The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Author: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Rating: 5/5

Recommend: This novel is written in letters. Letters. Do I need to say more?

Your first thought was about the title wasn’t it? Well, in all honesty mine was too. There's a hilarious story about that early on in the book! The Guernsey is among those very few, very rare novels which can proudly boast a movie that more than lives up to the novel’s fame – I loved it. I feel pure joy to review this.

It is the year 1946. The world is recovering from the after-effects of the second World War, and London is no different… welcome to London in the 1940’s where the air is gray with smoke, and piles of rubble still decorate the roads to remind the people of the devastating years past. This is the home of Juliet Ashton, a beautiful young author who has recently achieved success from her debut novel.

Dawsey Adams!

One day Juliet receives a letter from a young man in Guernsey – enter Dawsey Adams! The two of them discover a shared love for books and Juliet finds the perfect setting for her next story: the gorgeous island of Guernsey and its colorful, humble inhabitants.

From the very first letter of Dawsey to Juliet, I knew that these two were meant for each other – it’s hard to keep apart two people with a shared love of books.

“That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you to another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive - all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment.”   - Juliet Ashton

The lovely Juliet <3

I loved the scenic descriptions in this book. As in the way my love for Italy grew when reading Love and Gelato, my heart yearned to visit the hills and beaches of Guernsey, while reading the vivid descriptions by Mary Ann Shaffer. If in Juliet’s place I went to visit Guernsey myself, I think I wouldn’t want to come back either. Reading about what it was like for the islanders during the occupation of the islands by Germany, was a moving experience too. I have read before in many stories of the way people suffered due to the Nazi’s, but this is the first time I read that the soldiers suffered too.

Guernsey beach...

I wish that the story of the Guernsey and all its inhabitants, Kit, Dawsey, Isola, Eben, Eli, Elizabeth – especially Elizabeth – and the rest were not just lovely characters from Shaffer’s mind, and were people I could really meet. Fiction seems like such a sunnier place than reality does it not? Anyhow, after reading this delight of a book, the Channel Islands have easily made their way to the top of my places to visit in Europe list.

P.S. Please watch the movie on this! Each of the characters are vividly represented in the film. It's beautiful - you'll love it.