Books and Jams Readalong discussion
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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Guernsey Literary - Jan 2018
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Part 2 - Ending
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Krista
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rated it 4 stars
Jan 01, 2018 05:59AM
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Thing I liked - all the quirky characters!! I just fell in love with Guernsey and the Literary Society. I even loved Adelaide, who we never actually meet once Juliet goes to Guernsey, but who made me laugh as the "villain" of the story.
Who was your favorite Society member?
I have a soft spot for Dawsey and his quiet demeanor. I loved the description at one point of how everyone breathed a sigh of relief whenever he entered the room. (I didn't get that quite right, but do you remember what I'm talking about?) I loved watching Juliet discover she was in love with him. Oh and Isolde's Miss Marple aspirations near the end cracked me up. She had it so wrong!
Can't wait to discuss these characters with you all!
I also loved the balance between the charm and humor with the tragic and heartbreaking bits of history about the German occupation. I found it an interesting way to learn. Some WWII historical fiction can feel so heavy on my heart. And while this had moments of heartwrenching history and glimpses of how hard it really was for them on the island it was offset by these wonderful characters and their resilience, friendship and humor. It was very different from most WWII fiction I read. What did you think about the way that was all handled?
I was surprised that Adelaide wasn't mentioned when Juliet came to Guernsey. Just seemed like she disappeared.
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Yeah, I would have liked some face to face time with Adelaide too. She showed up in one of the letters, when they were talking about Elisabeth with all the kids and she slapped Adelaide for scaring them. And again she shows up at the very end for just a second. But I was hoping for a conflict there! Would have been a fun scene.
On page 197. Just realized I was completely wrong about Sidney...hahahaha!
I loved this! I ended up rating it 5 stars. Like you Krista, I fell in love with Guernsey and all of the characters. I especially loved Juliet. She was such a pip. Some of her letters had well crafted one liners. For example when Sydney has to go to Rome, she asked if he was being appointed Pope. Made me laugh out loud! I also loved how Elizabeth was such a central character though we never got any letters from her point of view. I agree that though this touched on super awful happenings of WWII, it was able to keep things light at the same time. Wonderful from start to finish!
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Haha. I had the same realization and had a good chuckle over it. I missed something somewhere! haha. Glad I wasn't alone!
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I'm so glad you loved it Amber. I agree that the humor was spot on and the characters were so wonderfully quirky and full of life. I also found it interesting that Elizabeth plays such a central role, both in the book Juliet is going to write and in this book itself. Very smart writing!
I think I'm in the minority on this one, but after reading some of the reviews for this book, I'm not alone. I enjoyed the story, but I didn't love it as much as others. I found this book hard to follow. I switched to the audiobook, which did help some, but I still found it to be good, not great. I'm glad I read it though. :)
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Becky. Sorry you didn't love this one. I can see how it was a bit hard to follow and maybe even a bit choppy at times. I'm glad the audiobook helped a bit with that. Hope the next one goes better for you!
I don't have any qualms with the epistolary format typically, but it didn't sit well with me with this story. I think I would've liked this better had it been a straight up narrative. I could've read an entire book of Isola, though, especially her "detective work" at the end!
I loved the book and gave it a 4.5 stars. I did listen to the audio book. I didn't want the book to end...I wanted to hear about the wedding and adoption of Kit. I enjoyed Isolde's detective work (too funny) but I do wish the engagement would have been told from Juliet's point of view also. I wanted to know about Dawsey's reaction to Juliet's forwardness.I had no idea about Sydney either until it was just plainly said. So if there were clues/hints they must have been extremely subtle. Overall, such a wonderful story with such fun characters. It was heartbreaking and hopeful all in one. I have recommended the audio-book to my mom already.
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I can see how this letters format wouldn't work all the time. I am totally into it right now though, so I loved it in this book too. Isolde was a fantastic character, such a whippersnapper and somewhat clueless as well. She was fun to read about!
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I would have loved another few chapters (or letters) at the end for sure. Maybe Dawsey's first love letter...awww. I guess that wouldn't necessarily fit the rest of the book though. I also found it hopeful and heartbreaking at times too. Glad you liked it so much!
I regret waiting so long to read this book! I might have cheered...just a little....when Juliet sent Mark packing.
Solid 5 stars for me and I'm so happy to own this book. I've got it marked and tabbed and will revisit it it again.
I really liked this book. I actually laughed out when I read Sydney was a homosexual and Judith knew about it all along. I thought she was unknowingly in love with Sdyney. I was right about "being in love unknowingly with somebody" at least hahaha.
Anyhow, my favorite society member was Isola, she was really fun to read. I especially liked the ending with her "Miss Marple" notes.
She was also wrong and admitted like all of us ;)
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I might have cheered...just a little....when Juliet sent Mark packing.
Solid 5 stars for me and I'm so happy to own this book. I've got it marked and ..."
I'm so glad it was such a win for you! Yeah, Mark was the worst. I'm glad she came to her senses about him!
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I actually laughed out when I read Sydney was a homosexual and Judith knew about it all along. I thought she was unknowingly in love with Sdyney. I was right about "bein..."
I was so surprised when I read that about Sydney! I didn't think there were any clues and it took me by surprise! I'm glad she had such good friends in Sydney and his sister and also glad she found her love by the end!
I found Elizabeth to be my favorite society memeber. Eventhough we never got to meet her, she was such a strong character and everyone loved and respected her....even with her perceived "flaws" of some of the choices she made, she made from the heart. I was actually sad to learn of her death. What Remy said about Elizabeth was so profound...."It would have been better for her not to have such a heart."Even after taking so long to finish, I still very much enjoyed this book. I'd give it 4 stars. I can't wait to see the movie adaptation coming out this year.
This was my second epistolary novel I've read and I really do enjoy this style of writing. In case anyone is look for another epistolary, I picked up a new paperback last year, The Chilbury Lady's Choir. It's told in diary, journal and letter form.
