January Book Club Selection
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, By Annie Barrows and Mary Anne Shaffer
(Reviewed by Jane)
I loved this book! It’s set in post-WWII, London, where writer, Juliet is searching for something to write about, when she stumbles into a correspendence with first one, then numerous inhabitants of the small island of Guernsey. Guernsey is off the British coast and was occupied by the Germans, during the war.
Juliet is delightful and a smart-aleck, which is probably why I enjoyed her so much. The whole book is a series of letters between her and the various characters in her life, but most importantly, the colorful members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, who formed, when some of the folks on the island were caught outside, after curfew, buy the occupying German soldiers.
I have to admit that my knowledge of the history of WWII, is limited, other than the obvious stuff about D-Day, the Holocaust, etc., but the horror that people in Great Britain (and other countries) suffered, with the bombings, occupation, rationing, etc. was really what this book is all about, but it’s not a sad, horrible story. In fact, it does deal with that awful time in history, but in a very human way, and that is with humor. …
Juliet gets to know all of these people from Gurnsey, via many, many letters and then eventually, she decides to turn it into a book and travels to the island, where she meets them all face-to-face, and their stories of the occupation, are told and yes, there is some romance, for those of you who think this is merely a ‘war story’.
Maybe the reason, that I liked the book so much, was due to the stuff going on, in our history, over the past few years. All we heard, was that America and the world, were in the midst of the greatest economic crisis, since the Great Depression, blah, blah, blah….our lives suck, will we ever recover, etc. I’ve found that the greatest antidote to hearing about and dwelling on our ‘awful lives’ is to read about history and events, that make our current troubles pale in comparison and this book fits the bill, while not being dark or depressing. It’s actually uplifting; the way that we, humans, can go on after turmoil, tragedy and suffering, is something that we all need to be gently reminded of now and then.
So, go grab a copy of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society at The Tattered Cover (3 locations) at 20 percent off. Be prepared, I had a hard time putting it down.