Review of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

By Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

 

“I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.”

January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’d never met, a native of Guernsey, the British island once occupied by the Nazis. He’d come across her name on the flyleaf of a secondhand volume by Charles Lamb. Perhaps she could tell him where he might find more books by this author.

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, she is drawn into the world of this man and his friends, all members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a unique book club formed in a unique, spur-of-the-moment way: as an alibi to protect its members from arrest by the Germans.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the Society’s charming, deeply human members, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all. Through their letters she learns about their island, their taste in books, and the powerful, transformative impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds there will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.

This was not a book I would have immediately chosen for myself to read. I did so on the advice and recommendation of a friend. I was completely enthralled and fascinated that I couldn’t put it down and read it in a single day.  The characters are so entertaining and real that you have to remind yourself that this is fiction! I so wanted them all to be real and to be able to meet them someday.

I want to travel to Guernsey! The description of this channel island was beautiful and romantic. The authors have a way with getting you to picture the scenery in a way you can actually smell the sea air and sand.

At first I thought there was no way this could be that enthralling of a read to just read correspondence back and forth between people but I was so very wrong! I forget how a letter, not an email or text, but an actual hand-written letter can be so intimate and revealing about a person. I love the book/movie 84 Charring Cross Road because it is about the correspondence between a book seller in England and a writer in New York. This reminds me of that movie but so much more. Which by the way I have only seen the movie so I must read the book too! The emotion that is felt by reading these personal letters between friends was very moving. You laugh with them and cry with them throughout this whole book.

I give this a definite 5 stars and would recommend it to everyone. It is fun, clean read that will leave you feeling very satisfied at the end.