This is one of those books that everyone seemed to be reading back when it came out, and I just didn’t, although I had a vague feeling that I would probably like it. (I tend to like books that have phrases like “literary society” in their titles.) After finally getting around to it, I am pleased to say that I enjoyed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society quite a bit, and should not have waited so long to read this charming novel.

***

I do like historical fiction, especially on topics new to me. I’d no idea that Nazi Germany had occupied the Channel Islands during WWII, or what life was like in the only part of the British Empire under German control during the war. 

The story unfolds slowly, through a series of letters. Juliet Ashton, an author on a book tour, exchanges correspondence with her publisher, is sent flowers from an admirer, and receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, a stranger to her, who had happened across a book she once owned and was searching for more information about the author. He wrote from Guernsey, and identified himself as a member of their Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society–which intrigued her enough to continue the correspondence, send him some books, and eventually learn that the Society had started as a cover for residents breaking curfew.  

Juliet eventually gets to know and befriend various members of the Society, learn about their wartime experiences, visit their island, and make their story her next writing project. 

Although at times the epistolary format can be a bit artificial (as when the plot necessitates writing about information already known to both the letter writer and the recipient), the story itself is sweet and fulfilling enough, and the main characters so likable, that I was able to overlook any such awkward contrivances. The plot is all wrapped up quite nicely, with as happy an ending as one can have in the aftermath of a brutal war, and a brighter future on the horizon.

HOW TO PURCHASE: AMAZON

NOVEL: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

AUTHOR: Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2008

LEAD-IN IMAGE

Book Cover - Penguin Random House