The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I decided to read this book after seeing it being recommended several times for the comfort it gives to its readers.

Overall, I liked the narrative style - the story is told through letters and telegrams. However, I always have a "problem" when stories are told this way: for me, it creates a certain distance between the reader and the characters. (I recognise that this is a me problem though).

I also was unaware of the romance. It was not exactly an unwelcome surprise, but it wasn't that well developed, I needed more scenes with them.

The end felt a little unfinished and abrupt which most likely the result of the primary author's declining health that led her niece, Annie Barrows, to do some rewriting and editing.

What I best liked about it: I hadn't even ever heard about the Channel Islands and the german occupation during World War II. I'm appreciative of the knowledge it brought me and the curiosity to know more. For this reason alone, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and its memorable characters was worth the read.

What an utterly charming and delightful novel this was!! I was captivated from the get go and really enjoyed the epistolary form the novel was written in. The characters are well written, witty and fun and I found myself laughing out loud on numerous occasions throughout! Of course it is not all giggles, as the subject matter deals with the occupation during WWII, but the author does a wonderful job of blending the serious with the lighthearted, what more can I say, just a really, really good book! It is such a shame that Mary Ann Shaffer passed before being able to see how very popular her novel would become.

I want to say that this book was a truly charming read, and it certainly is that, but ‘charming' can sometimes denote a lack of depth and that would be a disservice to it. Although the characters are wonderful, colourful and witty and although the ode to the power of stories is deftly woven throughout in ways that will make book lovers smile with a warm and fuzzy feeling, there is also a real thick vein of realness as well when dealing with the German occupation of the Channel Islands during World War 2 - a history I know next to nothing about. Even seeing it from the perspective of fictional characters it is heartbreaking and filled with a sorrow I'm glad I will never know. The great thing about this book though is that it is not about dwelling on those sorrows, but how people found a way to deal with it. It is filled with hope, humour, the love for friends and neighbours, the power of the written word and how it connects us. I found it a treasure to read with a perfect balance of charm and something a bit deeper.

This book taught me something history books failed to teach me in school: there was actual British soil occupied by the Nazis during WW II. Guernsey, a small island off the coast of Southern England was occupied for 5 years.

This story begins right after the war. Juliet, a London writer and journalist is looking for some new material. She finds it in the form of correspondences with people from Guernsey. Dawsey, a Guernsey resident and survivor of the war, is one of the founders of the literary group. The group formed out of sheer survival instinct. One day Dawsey, Elizabeth, and a few other residents break curfew and are caught. Elizabeth lies to the Germans on the spot, and says that she and her friends hadn't noticed time pass as they were in a book group discussing German literature. The soldier lets them go and Elizabeth convinces everyone to get their hands on any book they can find and meet up regularly at their neighbor's house just in case the soldiers decide to follow up on her story. They do just that and find solace in the books they read, and in the friendship and support they find in one another. 

Where does the Potato Peel in group's name come from? Since food was very hard to come by, especially sweets, one of the group members figured out a way to make a mashed potato type of pie and sweetened it with beet  juice (I think). This is what members ate during meet-ups.

Dawsey, a fan of Charles Lamb, finds a book with Juliet's name and address on it. He reaches out to her in hopes that she can send him another book by Lamb. His letter explains the hardship residents have had to deal with during the war and Juliet shares hers as well. Soon after, Juliet decides that the residents of the island are the story and she begins to correspond with them about their war experiences. 

The first third of the book really dives into the residents and their personal experiences with the war. The wartime recollections capture the desperation and deprivation of the time. The author loses the thread a bit, and the second third, and the heart of the story, is how most of the members– most of which never had an interest in reading, find a connection with a text or author – a connection which makes their existence on the war-torn island bearable. Although Elizabeth's positive influence on each of the members is mentioned throughout the whole story, the last third provides us with her own back-story, and how her kindnesses have helped everyone cope and see that there is a silver lining in all of this. Most of all, she helps Juliet center herself and recognize what is most important in her own life. 

I think the book started out very strong and then tapered off into a bit of fluff. I haven't been as forgiving of this trait in other books I've read - somehow it just works for this one. Maybe it's because of the subject matter. Wartime is so raw and devastating that one looks forward to sweetness and light at the end of it all. I can't quite place my finger on where or how the book lost steam. But, I think the book is worth reading if only for a lesson on how it came about that this piece of British soil happened to be occupied by Nazis.
   
I loved how a simple book club grew and grew. Each of the members had different tastes in books as well as different and personal reasons for reading and continuing to meet after the war. I felt like I was a silent member of the group and wanted to join in on the discussions! My greatest take away: “That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you on to another book, and another bit there will lead you on to a third book It's geometrically progressive – all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment.”