The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: A Novel Hardcover – July 29, 2008

My dear correspondent,I’ve always had to wonder when I read a novel comprised entirely of letters. I think, well, it’s either going to be very, very good or will peter out after the second chapter and become tedious, repetitive, and boring.I’m happy to say that “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer falls definitely into the former and not the latter category. It is very, very good, and (if I had to assess why) it’s because Shaffer tells a story and stays in command of the story to the very end. And the story itself is a dramatic one and based upon a recent historic event – the occupation of the Channel Islands by the German army during World War II.The Channel Islands lie just off the coast of France but have allegiance to Great Britain. Technically, they are not part of Great Britain, but their inhabitants sound (to an American ear) as British as any Briton. They were owned by Duke William of Normandy, who retained ownership after he invaded and won Britain in 1066.Because of the proximity to France, the British Army and Navy couldn’t defend the islands, so they became as much German-occupied territory as France and the rest of Europe. Their people were treated much the same as the rest of Europe. Which means very badly indeed.But it’s now 1946, and writer Juliet Ashton, fresh from a rather surprising success as the author of a collection of her funny wartime columns for the Spectator, is casting about for a new project. She’s previously written a biography of Anne Bronte, which wasn’t exactly a bestseller. So, the success of her collection of columns is welcome news indeed.Juliet receives a letter from a Guernsey resident named Dawsey Adams, a pig farmer interested in, of all things, the 19th century writer Charles Lamb. He has come to own a book of Lamb’s writings originally owned by Juliet (her name and former London address – bombed by a V2 rocket late in the war – is written in the inside cover. She begins a correspondence with Mr. Adams, and soon finds herself writing to other members of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a reading group formed rather hurriedly (as in, on the spot) when the Germans found a group of Guernsey residents out after curfew.In London, Juliet finds herself being amorously and rather relentlessly pursued by a wealthy American, but she isn’t sure if she’s interested or not. So a trip to Guernsey is just the ticket to work on a book and escape the would-be lover. And it is on Guernsey that Juliet discovers but never meets the founder of the society, Catherine McKenna, whose story becomes a story of the war, how people survived the occupation, and how they didn’t.Shaffer, who worked as an editor and librarian and also in bookshops, died in 2008. The novel was completed by her niece, Annie Barrows, the author of the “Ivy & Bean” and other children’s stories and the novel “The Truth According to Us” (2015). And while I want to tell you that you always want to see an author enjoy a well-deserved success, there is something about all of this that fits the author’s story and the story she tells.“The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” will make you laugh and make you cry. You will be struck silent at times. You will see how people cope in horrible circumstances, and what they to do help (and hurt) each other. And you will learn the difference books can make (including being used for kindling, but that’s another story for another letter).Oh, before I forget, the book’s been made into a movie of the same title, coming soon (I hope) to a theater near you! It stars Lily James (of Downton Abbey and Darkest Hour fame) as Juliet, and there are several other Downton Abbey stars in it.Sincerely and with warm regards,Glynn

I forgot how much fun it is to read good, old-fashioned correspondence. These letters, especially the ones written by the central character, are jaunty, naughty, full of personality and spunk. Her response to a dinner invitation, for example, is “Yes, dinner with pleasure. I’ll wear my new dress and eat like a pig.”Pigs end up playing a major role in this wonderful little book when the author connects with some villagers on Guernsey Island, who have recently emerged from German occupation during World War II. She learns how they outsmarted the Germans, who were fussy over farm animals, according to one explanation of how The Guernsey Literary Society came about in the first place. Spoiler alert: it was because of pigs.Their mischievous pig roast compelled them to keep up appearances as the literary society they indeed were not. Yet, as one of the inciters of the pig roast writes, “Once two members read the same book, they could argue, which was our great delight.” Their original naughtiness eventually morphed into a sweet band of friends who “read books, talked books, argued over books, and became dearer and dearer to one another.”The characters are vivid and easy to love, like the characters in Foyle’s War and 84 Charring Cross Road, carrying on despite the undertow of war rumbling beneath them. The writing delighted me, because so much of it made the familiar, ordinary things of life fresh and beautiful and fun (like when the author confesses really like to leave London to live on Guernsey instead). She writes, “The only thing I’d truly miss about London are Sidney and Susan, the nearness to Scotland, new plays, and Harrods Food Hall.” Refreshing: a little bit naughty, a little bit spice. My favorite line in the whole book is her contention that, “Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books.”I consider it a compliment to say that this was such a good book, it may have ruined me for whatever one’s next!

I really wanted to love this book, but it was just "ok" for me. I did not enjoy the format of it, although many would not really care about that aspect. It is written as correspondence between many characters. I did really enjoy the characters, though, and did not have any difficulty following the story. However, I really wish there was a bit more discussion of Juliet and Dawsey's relationship. It just seemed to come out of the blue, with no real excitement leading up to it. I didn't get much satisfaction out of it, for that reason. It was a very cute book, though, and I love a book about books and reading. Very well-written. I will definitely watch the Netflix adaptation - I have a feeling this is going to be one of those instances where I like the movie better than the book, and those times are rare.

I purchased this book after watching & enjoying the Netflix movie, but I am so, so very disappointed in it.I would say the vast majority of my disappointment comes from the story-though-a-bunch-of-letters format of the book. I HATE this format. I find it hard to follow, dependent on "telling" not "showing" and frankly just downright annoying.I dont think the story itself was bad...though it was hard to get emotionally invested because you didnt really know why Juliet took to Kit so quickly - other than she said she did - or even really why she had feelings for Dawsey.I will say after reading this I'm more impressed with the netflix movie because they did a good job of actually making it flow like a story instead of this mess of disjointed letters.

I purchased this novel on a whim, and didn’t have too many expectations of it. What a revelation! It turned out to be one of the best books I’ve read in ages! A fantastic story, told entirely through letters, that reveals the suffering the Channel Islands experienced in WW2, but also shows the great character and resilience of the IslandsI’m not going to say anymore as I don’t want to spoil anything. But please, if you enjoy an entertaining novel, give this one a try. I loved it!

This is about a writer who travels to Guernsey just after the end of the Second World War and falls in love with the place and the courage of its islanders during the German occupation. Written in an epistolary form, it allows the writer to let the characters tell their own stories of the occupation.Dawsey Adams owns a farm and likes the writings of Charles Lamb. This is a theme of the book that everyone has a favourite author. For Isola she talks to Juliet of her biography of Anne Bronte. Eben, a tombstone carver, likes Shakespeare, Wordsworth and Dickens. Clovis wants to learn poetry to impress a lady and looks to Catullus a Roman Poet and the war poetry of Wilfred Owen. John Brooker who takes on the persona of his employer Tobias Penn-Piers, reads the letters of Seneca. The founder of the society is Elizabeth, who we never see as she is captured and sent to a prisoner of war camp. Dawsey tells the reader how during the war the Germans confiscated all food provisions including any livestock. When Mrs Maugery calls him and tells him she has a pig and bring a butcher’s knife they gather the neighbour’s and have a feast. Coming home after curfew a little worse for wear they are caught by the Germans who demand to know where they have been. Elizabeth proclaims they have been at the inaugural meeting of the literary society. They had been reading Elizabeth and her German Garden, a book which I’m sure doesn’t exist, but placated the guards.In part one Juliet remains in the UK and the letters are sent back and forth. She also gains an admirer in the form of Markham Reynolds, a suave, intelligent American who sends her flowers and takes her out to dinner. Their relationship reaches a crunch point when he asks her to marry him and she is not sure. When she travels to Guernsey we see his more controlling side. This is a beautiful contrast to the simplicity and unassuming nature of the islanders.Each character has their own use of language and some are more opinionated than others. Adele Addison disapproves of Elizabeth due to her liaison with a German Officer, but Remy who resides in the detainment camp with her speaks of her courage. Isola speaks of men being more interesting in books than in real life and is dismayed someone has not introduced her to Jane Austen. Dawsey is portrayed as not very well educated, especially when contrasted with Juliet’s American suitor, but he still reads Charles Lamb.Witty and engaging this is a beautiful easy read, celebrating the courage of an island through the eyes of its residents and the curiosity of a writer. What makes this more poignant is the fact that the author died before the final edit and it was her niece that completed the book.

What a brilliant book presented as an exchange of letters from a young authoress to the members of the Guernsey literary society and her mainland friends and colleagues during the WW11 German occupation of Guernsey. An eye opener for those of us who did not realise the impact the occupation had on the Channel Islanders.After an hour or so reading, I felt that I knew the characters and was hooked. Alongside the deprevations of war, the cruelty in the concentration camps and the duplicity of a few traitorous locals selling information to the Germans for favours, there is much humour and a slowly emerging love story.Nice is not a nice word, but very occasionally it is exactly the right word. This is a nice book.

3.5 StarsI only purchased this book because of the title - it intrigued me - then shortly after purchasing I saw a trailer for the movie so figured I'd better move it up my "to be read" list. I wasn't aware that this was an epistolary novel on purchasing and this did throw up a couple of issues for me - not the nature of the reading or the layout of the book, but rather the fact that the only distinct voice was that of Juliet. The letters to her from all other sources do not have a sufficiently distinct "voice" to make the book really work; the one exception being Adelaide Addison and even then you can still feel the author(s) beneath the words.What the format does do very well is give you a sense of time and place that the events are unfolding in. It also allows multiple threads to unfold at the same time without ever really blurring them in to each other. I did feel in places that 21st Century morality had been superimposed on to the year immediately post the second world war (this was particularly true in the case of how one character's homosexuality was dealt with). On the whole the time period did feel generally realistic and Juliet Ashton makes for an exceptionally likeable protagonist.What the authors have done well is to gently introduce us to themes and ideas without beating us over the head with them. The overarching thread is one that deals with the German Occupation of Guernsey and the privations suffered by the Islanders at the time. This gently unfolds in the form of letters to Juliet from first Dawsey Adams and then a complete avalanche from the other members of the Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society, each giving their experience of the Occupation and how the books they read helped them through and brought them together as a community.It is a rich book that I enjoyed but somehow I felt a little let down by it all in the end. I would recommend it to another reader but it doesn't make my re-read list.

This is a book that people I know seem to either love or hate, I liked it being from Guernsey myself. It's a love story told in the form of letters or telegrams sent back & forth, I did get confused with who was who with the constant changing names but towards the end began to grasp it. It's not a long read but has a proper story to tell about the nazi occupation of Guernsey & I learnt some history along the way.It's probably not a true story but will be part truths about things that really happened at that time. This is being made into a film with big name actors shortly, so get a heads up on it now