The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

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It's a hit!

As a graduate student in literature, I find that I can get caught up in the details of a text--stylistic conventions, the symbolism, the cultural r... (show more)

As a graduate student in literature, I find that I can get caught up in the details of a text--stylistic conventions, the symbolism, the cultural references, and such. Far too often I tend to forget what originally drew me to the love of reading. This book was a wonderful, and much needed, reminder that sitting snugly in a comfortable chair while reading a good story with engaging and interesting characters can be a transformative experience. For an all-too-brief time, I was inside Elizabeth's cottage on the island of Guernsey, listening as Isola and Dawsey told of their experiences during the German Occupation. I was charmed by Kit's unabashed frankness and playfulness. I rolled my eyes while Juliet over-intellectualized not only her love life, but life in general; and I found myself smiling each time she learned to trust her instincts more and more. For just a while, I was part of this very odd literary society where the members discussed recipes and family letters, as well as more so-called traditional works by Austen or Dickens, with the same intensity and enthusiasm. Even though my stay on the island was short, the experience will stay with me for a long time. (show less)

 

 

by Roy Bearden-White

No, it's a flop!

This is an interesting post-World War II tale told in epistolary form, where letters are exchanged between various characters. However, it is so ho... (show more)

This is an interesting post-World War II tale told in epistolary form, where letters are exchanged between various characters. However, it is so homogeneously presented and, as a result, so cloyingly told that it verges on sweetness overload long before the letters stop flying back and forth.

In 1946, British writer Juliet Ashton receives an unexpected letter from a member of an unusual book club on the island of Guernsey, which was occupied by German forces for much of World War II. As she starts to engage in correspondence with this first and then other of the members, Juliet learns that the island community's book club is pivotal to how many of them survived the occupation. She is inspired to write about this group, goes to visit them to do her research and eventually becomes a member of the community - which is no spoiler in this amiably predictable book.

The book has its touching moments. In particular for this reader, the observations about the heartbreak of sending one's children away to keep them safe were moving, evoking a recent visit to the extraordinary Imperial War Museum in London.

The irony about the sameness of the voice in this book is that an epistolary novel should have anything but. Novels constructed in a style that incorporates a sequence of letters, journal entries or other documents ostensibly achieve greater versimilitude than a more conventionally narrated work, because those documents capture more readily day-to-day life, intimacy and individuals' unique modes of expression, including their foibles and faults. Everyone sounds the same in this book - man or woman, urban or rural, literate or supposedly not. And everyone sounds like clever Juliet, whose glib perkiness wears thin rather quickly. Was this perhaps a problem with the final editing process for this book? Did niece Annie Barrows and others not want to interfere too much with the original work of Mary Ann Shaffer, who died before the book was published? Whatever the reason, it's this sameness that robs the book of authenticity and charm, when it so clearly wants to be loved and I would have liked to comply. (show less)

 

 

by Vicki Ziegler

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  This was a wonderful story that grabbed me and wouldn't let me go. I never wanted it to end and I couldn't put it down. The story is told entirely through letters and the stories inside the letters make you laugh, cry and admire the strength of spirit for those that survived the war. Guernsey is a channel island off the coast of England and was occupied by the German army during the war. The letters describe the colorful characters that lived on Guernsey and make you cheer for them at the... (show more)

  This was a wonderful story that grabbed me and wouldn't let me go. I never wanted it to end and I couldn't put it down. The story is told entirely through letters and the stories inside the letters make you laugh, cry and admire the strength of spirit for those that survived the war. Guernsey is a channel island off the coast of England and was occupied by the German army during the war. The letters describe the colorful characters that lived on Guernsey and make you cheer for them at the same time they break your heart at times. I fell in love with Guernsey and her cast of characters - people who I wish were real and still living out their lives on the island. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good book that they can escape in. I would put it as one of the top ten books I've ever read. (show less)

   

   

  by Kirstin Nelson on Mar 14, 2009 at 04:49PM

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  I agree that this is a light, heart-warming read and I read it all in one day and enjoyed it. I will probably not read it again, however, nor recommend it to everyone. Some of the connections and friendships seemed contrived to me, perhaps because we are not able to see the depth of these relationships through the letters. Also, the writing in parts bothered me because the writing styles were, of course, not very different from author to author. I think they tried their best but it was a ... (show more)

  I agree that this is a light, heart-warming read and I read it all in one day and enjoyed it. I will probably not read it again, however, nor recommend it to everyone. Some of the connections and friendships seemed contrived to me, perhaps because we are not able to see the depth of these relationships through the letters. Also, the writing in parts bothered me because the writing styles were, of course, not very different from author to author. I think they tried their best but it was a bit distracting to me because I felt that all of them had one voice in a sense - Juliet's voice, because most of the letters were written by her.

  That being said, if you want a light read and if you're interested in WWII history and want to dive into a fantasy world of great friendships and amazing heroic stories, this is your book. (show less)

   

  by Facebook-gebruiker on Feb 08, 2009 at 04:56PM

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