Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

 

I love reading and at first was not going to make that apart of my blog but I have had a few really good reads lately. One of which I was thoroughly surprised by. I bought Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society two years ago and started reading it but didn't get past the first few pages and moved onto another book. I just now got back to it and I am so glad that I did.

 

The first few letters were boring and I found reading them tedious. But I powered through and didn't give up on it like I did two years ago. Then slowly the letters started to have more and more substance and built off of one another. By page 40 or 50 I couldn't put it down; I just had to now what was going to happen next.

 

 

The main character is Juliet. An author and columnist that shot to fame during WWII for bringing news of the war to England in weekly columns. The news during this time was heavy and those living in London especially were in a constant state of fear ;so, Juliet did the best she could to write on the news but doing so in a manner that still was able to lift their spirits. Her columns were very popular and after the war were published into a book.

 

One day through what could only be fate Juliet received a letter from a man on Guernsey Island. (Guernsey is a channel island between France and England that was occupied during the war.) This man had ended up with a book by Charles Lamb that had belonged to her and was writing to let her know how much that book had meant to him during the war. This correspondence lead to her corresponding with him and his friends on Guernsey. This correspondence led to a whirlwind of exciting discoveries and adventures and stories both of the Occupation and after.

 

 

While reading I became involved with these characters and envisioned them on Guernsey. I feel as though I know Guernsey through this book, thanks to the vivid detail and research done by the author. I cant imagine many people after reading this book would not feel the same way. This book was full of imagination and joy all while dealing with the heavy topic of WWII and the Nazi Occupation. More than anything this book left me with a sense of hope that will stay with me long after the book has faded.