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| Authors: Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
Publisher: The Dial Press
Category: Book
List Price: $22.00
Buy New: $13.20
You Save: $8.80 (40%)
Rating:  373 reviews
Sales Rank: 32
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.8 x 1
ISBN: 0385340990
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780385340991
Publication Date: July 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 For me, a remarkable 5 star book. July 29, 2008
22 out of 30 found this review helpful
This review is of a book I received free through the Vine Voice Program.
Ever since I finished reading this book I have been trying to decide how to express the pleasure I had in reading it. I only hope I can come close. The book is written completely in letter form. There is no dialogue at all except for the small amount which is contained within some of the letters. I have never read an entire book written in this way and was concerned that it would be difficult to get close enough to the characters to make me see and understand them, but I am glad to say that these two authors, Mary Ann Shaffer and her niece Annie Barrows, made each character come alive within the pages of this book. They very obviously spent time doing extensive research and then plotting the book in order to use this unusual method for telling their story.
The story opens with a letter dated 8th January, 1946, from Juliet Ashton to her publisher Sidney Stark. As you can tell from the date, World War II is over but only just barely. England is beginning the slow process of returning to normal. Juliet has been writing a column for a London newspaper during the war but not under her own name. These have been gathered by her publisher into a single volumn and she is about to embark on a promotional tour to sell the book. She knows she wants to write more serious material but has not come up with an idea for another book. Out of the blue, (and I say thanks to the wonderful British Postal Service), she receives a letter addressed to her at what used to be her flat but which is now a pile of rubble. The writer of the letter, Mr. Dawsey Adams,lives on the island of Guernsey and has, somehow, gotten a book written by Charles Lamb. Inside the book was written Miss Ashton's name and address. Would she consider helping him by sending the name and address of any book stores in London so he could search for more books by Lamb? He states that reading Charles Lamb's account of a roast pig made him laugh during the German Occupation of Guernsey, especially since a roast pig figured prominently in the formation of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And so it begins, with a simple request for help in finding books. How had the book gotten to Guernsey? Having a naturally inquisitive nature Juliet is drawn into finding out more about this very unusually named organization.
From this point on, the lives of everyone who knows and comes to know Juliet will be changed by the letters she receives from the members of the Society. The authors use letters from Juliet, her publisher, her friends and the people of Guernsey to tell the story of the German Occupation of that tiny island. The horrific deprivation, the utter isolation, the agonies these people suffered by being completely cut off from everyone and everything they knew for five long, brutal years. The decision which had to be made by parents of whether to send their children to England or keep them with them on Guernsey after it became apparent that the island would be invaded. They had only one day to make this decision. Keep your child with you and not know what you would be forcing that child to suffer or send your child away and not even know where the child was, who they were with, how they were.
Through the letters we also see the experiences in Concentration Camps and find out why three of the characters were sent away. And what happened to them while they were in the camps. It is difficult to read about these things but we need to remember, to make sure we never forget what human beings did to other human beings.
I highly recommend reading this book. It is a presentation of a truly remarkable event in history presented in a remarkable manner. It started off making me laugh out loud, then it began to become more somber when the experiences of the islanders began to be revealed. I knew of the invasion of Guernsey but that is about as far as my knowlege went. It never crossed my mind to wonder about the deprivation of every single item which makes life enjoyable, fuel, food, clothing, shoes, candles. Burning your books in order to have heat for a small amount of warmth. And yet, this book shows the strength these people found within themselves and the friendships which were formed or strengthened by enduring hardships together. I don't know how the book will be marketed. It is more than just a book about history, it is more than a story of a young woman finding her purpose in life, it is more than recounting the experiences which made people be resourseful and strong. But it is all of these things. I'm going to make sure each family member and friend I know has an opportunity to read this, I think it is that important.
*****Added 8/3/08 After reading this book I kept having that niggling feeling that I knew this story from somewhere. After a moment of searching the internet I discovered the answer. In 2005 I watched a Masterpiece Theatre presentation on PBS called Island at War. It told this same story, relying of course on interaction between the islanders and the German occupiers. It was a very good series if you are interested in continuing your exploration of this chapter of English history. jel*****
 2.5 out of 5: I Don't Understand the Hype August 6, 2008
21 out of 33 found this review helpful
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a lighthearted epistolary novel about an author who travels to Guernsey, a British island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy. The protagonist, Juliet Ashton, is a writer with a warm personality and an adventurous spirit. As Juliet researches her next book about the German occupation of Guernsey during WWII, she befriends the quirky members of a book group on the island. Although The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is charming at times, this book is mostly lacking in substance. The characters are formulaic, and the plot is entirely predictable. A quick and forgettable read.
A book to cherish August 7, 2008
17 out of 19 found this review helpful
I have, in the past, had occasion to say that reading was one of the most important things in life, right up there with family, food and sleep. This book not only reminded me why I believe that, but it gave me the warm, satisfying sense that I was among like-minded people.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (From now on, referred to as GLP3S) is an epistolary novel set at the close of WWII. It chronicles the correspondence of a London author who is suffering not so much from writer's block, but from idea block. Her letters to and from friends, her editor, and eventually the members of the aforementioned society, begin in a humorous tone -- if you're the sort who puts a great store in statistics, I'd estimate that I had a good, loud laugh about every three to five pages to start. I didn't think to tally the grins. But as the book goes on, the witty exchanges take on a deeper and more touching edge. We learn the background of the GLP3S, and then of its members. We learn what they suffered during the war, and their five-year-long occupation by the Germans, and we learn how they endured it. They don't fight the Germans so much as observe them, trick them when they can, endure them when they must. They are people of strength, compassion (most of them) and deep feeling. Their reading, and the exchange of ideas it inspires literally keeps some of them alive.
I don't want to say too much and spoil the novel. I want everyone to read it for themselves and come to know these people and how lovely and dear they are. And I hope, I hope every reader will be reminded of his/her love of the written word, and the understanding of how deeply it matters.
Five stars just aren't enough.
ETA: This book will not leave me alone. No sooner did I finish it and write the review than I began it again. I love every character, even the awful ones. I love the place. I love the way it's written. It's not just a book to cherish, but one to escape into when your day has sucked the soul from you. Juliet and the people of Guernsey will put you right.
The only quibble I have is that we never do find out what Juliet thought of the Potato Peel Pie with the festive topping. An oversight to be sure, but a minor one.
 If You Don't Read Classics, You May Not Like It August 7, 2008
13 out of 27 found this review helpful
This book is written in the form of letters that are sent from friend to friend. You have to pay attention to who is writing to whom because there are a lot of characters. There were also times when I had to put the book down because I felt so overwhelmed from so many of them. The story was interesting and at times quaint but I can not help but wonder if I would have enjoyed it more if I read classics more often. The books aren't the core of this story they are just the start of a friendship between strangers from different countries. At times it also did annoy me that there was no real plot just little tidbits about each others lives. I want to like the book more but can only say it was ok and an interesting setting
Sweet and Well Meaning September 18, 2008
13 out of 21 found this review helpful
How can I possibly pan a novel that is so sweetly well meaning? All lace and lavender, nostalgic, ladylike, with all the comforting qualities of a cup of tea? With reluctance, I do. This is a pot of sickly syrup in book form, carefully crafted to press all the right sentimental notes. There is no narrative tension, not a voice is raised, it is a floral garden filled with perfect flowers. This book reminded me of my second grade reader, featuring a little boy and girl who lived in Friendly Village, a setting so perfect that even in second grade I felt it was false. That is what Guernsey Literary Society is, it is Friendly Village, it emits the falseness of perfect sweetness and light. So many readers have obviously enjoyed it from these reviews, so the book has found its readership.
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