Read: The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society
BOOK: The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society
AUTHORS: Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
TIME: World War II & Post- WWII, United Kingdom
RATING: A resounding 5/5 cups of tea, 5/5 heart flutters, 3/5 boxes of Kleenex
I actually groaned when I started reading this book and realized it was entirely comprised of letters exchanged between several characters. But I pressed on, and after reading just a few letters, Guernsey turned out to be a page turner for me and I was completely hooked! The letters, especially from Juliet Ashton the budding author and lead character, were spirited, self-deprecating, fun, clever, smart, and full of personality. And they stayed fresh, informative, and entertaining to the very end.
The book opens post WWII when Juliet is having a difficult time finding something to write about that gets her excited. She receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, a man from Guernsey Island who has a book written by Charles Lamb with Juliet’s name written inside the book. Through back and forth letters, Juliet is drawn into the lives of a few Islanders who make up the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, first formed out of necessity during the German Occupation. I’ll let you have the pleasure of discovering how it took some fast thinking and quirky good luck coming up with the Society’s name and mission, but the delightful cast of characters in the club include among others, a pig farmer, a lover of Charles Lamb’s poetry, someone who once threw darts at Wallis Simpson, and a valet pretending to be a Lord.
Through regular correspondence with the Islanders and Society members, Juliet learns about their island (a Crown Possession of England), their tastes in books ( The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, The Beginner’s Cook-Book for Girl Guides, and Selections from Shakespeare along with the Brontes, Dickens, and Jane Austen), and the profound impact the Occupation of their island for five years has had on their lives (the island was occupied on June 30th, 1940 by German forces with no opposition).
Bewitched and delighted by this tiny island and utterly charmed by its wonderful inhabitants, Juliet sets sail for Guernsey and finds her life changed in ways she could never have imagined. She finds friendship and love in all the right places as her relationships deepen. The character development is touching and engaging, especially where Mr. Dawsey is concerned.
I’m afraid I knew next to nothing about the German Occupation on the Channel Islands before reading this book. Besides falling in love with these wonderful characters, wanting to be their friends, and desperately wanting to join their literary society, or at the very least start my own, this book is a virtual history lesson about a piece of the War not much had been written about before.
I was lucky to have read this book in front of a crackling fire listening to howling wind and pelting rain, and enjoying a delicious cup of cocoa. I’m glad I first chose to read this during the month of November ( to remind me of how much I appreciate all of the freedoms I enjoy and how I so admire how people all over the world come together through tough times offering love, support, and sustenance through friendships, and in this case, good books.
This book is bundled with…
WATCH: Netflix’s film ‘The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society’
