The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Anne Burrows

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie society
by
Mary Ann Shaffer and Anne Burrows

First I would like to thank Amy C @ Romance Book wyrm for coming up with this brilliant idea of reading and passing along this book to others. If you want to join us then head over here.

How to do this justice, I am going to use the back blurb to help me along.

January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb.

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society--born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island--boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society's members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.


I started, and I couldn't put it down. The book was delightful, wonderful, and entirely in letters. First I wasn't sure how that could work, and how I would keep track of everyone, but soon enough they become all dear to me. I got to know them just the way Juliet did. And at the end I didn't want to part from them.

Juliet is a writer who gets a letter from a man in Guernsey, and she writes back asking some questions. Soon enough many in the literary circle is writing to her, and more letters are on the way. She finds out how they had it during the occupation, and she becomes more and more intrigued by it all. She wants to write a book, and she wants to see her new and dear friends. Dawsey, Isola (the witch), sweet Kit, and all the rest. I did like them all, but Elizabeth struck a cord in me. And I went trough the same emotions as Juliet did. They had all such wonderful and tragic stories to tell.

This made me want to write long and witty letters to strangers. Not to mention start a book club, why are everyone so bad at reading here *sighs* They made it sound so fun. And I loved that some never really had read, but now they found the love of books in the shape of The Bronte sisters, Charles Lamb etc. To fall in love all over again with books, now that would be a joy.

When we get to hear the whole story, we get even more. The story continues and still with letters. And I just enjoyed it so much that I am lost for words. What more can I say then read this book, you will not regret it.