The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society in Pop Sugar's Annual Ultimate Reading Challenge

Jul 27, 2011 Connie rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this book. I came to love the characters and their stories. I didn't know anything about the occupation of the channel islands during world war two. It was a really interesting read. My only complaint was that it took me awhile to sort out all of the characters because the book was written entirely in letters but once I figured out who all the characters were I really enjoyed the book. I was so sad to read that the main author passed away before it was published. I think she wou ...more

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May 11, 2017 Robin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017

Juliet Ashton is a writer who spent WWII writing a light-hearted column for a London newspaper which has now been collected, after the war, into a book by her publisher and friend, Sidney Stark. While on a book signing tour, she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands. Dawsey has found a book which used to belong to Juliet, and he requests the name of a bookseller in London so that he can purchase new books, there being no supply of new books on the island. Gu Juliet Ashton is a writer who spent WWII writing a light-hearted column for a London newspaper which has now been collected, after the war, into a book by her publisher and friend, Sidney Stark. While on a book signing tour, she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands. Dawsey has found a book which used to belong to Juliet, and he requests the name of a bookseller in London so that he can purchase new books, there being no supply of new books on the island. Guernsey was occupied by the Nazis for most of the war and was cut-off from Britain and news of the outside world. During the war, Dawsey and his friends, including Elizabeth McKenna, started the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, initially as an excuse to hide the eating of an illegal pig from the Nazis. It soon bloomed into much more and became one of the reasons for their survival. Juliet starts to correspond with Dawsey and his friends, initially for journalistic purposes, but she finally visits Guernsey and finds more than she expected.

This book is written as a series of letters between Juliet, her friend and publisher, Sidney and his sister, Juliet's best friend, and the members of the Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society. Through the letters, we learn what the Society and reading books meant to its members, and how it helped them survive the war. The style is very reminiscent of 84, Charing Cross Road. The letters allow us to get to know not only the members of the Society but also Juliet as well, as we watch her grow and change as the members affect her life and vice versa. Although it is set a year or so after the end of WWII, there are quite a few direct reminiscences about the war. A subplot of the story is that of the life of Elizabeth McKenna, who was sent by the Nazis to Ravensbrueck shortly before the end of the war.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I knew in passing that the Channel Islands had been taken over by the Nazis during the war, but I had not really thought about what that entailed. The Islands, although a part of the UK, are self-ruled, but they depend on the UK for many of the necessities of life. I found it interesting that even though the Nazis occupied Guernsey, they too were starving toward the end of the war. It may deliver a history lesson, but it is also a sometimes joyous, often poignant peek into the lives of Juliet and the Society members.

I would recommend this book to anyone, but especially those who enjoy historical fiction. ...more

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Jul 10, 2011 Cari Allen rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary-fiction

A great quick read. Story is told through series of letters, the main character being an author who is introduced, by chance, to an society of individuals who endured the German occupation on Guernsey Island during WWII. The only complaint I have is that I wish the supporting characters, especially Sidney, were further developed.

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