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In the beautiful hard-bound book, A Brief Atlas of the Lighthouses at the End of the World, José Luis González Macías shows us what happens when someone takes their penchant for maps as a child and transforms it using a passion for words and images. In his book of stories about remote lighthouses spanning the globe, Macías focuses on 34 fabled lighthouses beginning with Adziogol Lighthouse in Ukraine to Wenwei Zhou Lighthouse, South China Sea, Hong Kong. Between those two bookends are historical snapshots —tales of both past and present — that together pause time so that the reader can enjoy the essence of these majestic beacons.
Macías is a Spanish writer, graphic designer, and publisher. In 2003 he published several short stories and poems, receiving the Letras Jovenes award. He then pursued graphic design and has worked for museums and cultural institutions, designing books and other graphic material. Along with Lia Peinador he runs Ediciones Menguantes, a small publishing house based in northern Spain.
Adziogol and Wenwei Zhou lighthouses could not be any more different. Wenwei Zhou (called Gap Rock by the British) is perched on a stone islet fractured into two parts that sits 80 kilometers from the coast on the tip of the Wanshan Archipelago. Constructed in 1890, because of the political tensions between China, Britain, and Hong Kong, an attempt was even made to make it a tourist destination but the travel and landing made it too risky.
In Ukraine, Adziogol Lighthouse looks like a wicker basket with holes spanning from top to bottom to allow air to flow through. The lighthouse sits a kilometer and a half from the village of Rybalche where the Dnipro River meets the Black Sea. Designed by Vladimir Shukhov, the 219-foot lighthouse is the tallest in Ukraine. If the Eiffel Tower were built using Shukhov’s hyperboloid structure, it would weigh just a third of what it actually does.
Was being a lightkeeper a man’s job? Yes, for the most part, but as the stories of all lighthouses unfold, the women of the light also kept not only watch over their families, but some even stepped into the role of keeper when needed.
Though Grace Darling died of tuberculosis at the age of twenty-six her place in history remains. Longstone Lighthouse, Farne Islands, UK remains lit today and is renowned for one daring rescue made by Grace and her father in 1838. A sudden storm through the night awakens Grace. In the morning light she spots a ship’s wreckage and people on a distant islet. She awakens her father and together they row a small boat over a kilometer in the storm to rescue the survivors of the SS Forfarshire. Grace manages the row boat while her father helps nine survivors aboard.
And then there is Abbie Burgess. Remaining behind at Matinicus Rock in Maine as her father went to the mainland for provisions, a sudden storm engulfs the island lighthouse preventing his return. Abbie, who at the age of thirteen helped her father tend the light, remained vigilant as she tended the light, took care of her mother due to illness and her younger sisters. The storm eventually washes over the house, so they take refuge in the tower. For four weeks Abbie keeps the light lit and tends the family until her father is able to return.
By José Luis González Macías, published 2024, hardcover $24.95
These two books tell stories that need to be told. Lighthouses and those that “keep the light,” their lives, their families, their steps and mis-steps, their work, struggle and the rescues they made are all here and are necessary for us to consider. The nuances of island life, the ghosts of the past that hover like halos anoint just like the beggar fog that roams the sea and touches all is part of our past. And if there are books upon your shelf having to do with lighthouses and the sea, then these two books should indeed be their bookends.
Editor’s note: RJ Heller is a journalist, essayist, photographer and author. He is an avid reader and an award-winning book critic, who enjoys sailing, hiking and many other outdoor pursuits. RJ Heller is also a member of the National Book Critics Circle. www.rjheller.com email: rj@rjheller.com
A Brief Atlas of the Lighthouses at the End of the World is available as item #2113 from Lighthouse Digest by calling (207)259-2121 or online at
www.LighthouseDigest.com/shop.
This story appeared in the
Jul/Aug 2024 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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