The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society in Some Like It Hot!

Jan 15, 2009 Christa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library

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 m 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. ...more

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Jan 06, 2009 Wendy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: feb-09, oct-15

Loved it even more the second time around!

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Mar 31, 2010 Kelly rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I first noticed this book in Barnes and Noble one day many years ago. I thought it was an interesting title and in fact, it was interesting enough to make me pick it up and glance at it. I think I almost bought it and had to put it down in order to purchase another book. Fast forward a few years, and several of my friends have read and recommended this book to me but I always left it in the back of my priority list because it just didn’t seem very exciting to me. Fast forward again and one of my I first noticed this book in Barnes and Noble one day many years ago. I thought it was an interesting title and in fact, it was interesting enough to make me pick it up and glance at it. I think I almost bought it and had to put it down in order to purchase another book. Fast forward a few years, and several of my friends have read and recommended this book to me but I always left it in the back of my priority list because it just didn’t seem very exciting to me. Fast forward again and one of my favorite friends on Goodreads recommended the book to me but in audio form. I was really intrigued with the idea of listening to an audio book and I asked what the best audio book was. In response, my friend urged me to get the audio of this book and to listen to it. Fast forward again to just a few weeks ago and lo and behold, I found it at my library and due to the wonders of having a Nook (not a Kindle, but a Nook, because if I had a Kindle, I wouldn’t be able to write this) I was able to download and listen to Guernsey in like 10 minutes time and that was only because I had to install some software that I didn’t already have installed. So that’s how I came to listen to this book rather than read it.

Also, before I get into my review, in preparation to write it, as I always do, I read other reviewers opinions. I was completely shocked to see that there were quite a few negative reviews on this book. I tell you, I was shocked. Most of the reviews I read cited a poor and unbelievable plot. So I will address those complaints in my review rather than go over why this is such an amazing book.

Listening to this book was a real treat. It was almost like watching a play. The artists that read their parts were delightful and I find myself speaking with a British accent even though I am a Valley Girl. The artists took me away to this time period and I could smell the salt air and hear the seagulls. You know why? Because I have an imagination and that’s what this author asked you to do. Just to relax and enjoy and use your imagination and go somewhere FUN for a change. Quit reading about vampire teenagers and hard ass chick paranormal slayers. If you do, if you can take the stick out of your ass and just ENJOY something for once, you will be pleased and rewarded. I didn’t just like this. I LOVED it. It is well worth the purchase of an audio version which is what I will be doing because this is something I will want to listen to again and again and again. I don’t think I’d ever want to read it though because it was just so perfect on audio.
Thank you to my friend Jennifer for recommending such a delightful and wonderful piece of journalistic joy.

What I liked: I loved, no, I ADORED the little bits of humor thrown in here and there that made me seriously stop and laugh. Real belly laughs. This is a love story of sorts and yet my favorite part about the book wasn’t the love story, but the people around the love story.

What I disliked: I dislike that these people aren’t real. I want to go and visit them and have a cup of tea and exchange recipes and books and some genuine life shares.
My rating: 5 feathers

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Dec 02, 2009 Rachel rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites-dik-s

FANTASTIC. One of my favorites.

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Jul 20, 2009 L.D. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

At first I had trouble getting into the story because of the style of presentation. I was getting bogged down on who was writing to whom. Then I discovered that this was not most important. It was the sharing of a time period most interesting. After the revelation the reading was a breeze. The characters became more real and enchanting. The ending was very sweet. Without getting into a horrific description of those times the writers gave us enough to picture the tragedy. A classic in my "book." ...more

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