The Last Lighthouse Keeper
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The Last Lighthouse Keeper
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Narrated by:
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Lewis Fitz-Gerald
About this listen
A beautiful memoir from John Cook, one of Tasmania's last kerosene lighthouse keepers. A story about madness and wilderness, shining a light onto the vicissitudes of love and nature.
I loved the life of the island, because I knew my body was more alive than it was on the mainland. People asked how we stood the isolation and boredom, but in some ways, it was more stimulating to have your senses turned up.
In Tasmania, John Cook is known as 'The Keeper of the Flame'. As one of Australia's longest-serving lighthouse keepers, John spent 26 years tending Tasmania's well-known kerosene 'lights' at Tasman Island, Maatsuyker Island and Bruny Island.
From sleepless nights keeping the lights alive, battling the wind and sea as they ripped at gutters and flooded stores, raising a joey, tending sheep and keeping ducks and chickens, the life of a keeper was one of unexpected joy and heartbreak. But for John, nothing was more heartbreaking than the introduction of electric lights and the lighthouses that were left empty forever.
Evocatively told, The Last Lighthouse Keeper is a love story between a man and a dying way of life, as well as a celebration of wilderness and solitude.
©2020 John Cook (P)2020 W F HowesCritic Reviews
"John Cook's ripping life story exposes Tasmania's old kero-fuelled lighthouses: relentless physically and emotionally demanding labour, done under the often cruel vagaries of nature. Noble work that can ultimately redeem a lost soul. Or break them." (Matthew Evans)
What listeners say about The Last Lighthouse Keeper
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- EileenH
- 11-08-2021
The Last Lighthouse Keeper - unexpected
The Last Lighthouse Keeper was not at all what I expected. I expected a story about the noble profession of lighthouse keeping, man against the elements and the crazy notion to destroy that way of life with "modernisation".
On reflection, I did get that story, but this tale is so much more than just that. It is about a man laid bare, John Cook, his loves, thoughts, mistakes, troubles, battles, triumphs, buried emotions attuned to the cultural constraints of the day and ultimately his acceptance of it all. This is not set in the distant past, it is set in a time in Australia where change, on the mainland and on the islands was unstoppable and the chasms of conflict this created for "the keepers of the light."
John Cook is an amazing man, leading an extraordinary life - thank you for sharing your story.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ben Hughes
- 27-08-2022
A wonderfully descriptive story.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is beautifully descriptive and takes you on a journey with stunning views of nature and life along the way. I thoroughly recommend this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jacqueline says
- 06-03-2021
Loved this book!
I don’t normally go for ‘non fiction’ auto biography’s - I usually find them a bit dull. This is a beautifully told story... really engaging. I highly recommend it.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Edwina
- 31-08-2023
Ponderously laboured
While elements of the story were intriguing, the constant repetition of self pity and grandiose imagery (sometimes within the same chapter) makes this a slog to get through. Could have done with a tight edit down to about a half of its length. The narration itself was great, and helped give the over-wrought, sodden prose some spark of life. You can almost perceive the internal monologue of the poor narrater thinking ‘he can’t really believe this?!?’.
It’s hard not to think within a chapter or two that he was in desperate need of some mental help, an impression that only deepens throughout.
Written as a justification for some terrible life choices and the abandonment of his children, one wonders if the constant ‘sent a a thought racing across the sea to my children’ was less appreciated than a phone call might have been.
Overall, had a heavy, drawn out style and attempted to end on a cliffhanger of sorts, as if the author believed he could string his retirement years into another odyssean tome. An interesting guy, but Ancient Mariner he was not.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Melle
- 10-10-2021
Unique Social History
Read by my Bookclub. Most of us felt the description of life on the island was fascinating, if frequently bleak. It gives an insight into the time in history, the attitude towards marriage and other things. The author is not super likable but he gives a frank account of his life during the time which is certainly unusual and interesting.
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