The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

i genuinely think this is one of the only few western WWII era books worth reading (this and the lovely war, but i have to reread it now that i have really developed my taste)

a lot of people complained about the epistolary format, but i really enjoyed it. i would have absolutely hated to have read this book from any one character's point of view (especially juliet's), so being able to hear every character speak about their experiences during the occupation of guernsey on top of modern day events of trying to find out about elizabeth and take care of her child was made much more interesting

lots of extraneous stuff, though. nothing regarding juliet and her various romances was worth however much page space was wasted on it

I can be skeptical of books written as a series of letters, but I thoroughly enjoyed that format for this book. It allowed the character nuances to come through subtly and develop over the course of the book. The story surrounds an author who befriends the literary society on Guernsey just after World War II. Her relationships lead her to write a book about the islanders' experience during the German occupation of the island. The characters are bright and fun, yet there is a moving and serious thread throughout. I whipped through the book and wanted more.

I loved this book. A totally different style of writing, it took me some time to figure it out but then the flow of the story was great. It is set in the aftermath of WWII. Even though the difficulties that people faced under the Germans were well documented, the book was not at all depressing. Its about the human spirit and how we find reasons to go on. I read many a page with a smile and a tear. Superb read

A good friend recommended this book to me a number of years ago. As soon as I saw it was planned as a Netflix movie, I knew I had to read it before the film was available. I read the book in two sittings and can say that it is an absolutely lovely read. I love the fact that the story was told in the form of letters allowing for numerous voices. It ended all too quickly.

During the first bit of this book I was not amused. I almost gave the book up, but decided to stick with it and I am so glad I did. The story picked up quite a bit with the trip to Guernsey and I began to love the characters. The book made me want a pen pal and to be able to write with Juliet's enthusiasm. Such a sweet and interesting story. I hope for a sequel!

After wading through/abandoning a string of subpar books, I was pretty down on reading. Many evenings and afternoons were wasted dithering on the computer because reading had become a chore; there was no joy. (Did I mention I'm a librarian?) Then this book came into my life and brought the electric love back to reading. I just finished the book a half hour ago and am wallowing in the book version of post-coital bliss, so this review is a little sappier than usual. I do not apologize.

This is the sweetest book I have ever read, it really started my year out on a high note. The characters are charming and funny and lovable. The letter format is an adjustment at first but very intriguing as it reveals the personal thoughts and relationships between characters. The premise is a beautiful exploration of the resilience of humanity in war and isolation, but most of all, how a community built on love and trust, is ultimately your family.

What to say? It's an award winner and I have several friends who have rated this book with a five star rating. So I guess I was expecting to love it and I just didn't. It took me way too many days to finish this book and maybe that's an issue in and of itself. If I read it in one sitting maybe it wouldn't have felt so disjointed to me. Anyway, I do love that the book features a “book club” of sorts that loves reading!

föl kellett adnom 17%-nál, hát nem lehet ezt bírni. miért akar valaki 528 szemszögű levelezőpártneros könyvet írni, ha képtelen különböző hangnemeket produkálni? ha nem lennének ott a címzések és az aláírások, fogalmam sem lett volna, ki jártatja a száját éppen, annyira összemosódnak a érdektelen szereplők érdektelen mondanivalói.

This story was very interesting to me but I didn't care for the letter format of the book. I found myself wishing I could read the book that Juliet was going to write that focused on Elizabeth. The island sounds like a wonderful place to live and I wish I could see it. I love the closeness of all the various characters that live there. I'd love to have neighbors like that.

This cover is so stupid. I mean, the love story isn't even the point with this book! Yes, it is there, but it's like a bonus. Had it been Elizabeth and Christian, it might have been ok, but not even that was the main point. I almost didn't read this when I saw that cover, and that would have been a big loss to me! I LOVE THIS BOOK!
It is rather heavy though. There are scenes that were almost unbearable to read. So if you are sensitive about the ugly truths of war, misery, human suffering, you might not want to read this book.
Though I wish you could try to tolerate it, because there is so much love, beauty and humor in this book... I feel my life is richer having read this story :-)

Also, the author waited for the very last moment to write this book... it's published posthumously. It was published in July 2008, she dies in February 2008. So, please, if there is a story inside you, please, please, please, tell it! It might be awful, but it might also be wonderful, and if it is wonderful, even for one other person, it would be truly awful if the story was never told. Please.

I can't get this story out of my head. I read it a year ago and I often find myself thinking about the characters, wondering if its time to revisit them. If that's not high praise for a book, I don't know what is.

Follow up: I did recently retread the book and felt that the end was a bit rushed. What happened to Kit? Did Juliet ever publish her book? As the story got ore and more involved with the romance at the end, a lot of the story seemed tossed aside in order to end with the”happily ever after” conclusion. While I don't want my stories to wrapped up with a great big bow at the end, I feel like some of the meaty parts of the story were neglected towards the end. That's not to say that this closet romantic wasn't completely enrapt in the story, I guess I just wanted more about all the other characters.

I really liked this book. Quite an easy read once I got the hang of the formatting. A very nice book to follow A Little Life. The story is upbeat and happy for the most part (even during the sad parts) and I found myself in a good mood almost every time I read this book.

It didn't change my perspective on anything, but that being said I still enjoyed reading it.