The Lighthouse was on the 2012 Booker shortlist. It's a relatively short novel about Futh, a middle-aged man who goes on a hiking trip in Germany after separating from his wife.

Since childhood, Futh has carried with him a perfume bottle in the shape of a silver lighthouse, as a momento of the mother who walked out on him and his father when he was little. When he arrives in Germany he stays at a hotel run by Ester who is stuck in a loveless marriage. Ester also has a similar lighthouse, although hers is made of wood.

Futh hikes in the Rhine valley, all the while reflecting on his past life and Its various disappointments.

The problem with writing novels about shy loveless people is that the author can fail to make them interesting. That's my problem with this book. I couldn't bring myself to care about Futh, Ester or any other character in this dreary novel. ( )

the writing is nice but everything else is upsetting. The characters are all horribly broke no redeeming features presented. no character appears to have any redeeming features at all. depressing gratuitous misery. ( )

After a deceptively low key start, one can begin to appreciate the difficulties faced by the main character, Futh, who is taking a walking holiday along the Rhine, after recently separating from his wife. His childhood was torn apart when his mother walked out on her marriage and Moore describes, gradually and sensitively, how that has lead to the situation in his present life. As the book progresses, you begin to see how Futh has been taken advantage of by many of the people in his life and how, because of his personality, he has often been unaware of this. Much of his current life is taken up with recalling events from his childhood and this adds to his blindness to his present circumstances. In an intriguing detail, this blindness is contrasted with his sensitivity to aromas, which has lead to a career in the manufacturing of synthetic smells. Moore provides a revealing portrait of Futh as someone who, contrary to appearances does not understand all that is going on around him.

Futh returns to Germany to recover from the devastation of his failed marriage.
Recounting his memories of an earlier trip to Germany & haunted by happier times with Angela, Futh travels through Germany on foot. On his journey, a brief encounter with Ester; the keeper of the Hotel Hellhaus, has unforgettable consequences.
Written on these pages is a beautifully rendered story of two ordinary lives & how past memories influence the desires of the present. ( )

Futh returns to Germany to recover from the devastation of his failed marriage.
Recounting his memories of an earlier trip to Germany & haunted by happier times with Angela, Futh travels through Germany on foot. On his journey, a brief encounter with Ester; the keeper of the Hotel Hellhaus, has unforgettable consequences.
Written on these pages is a beautifully rendered story of two ordinary lives & how past memories influence the desires of the present. ( )