The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is an epistolary novel set in London and on Guernsey in 1946. Juliet Ashton, an author who lives in London, receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, a pig farmer who lives on Guernsey. Dawsey owns a copy of a book by Charles Lamb that Juliet once owned and wrote her name in. Dawsey asks her to recommend a bookshop in London which will sell him more books by Charles Lamb, as there are no bookshops on Guernsey after the war. He mentions the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society in his letter, and Juliet is intrigued by the Society and why it was formed. And thus a correspondence begins that eventually leads to many friendships.
This was the seventh book I read for the 20 Books of Summer challenge. In addition to being a historical fiction book about World War II, it is a book about books and celebrates reading. Thus it fits into the Bookish Books Reading Challenge. Many letters by the residents on Guernsey related their reading, what they read and why.
My thoughts:
I enjoyed the story told through letters. In addition to Dawsey, Juliet writes to her editor, Sidney, and her best friend, Sophie, Sidney's younger sister who lives in Scotland. Once the correspondence with Dawsey Adams gets going, many other people on Guernsey start writing to Juliet, and she learns more about the book club and life on Guernsey during the war. I found reading about all of these people delightful, even the spiteful and entitled ones.
Before reading this book, I was only vaguely aware of the German occupation of Guernsey during World War II, so I learned a lot from the book. Now I want to read some nonfiction on that subject. Any suggestions would be welcome.
I was appalled at the conditions on the island after the Germans took over. It wasn't just being under the rule of the Germans, but also the lack of food, which towards the end of the war affected the German soldiers also.
An incident that was especially distressing to read about was the evacuation of school children from the island. The parents had to decide whether it was better to have their children evacuated to some spot unknown in the UK or stay on Guernsey, and some parents did not hear from their evacuated children again until after the war.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed reading this book. The story about the war and the occupation was dark, but there were pleasant parts too, including the friendships on the island and how they supported each other. This book is not a mystery at all, but there are many small mysteries within the plot, and I enjoyed those.
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Publisher: Dial Press, 2009 (orig. publ. 2008)
Length: 291 pages
Format: Trade paperback
Setting: UK, London and Guernsey
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: Purchased at the Planned Parenthood Book Sale, 2018.
22 comments:
Such a good book, although I can't now remember an awful lot about it. The shocking thing for me was the starvation, I had no idea. Sad too that the auhor died before the book was published and had no idea how successful the book became.
A man in my writing group was evacuated from London during the war. He was eight and he didn't see his parents until he was eleven when he took a train home. His mother answered the door, took one look at him and said, "Well, you'll be on the next train back." This broke his heart forever. A lot of these kids were never able to resume a normal relationship with their family after such a long absence. Also some of the families used them as free labor.
Cath, this book certainly brought home to me some of the deprivations of war. I had planned to mention why the book had two authors, but just couldn't cover everything I wanted to in the review. It was fortunate that Mary Ann Shaffer could find someone who could finish the book for her.
Patti, that is a terrible story about the man in your writing group. I cannot even imagine a situation like that, how a parent could react that way or a child have to experience it. I can well imagine how traumatized he would be. And, just the separations alone would be damaging, but for children to be mistreated while they were in other homes was even worse.
I really enjoyed this one, too. Have you seen the movie version? I didn't think that the movie worked as well as the book, but I ended up enjoying it too in the end.
Patti, what a terrible story! Mother behaving in such an awful manner.
Tracy, I have this book on my shelves. My sister loved it and recommended it to me. Though it will sound silly, it's the title that I find off-putting and thus haven't read it as yet:)
Have you read any of Angela Thirkell's books set during the war? Of course the situation wasn't nearly as dire as on Guernsey, but Thirkell did include some evacuated children and families as well. I remember her commenting that some families who had evacuated children didn't really want them back. She did it in a humorous way but I wondered if there was some truth there.
Sam, I have not seen the film. I believe it is on Netflix and we still have access to Netflix, so I will plan to watch it. I may wait a few weeks, so I won't have the book still in my head too much. Recently I read SS-GB by Len Deighton and then watched the 1st episode of the series 2 days later, and it was too soon, I think.
Neeru, to be honest, I think it is the title that put me off reading the book for so long. And all the covers made it look like a romance. Yes, there is some romance, but it certainly is not a primary part of the plot.
I have seen a good number of negative or ambivalent reviews of the book, but it is worth a try to see if you like it.
Marty, I have only read one Angela Thirkell books, the first one in the Barsetshire series. Thanks for reminding me of those books. I do want to read the ones set during World War II; I always enjoy books actually written at the time. It is sad to think that there were families who would not want their children back, although I could see some instances where children might not want to return.
I really enjoyed Guernsey while I was reading it but feeling it was somewhat improbable. I'd like to watch the miniseries.
I am fascinated by evacuation stories but am puzzled by that poor man's mother. Did she mean he had changed so much she didn't want him back? She couldn't send him back like a parcel. It's not as if the host families (in most instances) wanted to keep them forever, although I am sure some children were apprehensive about going home. Maybe it was a cruel joke?
Back Home by Michelle Magorian is a great book about the readjustment for child and parents after a long absence.
Constance, I agree that it tells an improbable story, but its good points far outweighed any questionable points for me.
I looked up Back Home and it does look good and unfortunately, probably very realistic. I think it would be a depressing read.
One novel I read about evacuations during the war was Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans. It is about ten-year-old Noel Bostock, who is evacuated from London to escape the Blitz, and ends up assigned to Vera Sedge, a small time con artist, after his godmother dies. I think you have read that?
Quite a while ago PBS had an series called "Island at War" about the German occupation of the Channel Islands. I don't remember much about it except that it had some good actors.
Someone on imdb mentioned it was only a partial series, which might leave a viewer with unresolved plot issues.
Marty, I looked up that series and it is available for us to stream on Prime / Freevee, so I might give it a try. Based on what I read it is true that it should have had a second season but did not, so some things left hanging, I suppose. Thanks for telling me about that.
I am so glad you liked this one, Tracy! I thought it was a fascinating look at life in Guernsey during this time. I knew very little about the German occupation, so this gave me a new perspective, too. And I thought the epistolary way of telling the story worked very well.
I love epistolary novels, so I really enjoyed reading this one. And I never knew anything about the occupation of Guernsey before this book either.
Hi Tracy, This is a book I have been thinking about reading and it reminds me a bit of 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. That book was also told in letter form and begins after the WW II but I think The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society is much more serious and sad but well worth the read.
Margot, I thought I remembered that you also enjoyed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I think you did a spotlight on it years ago. I haven't read many epistolary novels, so it was good to find this one.
Lark, there are so many stories about World War II, fiction and nonfiction, and so many of them sad. I liked this epistolary approach.
Kathy, 84 Charing Cross Road is also on my 20 Books of Summer list and I look forward to reading it. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is serious in parts but also very light in parts. I enjoyed reading it.
TracyK: Sorry I missed the original post of this review. My spirits were lifted reading the book. I wished I could attend a meeting of the Society.
I agree, Bill, Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society left me with a very good feeling. I would like to go to those meetings and meet the people on the island.
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