

Rating:
Summary: Best Book I Ever Read
Review: One of the most touching, beautiful books I ever read. I could not put this book down and stayed up most of the night to finish it. Anyone, who wishes to be inspired will buy this book. Also, they will buy it for their family and friends.

Rating:
Summary: A book with a moral.
Review: Seldom has a book tugged at my heart and emotions as much as Lighthouse Keeper did. James Pratt has not just written a wonderful novel, but also a book that teaches a moral. I'm glad that I read Lighthouse Keeper.

Rating:
Summary: THANK YOU!
Review: Thank you, Mr. Pratt, for another "must read" book. It contained a wonderful moral story without all the trash that is so often found in the written word today. Thank you, also, for the family values your books contain. WONDERFUL READING...all the way to the tears at the end.

Rating:
Summary: A delighted reader in San Diego
Review: The Lighthouse Keeper is a pleasure to read.I reccomend it heartily to all who love to read. At last a writer has emerged who knows how to weave a tale that is both wholesome,enjoyable and meaningful. I could not put it down and would not hesitate to put it down where my teenagers would find it. Can there be anything more important than this, in today's fast paced "unwholesome" society? Write on, and thanks to James Michael Pratt for your vision, craft and integrity,

Rating:
Summary: An inspiration to write including real life scenarios
Review: The Lighthouse Keeper with its messages of hope and love stems from the real life inspiration my own father gave me. Although the "lighthouse" is a metaphor for truth, love, and a way to live, my father was not a lighthouse keeper, but a humble man who with honesty and dignity shined a light on a path that I walk today. His adventures as a soldier in the First Armored Division during World War II were recounted to me many times as an inquisitive young man. He loved Ireland for example, fought the battles of Kasserine Pass and El Guettar in North Africa, Anzio in Italy and lost his best friend, as did Peter my hero of the book, in Naples, Italy to enemy gunfire. My personal thanks to the readers who appreciate the sensitive nature of love I portray in The Lighthouse Keeper!

Rating:
Summary: A great experience and uplifting read!
Review: There is no other way to say this: This is a book that can entertain you: make you laugh and make you cry! The story is one that makes you want to be there; thrills you by what the characters are experiencing and helps you to see how you can be a happier person---as well as how to be happier with your own family. This book will very positively influence your life, without any effort on your part.

Rating:
Summary: Sacharine and syrupy
Review: This book is insipid at best, an uninformed offering of vague snippets of history and regional culture. The characters are two-dimensional at best. Mr. Pratt's narrative reminds me of melodramatic juvenile dreams filled with self-aggrandizement, fairy-tale like glory, stereotypical heroism, and plenty of death and dying to wring out every drop of emotion possible. I also found myself very distracted by certain descriptions. Mr. Pratt repeated the ineffective adjective "manly" three times in describing his protagonist's demeanor, appearance, or actions. I couldn't help but wonder what the author intended to drive into readers' minds, or if some fear-of-seeming-effeminate motivated the repetition of such a poor word choice.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful story with a moral.
Review: This delightful story of personal and family trials, tribulations and triumphs will appeal to all readers. James Pratt allows his readers to share his characters' lifes as he introduces the reader to Peter, Billie, Anna, Katie and Kathleen. Life is a struggle but it also has its rewards. As I was reading, I felt empathy for the characters. I laughed with them; I cried with them. I experienced their misery and I experienced their joy. Seldom has a book pulled at my heart and emotions as much as "Lighthouse Keeper" did. James Pratt has not just written a wonderful story but also a book that teaches a moral. I'm glad that i read "Lighthouse Keeper".

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: This is a emotional book about dead and dying loved ones. And in the beginning it evokes strong feeling. But ultimately it is just "same old, same old." Young wives die in the sea, and their husbands live out their lives alone, tending a lighthouse. The dialogue often seems artificial. And the author is careless with details. For instance, the French do not make bourbon; it's an American drink in spite of its French-sounding name; and the P-38 aircraft was a Lightning, not a Mustang. Which makes me wonder what else he got wrong. This book started well, but in the end, it was a disappointment.