The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows

book data

13,671 ratings, 4.21 average rating, 5,902 reviews (more data...)

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3		12%
2		2%
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published

July 29th 2008 (first published 2007) by The Dial Press

binding

Hardcover, 274 pages

characters

Susan, Sophie, Sidney, Isola, ...more

setting

The United Kingdom

isbn

0385340990 (isbn13: 9780385340991)

description

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 ima...more

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07/21/08

Linda rated it:

bookshelves: 2008

Several years ago, I worked at an art gallery here in Anchorage. Though I loved the art, I wasn’t much good at selling it. More often than not, I just chatted up the customers, who were from all over the world.

One night, four elderly people wandered in. They told me they were from a tiny island off the coast of southern England called “Guernsey”. I’d never heard of it, so they proudly explained it was the only part of British soil that had been occupied by the Nazis durin...more Several years ago, I worked at an art gallery here in Anchorage. Though I loved the art, I wasn’t much good at selling it. More often than not, I just chatted up the customers, who were from all over the world.

One night, four elderly people wandered in. They told me they were from a tiny island off the coast of southern England called “Guernsey”. I’d never heard of it, so they proudly explained it was the only part of British soil that had been occupied by the Nazis during World War II. The island was occupied for a long five years; an experience to which they had all been witnesses. At that moment, Guernsey was marked in my mind.

Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrow’s new book, “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” is an opportunity to travel back in time to 1946 Guernsey.

Beginning early 1946 in London, Juliet Ashton, a British writer, and former war journalist, is emerging from the ashes of the war to rebuild her life and her identity. She has lost her home and all her possessions, most regrettably her book collection. Out of the blue, she responds to correspondence started by a resident of Guernsey, who has managed to obtain a second-hand book once owned by Juliet, in which she had long ago written her name and address. Through this initial contact, Juliet meets an entire community, and the course of her life is redirected.

Easily reminiscent of Helene Hanff’s epistolary classic, “84 Charing Cross Road”, the novel is written in the epistolary style. Shaffer and Barrow skillfully use this medium to successfully establish their characters and a solid storyline.

Charming, funny, sweet, and thoughtful, “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” is a story that women might find more appealing than men. Yet, it is unflinching in its wartime recollections. The deprivations and devastation of the time are imaginatively and convincingly conveyed.

At its core, this is a book about the love of reading, and the magic of books.

I highly, highly recommend “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society”.
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11 comments

10/06/08

Beth(MN) rated it:

bookshelves: 2008, general-fiction, it-made-me-cry, wishlist

Read in November, 2008

recommends it for: almost anyone - I covered the specifics in my review

Gush, gush, gush, gush, gush, gush, gush!!! GUSH!!!!! So yes, clearly I loved this book.

I think the only person I wouldn’t recommend this book to is one of those people who only read meaty tomes that might give regular people a brain embolism while they’re trying to make sense of the 17 different layers of subconscious meaning. I’d also hesitate from recommending this book to most men. However, if you have the ability to find joy and delight in the simple pleasures of a fee...more Gush, gush, gush, gush, gush, gush, gush!!! GUSH!!!!! So yes, clearly I loved this book.

I think the only person I wouldn’t recommend this book to is one of those people who only read meaty tomes that might give regular people a brain embolism while they’re trying to make sense of the 17 different layers of subconscious meaning. I’d also hesitate from recommending this book to most men. However, if you have the ability to find joy and delight in the simple pleasures of a feel-good book, you too might fall in love with this story.

The book is written entirely in an epistolary format, consisting of letters back and forth between Juliet Ashton, a young author in 1946 London and several of her contacts and friends. It is just after WWII and people are trying to reclaim their lives and figure out if and how to move on from the tragedy of the war.

Juliet receives an unsolicited letter from a man who lives on the island of Guernsey, one of the small islands situated in the English Channel between France and England (known for having loose regulations and financial secrecy in the modern world thereby making it attractive to fraudsters, money launderers and criminals, but that has nothing to do with this story and why it is enjoyable, I just couldn’t help myself from mentioning it). But anyway, Dawsey Adams of Guernsey acquires a used book that had originally been owned by Juliet. She had penned her name and address inside the cover and Dawsey decided to write her a letter to share how much he’d enjoyed her secondhand book and how reading books had helped several Guernsey residents cope during the time of the German Occupation of their island. Before long, Juliet is corresponding regularly with Mr. Adams and several other Guernsey residents, all who had been a part of the Literary Society. She learns that the Society was initially formed as a front to explain a broken curfew but eventually became a rewarding opportunity to meet with friends and discuss a love of books. Eventually, Juliet travels to Guernsey to meet her island pen friends and it was hard for me to put the book down and get any work done!

The letters back and forth between Juliet and her friends gave the book a personal touch and it felt like we were being given an inside look into these peoples’ lives. I subscribe to the belief that letter-writing is a lost art form and appreciate books that are heavy on the letters and found the format enjoyable and easy to approach. There is also a very sweet love story in between these pages that made me sigh with contentment when the book ended. It was a highly satisfying read and I think that most book lovers would also enjoy this story.

Even though most of us don’t write letters anymore, I think we will identify and be attracted to the notion of maintaining a long-distance correspondence with someone and developing a friendship with someone we’ve never even met (hello? Anybody chat/email with friendly strangers on the internet?) Juliet becomes quite close to her Guernsey friends and there was one passage in particular when she is finally embarking on her trip to meet her pen friends that rung true for me because it was eerily similar to the thoughts I’ve had on the occasion when I’ve met “net friends” who crossed that boundary to become “real life friends” and it’s that, “oh god, oh god, oh god, what if we don’t like each other? What if my words misled them? What if I’m not as interesting in person as they thought I was online?”

”As the mail boat lurched into the harbor, I saw St. Peter Port rising up from the sea on terraces, with a church on the top like a cake decoration, and I realized that my heart was galloping. As much as I tried to persuade myself it was the thrill of the scenery, I knew better. All those people I’ve come to know and even love a little, waiting to see—me. And I, without any paper to hide behind…in these past two or three years, I have become better at writing than living…On the page, I’m perfectly charming, but that’s just a trick I learned. It has nothing to do with me. T least, that’s what I was thinking as the mail boat came toward the pier. I had a cowardly impulse to throw my red cape overboard and pretend I was someone else.”

As if I hadn’t already fallen in love with Juliet and her friends by this point, reading that passage actually brought tears to my eyes (not even kidding) because I knew exactly what she was feeling at that precise moment because I’ve been there before. So yes, I loved this book. It was beautiful and charming and a sheer delight to read.

However, I think potato peel pie sounds disgusting and I wouldn’t want to eat it. (less)

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13 comments

09/08/08

Emma Kaufmann rated it:

Read in September, 2008

Once again I find myself reading ten pages of a book which is meant to be 'great' and wondering why it is just rubbish. I was meant to read this for a book club but it was about as palatable as a potato peel pie so I spat it out uneaten.

Now, I'm sure there are American authors who can write in an authentic British voice (no one springs to mind, and Elizabeth George is terrible at it but at least her plot is not clunky) but Mary Ann Shaffer isn't one of them.

This book has ...more

Like this review? yes (18 people liked it)

46 comments

09/28/08

La Petite rated it:

bookshelves: sucked

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in December, 2008

recommends it for: Bored Housewives

This book is boring, predictable, and pointless. Maybe the kind of thing that charms the sentimental. It's a series of letters in post WWII England between an author facing writers block and an island community who formed a book club during the German occupation. Eventually we meet the characters (who, oddly, have the same voice as the author in their letters) who come to describe one saintly, cliche, full of b.s. woman who held them all together during the occupation, while she manages to slap...more

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21 comments

08/19/08

Ruth rated it:

Read in August, 2008

I won an ARC of this book either from the NYer or from the publisher. I forget which, as it's been sitting around for a while.

This epistolary novel is something I should have loved. I generally like novels in letters, it’s almost like peering into lighted windows at night as you pass, sewing the bits of life seen there into a coherent whole.

It’s fun, this book, in its witty comments, sort of the way I wish I could talk all the time. Yet, about halfway through it began...more

Like this review? yes (15 people liked it)

7 comments

09/25/08

Laura rated it:

bookshelves: best-seller

Read in September, 2008

recommended to Laura by: Jeslyn Rumbold

A friend gave this to me with the recommendation, “You’ll LOVE this – it sounds like you!” I assume she meant because the main character is a witty book lover, not because she’s a critical spinster. I don’t dare ask.

At any rate, this is easily one of the most charming books I’ve read in a while. Our heroine, Juliet, spent the war writing light pieces for a women’s magazine, and now she yearns for more substantial material. When she receives a letter from a Guernsey ma...more A friend gave this to me with the recommendation, “You’ll LOVE this – it sounds like you!” I assume she meant because the main character is a witty book lover, not because she’s a critical spinster. I don’t dare ask.

At any rate, this is easily one of the most charming books I’ve read in a while. Our heroine, Juliet, spent the war writing light pieces for a women’s magazine, and now she yearns for more substantial material. When she receives a letter from a Guernsey man who has in his possession a book she used to own, and finds out that during the war he belonged to a “Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society,” she’s intrigued. She writes him back. It turns out that at the beginning of the occupation (Germany occupied the Channel Islands from 1939-1945), a group of friends had gathered for a covert pork supper, only to have to make up some excuse for breaking curfew when a Nazi officer discovered them walking home late at night. The Literary Society was the result.

Juliet begins corresponding with the various members of the society, but eventually decides she wants to go to Guernsey to meet them in person — and you'll want to also! What a delightful assortment of characters — most of their letters made me laugh out loud, and several made me cry. Juliet’s letters are an absolute scream. Plus, as a bonus, you get an intriguing glimpse into what life was like for those trapped on an occupied island for the duration of the war. The hardships, friendships, and everyday heroism of the characters actually warmed my heart!

My only complaint is that it wasn’t until page 61 that the author managed to write in a different voice. In other words, most of the characters sound exactly alike, as though the same person is corresponding with herself. Creating distinct voices is a trick for any author, but good ones do it far more successfully. And there’s one woman, a non-member of the Literary Society, who’s so absurdly interfering that she makes Mrs. Kravitz of “Bewitched” look like an Arthur Miller creation. But the rest of the book (ridiculous sitcom character aside) is delightful enough to make up for the contrived and often predictable aspects. A quick read that will leave you smiling...and wanting to go to Guernsey!
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10/07/08

Laura rated it:

Read in October, 2008

recommended to Laura by: Chicks on Lit group read
recommends it for: Everyone

I just can't say enough about this book. I don't usually like WWII fiction, but this book is making me re-think that. A book for book-lovers, a book for someone who has always wanted to write a book, a book for lovers, for friends, for the historical fiction lover, a book of connection, a book of everything. Just everything. Read this book. You won't be sorry.

Like this review? yes (7 people liked it)

11 comments

12/27/08

Amy rated it:

I don't do this often, but I am commanding my fellow Good Read Sisters to stop what they are doing, order a pizza for the family and hide yourselves away with this book! You all deserve a treat and if I could I would come run your homes while you read - this book is that good. It's unique - all letters - but please don't be put off by that. On the contrary, Shaffer is able to add an edge of humor with this device...and is she also paying homage to Anne Bronte and the Tenant...? [if you read it y...more

Like this review? yes (11 people liked it)

4 comments

07/30/08

Cayenne rated it:

bookshelves: favorites

Read in September, 2008

This was one of the lovliest books I have ever read. I have read many books and seen many movies about World War II, but this one was the best. It was so real. I felt like I knew the characters and I wanted to run over to Guernsey to meet them in person. The stories about their experiences were so touching, not just because they were hard, but because the people were so brave. Horrible things happened to them, but I didn't feel traumatized reading about them. I felt uplifted at their endur...more

Like this review? yes (7 people liked it)

7 comments

08/20/08

Kathryn rated it:

Read in October, 2008

recommended to Kathryn by: read an article about it in the Mill Valley Times

A sweet, charming and beautiful story about friendship, humanity, heart-full-ness and courage. And I have such a special place in my heart for letters-between-friends; and have made some good friends through letter-writing, so the premise of the story is just too-too perfect! The historical aspect was also very interesting; the island of Guernsey was the only place on British soil occupied by the Germans during WWII. Mercifully (to me, anyway) only a few of the letters dealt with some of the m...more

Like this review? yes (5 people liked it)

8 comments

02/17/09

Alisa rated it:

bookshelves: audiobooks

Read in February, 2009

I'm in favor of:

-pig farmers as romantic leads
-parrots named Zenobia who eat cuckoo clocks
-women who do the asking

I'm not in favor of:

-strong silent types as romantic leads
-adorable children
-parrots getting more page time than goats

Like this review? yes (7 people liked it)

9 comments

01/28/09

Heidi rated it:

bookshelves: audio, fiction, historical, humor, i-highly-recommend, to-reread

Read in March, 2009

recommends it for: Everyone!

I have been wanting to read this for a year. As I will be leading the Book Chat discussion on it in a couple of months, I finally got around to it.

The book was charming and delightful! Absolutely wonderful and one I would like to own a copy of to re-read my favorite parts over and over. Simple yet still quite deep. Full of so many characters and wonderful personalities--I fell in love with so many of them! I could completely relate to Juliet longing to visit Guernsey, and never want...more

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4 comments

11/12/08

Fiona rated it:

(review of isbn 0747589194)

bookshelves: 2008, friend-recommendation, library-book, ww1-ww2

Read in November, 2008

recommended to Fiona by: Laura
recommends it for: everyone

I shall start off by saying that this is a lovely, well written and wholly enthralling read. It is overall a happy book, but with the reality of war - tinged with much sadness.

I think it's biggest criticism is that abominable title. It is too long and just too much of a mouthful. When people ask me what I am reading I can't remember the exact title and can't even be bothered to say it. I refer to it as Guernsey and hope people know what I'm talking about.

Just look at the...more

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10 comments

12/22/08

Kelly rated it:

bookshelves: read-in-2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

This book garners a 1.5 from me. What a painful read.

I won't dwell too long on what makes this book so wrong, but let's start with the problem of how difficult it is for a GOOD writer to develop character via the epistolary form. Now for two mediocre writers, it's even worse. I distinguish no voices among the twelve million uninteresting characters. Second, how about the "plot?" There isn't one, and what is moderately plot-like is so loosely strung that it's impossible and ...more

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11/20/08

Cindy rated it:

bookshelves: 999, blog, fiction, historical, romance

Read in February, 2009

recommended to Cindy by: Library Thing

I *LOVED* this book.

Writer Juliet Ashton has come through World War II more or less intact, although her flat was destroyed by bombs. But she's doing all right and ready to start a new project. Around then, she starts a correspondence with Dawsey Adams, an inhabitant of the tiny island of Guernsey. They've been cut off from all communication with England for 5 years and are desperate to catch back up to what they've missed.

Soon Juliet (and through her, the reader) finds ...more

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08/04/08

Maudeen rated it:

Read in August, 2008

recommends it for: Book groups

I knew right off I would enjoy this book when I read reviews saying it was reminiscent of Helene Hanff’s classic 84 Charing Cross Road, a series of letters between a New York City book lover and a clerk in the London bookstore. A book I loved so much that when in London I sought out its location where only a plaque on a building gives any clue to the former site.

Writer Juliet Ashton is stumped. She has no idea as to the subject of her next book. She is tired of the light-hearted...more I knew right off I would enjoy this book when I read reviews saying it was reminiscent of Helene Hanff’s classic 84 Charing Cross Road, a series of letters between a New York City book lover and a clerk in the London bookstore. A book I loved so much that when in London I sought out its location where only a plaque on a building gives any clue to the former site.

Writer Juliet Ashton is stumped. She has no idea as to the subject of her next book. She is tired of the light-hearted items she wrote to keep her fellow English subjects amused during the war and wants to write something with a bit more substance.

Then she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, a farmer from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Dawsey has found her name in a Charles Lamb book she once owned and is wondering if she can help him find more books by the author.

As Juliet exchanges letter with Dawsey and eventually other residents of Guernsey who are members of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – a group formed in haste as an alibi to the Germans who occupied the island during World War II. As she continues to receive letters, these people whose lives were so changed so drastically during the German Occupation captivate her. She decides a visit to Guernsey is in order. She also is intrigued about the stories of the now-missing Elizabeth McKenna, a much-loved and important member of the community. The letters also include correspondence between Juliet and her publisher as well as her best friend, a young wife and mother in Scotland which helps to lend depth to the novel as she is able to give her first-hand observations of the islanders she has met.

You’ll laugh, cry, and be absolutely charmed by this wonderful epistolary novel. If you love books you’ll enjoy reading Juliet’s observations of booksellers and readers and why she broke up with her fiancé on the eve of her wedding.

Sales of books by and about Charles Lamb are sure to increase as readers of this novel will want to know more about the book that brought Juliet to Guernsey; sales of Jane Austen books as well as those by the Bronte sisters may also be affected.

The Guernsey tourism industry is also sure to benefit – I certainly would love to book a trip to see this quaint island, out of the way of the usual UK tourist trade.

Sadly, we won’t have any more books from Ms. Shaffer who passed away earlier this year; but perhaps there’s a hidden manuscript somewhere. We can only hope. As it is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is going on top of my reading favorites for the year. Highly recommended.

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07/10/08

Cornflower rated it:

(review of isbn 0747589194)

Read in July, 2008

This is an utter joy of a book, beautifully judged, witty, lively, almost Mitfordesque at times, sparky, extremely touching, and I can't recommend it highly enough.
In early 1946 the popular writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, a Guernsey farmer, who happens to have acquired a book she once owned. So begins an extraordinary correspondence between Juliet and the various members of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society to which the shy but dependable Daws...more This is an utter joy of a book, beautifully judged, witty, lively, almost Mitfordesque at times, sparky, extremely touching, and I can't recommend it highly enough.
In early 1946 the popular writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, a Guernsey farmer, who happens to have acquired a book she once owned. So begins an extraordinary correspondence between Juliet and the various members of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society to which the shy but dependable Dawsey belongs, and in which the details - both funny and tragic - of the German occupation of the island come to light.
So enamoured is Juliet of her new pen-friends and the life that they describe that she determines to write her next book about the island in wartime and she takes up residence there to begin her research. She soon realises that the person who should be at the book's heart is the one islander she has yet to meet: the spirited, much-loved Elizabeth McKenna, transported to a concentration camp for her bravery and defiance in the face of the enemy, leaving behind her infant daughter Kit - to whom Juliet becomes close - and the secret of the child's paternity.
Written in epistolary form (and it does bear comparison with Helene Hanff's wonderful 84 Charing Cross Road), the book is both a love story and an unemotionally honest picture of its subject matter, but yet it has a light touch and is full of distinct and engaging characters such as Isola Pribby with her passion for the Brontes and her homemade potions, John Booker the wine-loving valet who's a fan of Seneca, Jonas Skeeter and his dim view of Marcus Aurelius : "...[he] was an old woman - always taking his mind's temperature...." and Clovis Fossey, who is much taken with poetry since joining the Society, and writes "Mrs. Maugery lent me a book last week. It's called The Oxford Book of Modern Verse, 1892-1935. They let a man named Yeats make the choosings. They shouldn't have. Who is he - and what does he know about verse?"
Sadly, Mary Ann Shaffer died earlier this year; her legacy is this simply lovely book which has been a great pleasure to read.(less)

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01/15/09

Christa rated it:

bookshelves: library

Read in January, 2009

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was a charming and touching novel. The book is written in the form of letters by a colorful and likeable cast of characters. It was interesting to learn a little bit about life on the British Island of Guernsey during its German occupation of WWII.

London columnist Juliet Ashton is tired of the material she has been producing, and shortly after the end of WWII is trying to find a different direction for her writing. She receives a...more The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was a charming and touching novel. The book is written in the form of letters by a colorful and likeable cast of characters. It was interesting to learn a little bit about life on the British Island of Guernsey during its German occupation of WWII.

London columnist Juliet Ashton is tired of the material she has been producing, and shortly after the end of WWII is trying to find a different direction for her writing. She receives a letter from a man who lives on Guernsey who bought a book of Charles Lamb works that she had sold. He wrote to the address he found in the book, which was destroyed during a bombing, but his letter is forwarded to Juliet's current location. As they begin a correspondence, Dawsey Adams tells Juliet about the Guernsey literary society which began one evening when several residents disobeyed German laws, roasting a hidden pig, and then were caught breaking curfew. A literary society meeting was the spur of the moment excuse one of the violators offered to the Germans. After this, those involved had to show evidence of being a literary society, which quickly became a reality. When Juliet expresses interest in Guernsey and the experiences of the literary society during the years of German occuation, Dawsey puts her in touch with other members of the society. Juliet soon reads about a young woman, Elizabeth McKenna, who seems to bond the society members together. Elizabeth was arrested and sent to concentration camp during the war, and she has not been heard from since. While awaiting her return, the society members have taken care of her young daughter, who is now four years of age. This young child, Kit, has become the center of their lives. Through the letters, Juliet becomes very fascinated by Guernsey and its residents and believes that she might like to write about them. She decides to pay a visit to Guernsey, and her time there will change not only the course of her own life, but also that of the literary society members.

I enjoyed this book very much, but thought that it started out rather slowly. It took awhile to read enough about the characters in the letters to feel involved with them. Once I began to care about the characters, I liked the book and its pace much more. Since it is written in an epistolary form, the book does not have chapters, but the letters are not long so the book has many breaking points. This was a touching, sometimes poignant book that is much different from anything else I have ever read.(less)

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12/03/08

Bookczuk rated it:

bookshelves: first-novel-or-book, great-title, home-library, satisfying

Read in September, 2008

recommended to Bookczuk by: BookCrossing

Oh what a marvelous book! Given to me by Hazrabai.

When I first heard a reference to this book, I honestly thought I might be hearing wrong. After all, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society sounds more like a band that might appear on A Prairie Home Companion than the name of a book. But soon, I began hearing people wandering up to booksellers and asking, with a slightly bemused tone, "Umm...Do you have that potato book?" And even more astonishing, the ...more Oh what a marvelous book! Given to me by Hazrabai.

When I first heard a reference to this book, I honestly thought I might be hearing wrong. After all, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society sounds more like a band that might appear on A Prairie Home Companion than the name of a book. But soon, I began hearing people wandering up to booksellers and asking, with a slightly bemused tone, "Umm...Do you have that potato book?" And even more astonishing, the booksellers knew exactly what book to pull from the shelf. And it's no wonder -- this is one of my favorite reads of the year, and in this, I am happy to follow the crowd of other readers. How can you go wrong with a book about books, or a relationship that begins with a name written inside a used edition of Charles Lamb??

The story of a friendship that changed lives begins with a book. The Second World War has just ended and Juliet Ashton, a British writer, is searching for her next writing topic. She receives a letter from a man who lives on the recently German Occupied channel island of Guernsey who has stumbled upon her name in a second hand copy of a book of Charles Lamb. And thus starts a friendship, chronicled in letters, telegrams, and even notes slipped under doors, of an amazing relationship between Juliet and the residents of Guernsey. Juliet heads to the island to learn more about life there during the German Occupation and to meet the colorful members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Thankfully, she takes the reader along.

So much about this book appealed to me-- from the characters, to the setting and the retelling of a dark period in our history. Having just finished a re-read of 87 Charring Cross, I was even more enamored of the plot device of letters, etc to tell the story. I love a book that captures me and carries me away, so when I come back, my spirit is refreshed and I am more knowledgeable on a subject, too. I take special pleasure in reading first novels of authors and following their future writings, but sadly, this is not possible. Mary Ann Shaffer, a librarian (also editor, and bookseller) died in February 2008. Her niece Annie Barrows helped her aunt bring the wonderful characters of Guernsey to readers . Brava Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. And thank you.

My review of this book was published in our local paper February 13, 2009
http://charleston.net/news/2009/feb/13/m...(less)

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10/01/08

Suzanne rated it:

bookshelves: summer-read

Read in April, 2009

This was a fun and uplifting book written in an epistolery style (a series of letters between characters rather than narrative) I thought I would be put off by the format, instead I was charmed.
The story takes place primarily on the English Channel island of Guernsey, 30 miles off the coast of France and 100 miles from England. It is about half the size of Washington DC and close to the size of Martha's Vineyard.
Guernsey, Jersey and the other Channel Islands were occupied by ...more This was a fun and uplifting book written in an epistolery style (a series of letters between characters rather than narrative) I thought I would be put off by the format, instead I was charmed.
The story takes place primarily on the English Channel island of Guernsey, 30 miles off the coast of France and 100 miles from England. It is about half the size of Washington DC and close to the size of Martha's Vineyard.
Guernsey, Jersey and the other Channel Islands were occupied by the Germans from 1940-1945, the only British territory to be occupied by the Nazis. Germans fortified the islands and cut the wire to England, ending all communication with the outside world. Under Nazi occupation the Islanders endured extraordinary deprivation with food, petrol and general supply shortages resulting in starvation and illness. Children were evacuated to England at the last minute and many families were separated for years. Without outside communication the Islanders as a community grew closer together and that is the basic premise of this novel.
The story takes place in 1946, a year after the Occupation ceased. The main character, Juliet, is a 32 year old British writer who serendipitously finds herself drawn to Guernsey and the story of its people during the War. How this all plays out is done in a series of letters between Juliet and a delightful and entertaining cast of characters.
That said the correspondence often has a far-fetched quality to it that tests the reader's patience. If this was e-mail correspondence in 2009 it would be more believable. But somehow Shaffer asks us to accept the possibility that multiple letters can be mailed, received and responded to, on a daily basis. We are also expected to accept that the Islanders totally embraced this writer as one of them, which could have been possible I guess, after their years of isolation and hunger for communication with the outside world. But it is a stretch.
The novel succeeds when, in the course of letter writing, the experience of the occupation is conveyed to the reader. It fails when it becomes a love story, however cute, it has a Harlequin Romance (remember those?) quality. The perky girl, the strong, silent guy...you get the picture.
Nonetheless it is a fun read and made me one to travel to Guernsey. (less)

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