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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Mary Ann Shaffer

Start date: July 10, 2013

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Jul 22, 2013 Webster Library rated it it was amazing

What an Amazing book! The setting is after World War II and the aftermath of the occupation in the Channel Islands. Juliet is a writer who begins to correspond with a group of people from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. She grows to love the people from the island through their correspondence. Juliet decides to write a book about their interaction and one of the central islanders, Elizabeth. You see how being part of a community saved these people and gave them the ability to survive the occupa What an Amazing book! The setting is after World War II and the aftermath of the occupation in the Channel Islands. Juliet is a writer who begins to correspond with a group of people from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. She grows to love the people from the island through their correspondence. Juliet decides to write a book about their interaction and one of the central islanders, Elizabeth. You see how being part of a community saved these people and gave them the ability to survive the occupation. If they didn’t have each other and the sense of family they would have been lost. I think these are wonderful sentiments that we can all live by.

I loved how the book was written in a series of letters from one person to another. It really made you feel like you were completely immersed in the time period. All the letters were written from one person to another and you only found out what happened through the perspective of the person who was writing the letter. Each person’s letter brought a little more of the story of the past out but also told about what was happening in the present. It really was an ingenious way to tell a story because of correspondence in that time. Letter writing is a lost art form. People do text and email today but not in the same way that they did back in the 1940’s. We write in 144 characters or less. People try to get as much information into as small block of writing as possible. Letter writing back then was the way people communicated. Telephones were uncommon, not everyone had one. If you wanted to know what was going on in a friend’s life you wrote them. It was always exciting to receive a letter in the mail. Today letters are either junk mail or bills. I love being reminded of simpler days and the joy of writing. It makes me want to write letters myself.

Shaffer wrote with a lot of feeling and the people in her story were realistic. They had a lot of energy and were multifaceted. The story seemed to be all fluff when I started to read it but there was a lot below the surface. Shaffer took the story of the war very seriously and gave a perspective that you don’t often see. It gave a new voice to an over saturated genre. I look forward to reading more stories by her.

If you like historical fiction, books that make you laugh and cry, or love stories you’ll love this book. I also recommend trying the House at Riverton by Kate Morton, the Book Thief by Marcus Zusack or the Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay.

Jenny Paxson
Readers' Advisory Librarian
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Dec 25, 2010 Joy rated it really liked it

Charming, witty, and funny are the words to describe this book. It's not for everyone though. Initially I didn't like the format of the book which consists only of letters back and forth between the various characters and the main character Juliet. However, after a short bit, I got into the story. On top of the charm and wit, I enjoyed reading and learning about the German Occupation of Guernsey Island during WWII. ...more

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May 20, 2010 Christine rated it really liked it

Jan 22, 2014 Mary Ann rated it really liked it

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Oct 28, 2019 Kristina Skocik rated it really liked it · review of another edition

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