The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society | 
 enlarge | 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%)
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Rating:  315 reviews
Sales Rank: 50
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 288
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.8 x 1
ISBN: 0385340990
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780385340991
ASIN: 0385340990
Publication Date: July 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
“ I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.” January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….
As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.
Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.
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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| Customer Reviews: Read 310 more reviews...
 A True Delight! July 25, 2008
Tamela Mccann (Nashville, TN USA)
310 out of 316 found this review helpful
What a wonderful book! Having just finished this one, I am still smiling and thinking of the characters. Had I the time and money, I'd be booking a trip for Guernsey right this minute. As it is, I feel as though I've already visited and been made to feel at home.
Set in both London and Guernsey Island, this novel follows author Juliet as she becomes friends with the inhabitants of the island shortly after the end of World War 2. Told in epistolary style, Juliet learns of the occupied island and its deprivations, as well as the resounding spirit of the people who live there. As she writes, she becomes more and more intrigued with the stories of the people who survived the hard times, and she decides to create a book based on their experiences. In order to gather more information, Juliet moves temporarily to the island and soon finds herself immsersed in the culture and relationships.
This is absolutely one of the most delightful books I've read all year. The characters are real, the relationships are unique, and Juliet is hysterically funny, as well as warm hearted and genuine. I did have a bit of trouble keeping all the characters straight in the beginning, but once I caught on, I was enthralled. The pages just fly by and while you will learn a little of what happened to Guernsey during World War 2, you will learn much more about love and friendship. Highly recommended!
For Lovers Of Literature And Life July 22, 2008
Susan K. Schooniver (Boulder, CO)
91 out of 94 found this review helpful
I wasn't that eager to read this lovely book. The title sounded silly and I've read a few other books that were told entirely in the form of notes or letters like this one and I wasn't too impressed. And an aunt and her niece authoring a book together? I couldn't imagine it. Yet, miraculously, THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY manages to offer wonderful well rounded characters, a genuine sense of historic time and geographic place, some real inspiring stories of courage under hardship during World War II and a sweet if rather predictable love story.
The book takes place in England during the mid 1940's when the country was recovering from the effects of the long war years. The central character of the novel is Juliet, a thirty something single Londoner who has had some success writing a humorous newspaper column and is now looking for a book subject. Through chance and a mutual love of the power of literature Juliet begins corresponding with a group of diverse people on the British island of Guernsey who used books and the fellowship they found discussing them to help them get through the hideous occupation of their island by the Germans. The authors do a wonderful job giving unique voice and style to each of the letter writers (maybe having two authors really helped in this case) long before Juliet meets her new friends face to face. In the second half of the book, also written in letter form, Juliet is on Guernsey herself and this part of the book is not quite as strong as the beginning as the plot settles in to more of a traditional love story form and the literature themes are somewhat lessened. Still,through its final page, this is an original and entertaining book.
Wonderful July 25, 2008
K. Huff (New York, NY)
67 out of 71 found this review helpful
During World War II, the Germans occupied Guernsey in the Channel Islands, so close to France that, apparently, you could see cars on the highway on a clear day. The Germans built heavy fortifications against the islanders, built a concentration camp on Guernsey, and Guernsey's children were evacuated to England.
Juliet Ashton is an author looking for her next great idea, when she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, who lives on Guernsey, about Charles Lamb, to whose works we was introduced through the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. The Society came to be in an unusual fashion: one evening after curfew, on their way home, some of its members were stopped by German soldiers, and Elizabeth McKenna had to make something up on the spot. Over time, the members got together whenever they could to talk about what they'd read. That's how Isola, for example, became addicted to Wuthering Heights.
Juliet lives in a London that was decimated by war; her apartment by the Thames has been lost, as well as all of her books (as you can imagine, horrifying). But her career as a writer is going well, and she has a potential love interest: the handsome and rich Mark. But Juliet's life changes as she receives more and more letters from the Guernsey Islanders, and she decides that she just might have to pay them a visit
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is an utterly charming novel, written in an epistolary fashion, between not only Julia and her new friends, but her best friend from childhood and her brother (who also happens to be Juliet's publisher). It's a sweet, funny novel, and it reminds me a lot of 84, Charing Cross Road--mixed with a little bit of Excellent Women (Penguin Classics). The characters are all wonderful--you can't help but wishing you'd known them yourself--even Adelaide Addison. Each member of the cast of this book has his or her own unique voice. Some of the stories told in this book are tragic; some are funny; but I guarantee that all of them will be touching.
A book to cherish August 7, 2008
M. J. Walters (Chicago, IL USA)
12 out of 13 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.
Seize the day! October 23, 2008
Linda Bulger (Avon, Maine)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
Juliet Ashton is on a promotional tour for her recently published book. Life in 1946 London has its challenges but thirty-something Juliet is a buoyant young woman. She receives a letter from a Guernseyman named Dawsey Adams who is in possession of a book of essays by Charles Lamb that had belonged to Juliet; he wants her help in obtaining a biography of Lamb. Their correspondence blossoms and she grows fascinated with the story of Dawsey and his friends, their island's occupation by German troops during the war, and the group they call The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
Eventually Juliet travels to Guernsey to dig deeper into the islanders' stories, intending to write a magazine article -- which expands in her mind to a book, if she can find the center around which to write it. She finds that center in Elizabeth McKenna, accidental founder of the Society, now gone to a wartime prison for harboring a runaway "slave."
Authors Shaffer and Barrows tell the story entirely in letters written by Juliet, her publisher and friend Sydney, her old school friend in Scotland, the people of the island, and assorted other characters. The action is well-choreographed and the book is full of humor and pathos. Everyone wants to tell Juliet stories of the long, hard occupation, the pain of the children being evacuated, and the entirely human need to brighten the dreary days with novelty -- the Society of the book's title.
Books in letter format have the disadvantage of holding the reader slightly at arms' length from the characters; we only learn what they tell us. These characters are loquacious and open, which is a good thing, but the constant switching from one voice to another takes its slight toll. The plot is well laid out though the development of the more complex themes suffers from constant shifting first person; perhaps a half star off for that, rounding to five which feels right because of the enjoyment it brought me. I listened to the unabridged audio download from Audible, read by a cast of five; this was very well done and made the characters come to life very quickly. Recommended for your light read of the year.
Linda Bulger, 2008
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