The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
A #1 New York Times Bestseller and now a Netflix film, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society tells the remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name. Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.
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Community Reviews
Donât hate me, but I preferred the Netflix adaption. The way the story was told through letters just didnât work for me.
A delightful book chosen by one of my book clubs!
At first I did not expect to enjoy this. Because of a previous book club run by a rather imperious woman who chose way too many WWII books, I generally avoid WWII settings. I also disliked the letter format at first, but finally acknowledged that after a bit I would start remembering the different letter writers, and also that earlier in my life I enjoyed books written with similar types of format, like Up the Down Staircase.
We've gotten very used to brief messages. We text using abbreviations and gifs, we send emails which try to finish our sentences for us. These letters seem unreal in their expressive language, and quite lengthy. However, I'm the lucky holder of family history - I have family letters going back into the 1950s. While many were short notes, there are plenty of letters from my family with great detail. With other forms of communication being out of budget (back when long distance calls were only made after 11 p.m. or on the weekend, and they were timed to keep the costs down), letter writing was more of an art. Even my ancestors who were wives of coal miners and farmers had lovely letters (and most had beautiful penmanship).
I got very much caught up in learning about Elizabeth and waiting for her return or demise. There were so many times I wanted to peek ahead and learn her fate, but I waited, impatiently. I fell in love with Kit, and felt Juliet's slow realization of her feelings, and her calmness and acceptance of her perceptions.
I've started writing in books that I read for book clubs. In this one, I had different reactions - instead of simple underlining or commentary notes, I also had doodled facial expressions - the sideways glance, the tear-covered face, the monuments I imagined. Any book that elicits a different type of reaction in my at 64 years old is a pleasure!!!
At first I did not expect to enjoy this. Because of a previous book club run by a rather imperious woman who chose way too many WWII books, I generally avoid WWII settings. I also disliked the letter format at first, but finally acknowledged that after a bit I would start remembering the different letter writers, and also that earlier in my life I enjoyed books written with similar types of format, like Up the Down Staircase.
We've gotten very used to brief messages. We text using abbreviations and gifs, we send emails which try to finish our sentences for us. These letters seem unreal in their expressive language, and quite lengthy. However, I'm the lucky holder of family history - I have family letters going back into the 1950s. While many were short notes, there are plenty of letters from my family with great detail. With other forms of communication being out of budget (back when long distance calls were only made after 11 p.m. or on the weekend, and they were timed to keep the costs down), letter writing was more of an art. Even my ancestors who were wives of coal miners and farmers had lovely letters (and most had beautiful penmanship).
I got very much caught up in learning about Elizabeth and waiting for her return or demise. There were so many times I wanted to peek ahead and learn her fate, but I waited, impatiently. I fell in love with Kit, and felt Juliet's slow realization of her feelings, and her calmness and acceptance of her perceptions.
I've started writing in books that I read for book clubs. In this one, I had different reactions - instead of simple underlining or commentary notes, I also had doodled facial expressions - the sideways glance, the tear-covered face, the monuments I imagined. Any book that elicits a different type of reaction in my at 64 years old is a pleasure!!!
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I became so mesmerized by the setting of this book that I talked James into taking a boat from France to Guernsey Island (British Isles) so we could spend a few days there.
I absolutely loved this book! I have to admit, I was a little nervous about the epistolary style. But I think it absolutely enhanced the story telling. I am anxiously awaiting the movie release.
I thought that the story itself was good but the book was abit over-hyped. I was expecting extraordinary, but to me, it was just "good."
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