Thursday, January 22, 2009

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows



Content rating: 1.2.2
Category: Literary fiction, historical
Published: 2008
Review: 4.5/5
This story is told in the letters sent back and forth between several characters. Juliet is the spunky, witty journalist turned novelist who is the at center of all the letters. The year is 1946, right after WWII ended, and England is recovering from the war. Juliet comes in contact with a group of people from the island of Guernsey which is located in the English Channel and is part of Great Britain. The island had been occupied by Germans for most of the war and this group established the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a book club, to help them get through the occupation. I loved this book. It became a little predictable and formulaic towards the end but it is the kind of book that I just loved reading. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of reading and finishing this book. I can't say that about every book I read. I need to finish most books before I can say, "This is a great book!" I was recommending this book to others before I was even half way done with it because I had fallen in love with the characters and I wanted to introduce them to everyone I knew. I don't want to hype this book too much so you won't be disappointed with it. I just really liked it because it was a feel good book without being too sweet. The tragedy of the war is dealt with and you can feel the pain of it but it's in a way that is hopeful and makes you feel that good can come from trials. Highly recommended.

10 comments:

Suey said...

I'm really hoping to get to this one soon.

Shelley said...

I just started this one, so I just skimmed your review. I'll come back and read it all when I'm done!

caribookscoops said...

This sounds like a good book. I have a penchant for books that talk about reading so I'll have to check this one out.

Anonymous said...

I am SO hoping that I read this book this month! I was thrilled to win it in a giveaway!

Sharon said...

I had to send this book back to the library, because I didn't have time to read when I had it:( It had a huge waiting list on it. I'll need to request it again.

Stephanie said...

I think you'd enjoy the book "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel.There's no profanity, some violence due to animal life. The protagonist's father runs a zoo. It's really good.

Kim said...

I hope you all get to read this soon. Stephanie, thanks for the recommendation. I have read "Life of Pi" and loved it. Great book.

Stephanie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Stephanie said...

Thanks for recommending this book. It's one of the best I've read in a long time.

Tracy said...

Very Very good - Book club favourite this one - We have read a few on different aspects pf teh second world war from various perspectives over teh years butthis was our favourite !