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A wonderful story. Many times reading historical novels I am reminded that my knowledge of history is deficient. Why isn't it more well known that Germany occupied a part of England during World War II? (Just as I think most people think Pearl Harbor was the only attack on US soil. It wasn't, there were battles on the Aleutians. But I digress.) At first, I thought this was going to be all too similar to 84 Charing Cross Road which I read only a couple of months ago, but I soon learned Guernsey g
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Two night read. Two nice love stories, wrapped around the same child. Sad and funny in turns, it even made me think about reading Seneca. Yes, the book owes a great deal to 84 Charing Cross Road. But the fact that the book is told in letters is not at all off-putting. In fact, the characters really do come to life through their writing -- the classic show, don't tell. If you love books, particularly sweet, old fashioned romances, you'll love this one.
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Thoroughly enjoyed this book even though the first 10 pages threw me off a little bit. This is due to the format of the writing; it's a book of correspondences (letters) between Juliet Ashton and others. However, as soon as I got the characters straight, it was soo easy and pleasant to read.
I'd like to have a friend just like Juliet - so witty in her letters. And I wish I could write letters just like hers. Although that would be mostly due to the relationships she has with each of the character ...more
I'd like to have a friend just like Juliet - so witty in her letters. And I wish I could write letters just like hers. Although that would be mostly due to the relationships she has with each of the character ...more
Informative, funny, sweet...
Informative--the information about life on Guernsey during German occupation was very interesting from deciding to send children off island in a day; the isolation from news; to the slow diminishing of food and fuel supplies for the inhabitants, forced labor prisoners and German troops.
Funny--the story of the inception of the Guernsey Literary Society, the butler impersonating his boss and other good chuckles
Sweet--maybe a little too
Informative--the information about life on Guernsey during German occupation was very interesting from deciding to send children off island in a day; the isolation from news; to the slow diminishing of food and fuel supplies for the inhabitants, forced labor prisoners and German troops.
Funny--the story of the inception of the Guernsey Literary Society, the butler impersonating his boss and other good chuckles
Sweet--maybe a little too
This was an interesting book on many levels. It was a fairly quick read, and the format of letters back and forth between the various characters was a fresh approach to story telling. Juliet's letters are witty and direct.
I knew that the Channel Islands had been occupied by the Germans during WWII, but I didn't know the extent of the hardships faced by the Guernsey Island inhabitants during the five years of the occupation. By telling the story in small snippets in letters, the history unfolded ...more
I knew that the Channel Islands had been occupied by the Germans during WWII, but I didn't know the extent of the hardships faced by the Guernsey Island inhabitants during the five years of the occupation. By telling the story in small snippets in letters, the history unfolded ...more
I really loved this book until the last ten pages. Right around page 260 I was only thinking about how badly I didn't want the book to end and then in one page the entire tone of the book changed. It went from being a touching story about a group of people who found solace and hope in each other through literature to a Nicholas Sparks novel. If I could rewrite the ending this would probably be one of my favorite books, but alas...
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Apr 05, 2010
Joanna
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audiobooks,
2010-read
The large cast of narrators on the unabridged audio version are excellent. The novel is a series of letters between the characters and the different narrators manage to bring the letters to life with widely different English accents and different voices.
The story wrapped up a little too neatly for my taste, but I found the characters quite enjoyable. The book, set just after the end of WWII, tells the story of the residents of Guernsey during the German occupation. I was entraced by the Guernsey ...more
The story wrapped up a little too neatly for my taste, but I found the characters quite enjoyable. The book, set just after the end of WWII, tells the story of the residents of Guernsey during the German occupation. I was entraced by the Guernsey ...more
Don't let the first couple of pages of this book fool you. It may start simple, but my the end of the book these people are your friends.
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Aug 13, 2009
Erin (NY)
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-i-own,
read-in-2010
I liked this book, but not as much as I expected to. I guess I went in with my expectations too high. I liked the perspective from which the story was told, I loved seeing all the possible perspectives. It was a bit hard to follow sometimes though because things happened too quickly. A very good read though.
I have not started it as yet. I had a hard time finishing it. I think this book was slow unlike the Soldier's Wife. I also think it had too many characters which made it hard to keep up.
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3.5 stars
Review to be added later.
Review to be added later.
For Fall Reading Challenge task 5.8
Jan 19, 2009
Shelby
marked it as to-read
Feb 05, 2010
Sarah
is currently reading it
