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As London is emerging from the shadow of World War II, writer Juliet Ashton discovers her next subject in a book club on Guernsey--a club born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi after its members are discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island.
Caramellunacy: Both stories are bittersweet - tales of hardship, prejudice and hope although they are set in very different places and very different times. Fried Green Tomatoes jumps around but describes life, race relations and murder in a small Southern town during the Great Depression. Shaffer's novel deals with the occupation (and its aftermath) of the small Channel Island of Guernsey during WWII.… (more)
Anonymous user: Both novels reflect on World War II from small, seaside towns, one an island in Europe, the other a small town in Cape Cod. The female leads are unique and interesting and are surrounded by great small town people.
Voracious_Reader: The writing styles and the authors' love for the written word connect both period pieces in my mind even though their plots are extremely different.
jill123: Though they are different in style and tone, both books are set in the Channel Islands during the Nazi Occupation. I enjoyed the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, but I found Ebenezer Le Page to be an absolutely wonderful book. More complex and interesting than the Potato Peel Society.… (more)
BasilBlue: Although written in a more elegantly sparse style, this book covers much the same territory, geographically and emotionally.
nillacat: A deeper, darker portrait of Guernsey through the fictional autobiography of a unique, difficult, yet attractive character from the end of the 19th century through the two world wars and into the 1960s.
vulgarboatman: Similar themes of a journalist discovering the layers of secrets around a mystery from WWII, along with an exploration of the effect of these events on the survivors, their families, and ultimately on the journalist herself.
BookshelfMonstrosity: Going in to the bookmobile to apologize for the disturbance created by one of her corgis, Queen Elizabeth II feels it would only be polite to check out a book. When she returns it, she checks out another . . . and then another. One of her pages becomes her abettor in the matter of securing books and reading them. Thus begins an amusing but also thought-provoking saga of how reading can change a person's habits and even outlook.… (more)
bell7: Though one is set in contemporary times on a fictional island of the coast of Massachusetts and the other in post World War II England, both books show the importance of story and have an optimistic tone while dealing with some of life's challenges.
BookshelfMonstrosity: A love of literature helps protagonists form unlikely but rewarding new relationships in these tender stories of personal redemption. The vibrant characterization, gently humorous tone, and whimsical, heartwarming narratives shine in compelling novels that illustrate the power of reading.… (more)
betsytacy: This YA novel, set in 1936, features 16-year-old Sophie, a royal orphan growing up with her siblings and cousin in a shabby castle on island kingdom of Montmaray, somewhere off the coast of England. The island's strategic location draws the interest of the Nazis.… (more)
In the aftermath of WWII, a writer in London named Juliet receives a letter from a stranger living on the island of Guernsey in the English Channel. This begins a correspondence that expands to other members of the islander's literary society, as Juliet wants to hear more about their society. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was formed during the German occupation of the island, and became so much more.
The book started out a little slow, but when it took off, it really took off. It's written entirely in epistolary style, with letters and telegrams between various characters telling the story. The characters are endearing, and as the trials they went through during the war are revealed, the lasting effects are shown alongside them. The emotions are real, and I found myself swept up in them.
Early in the book, I was mostly annoyed with Juliet and her tendency to complain. It was establishing her background and life, I know, but maybe specifically because of the book's format, since we saw everything directly from her perspective, she just seemed whiny. Around the time she got the first letter from Dawsey on the island, her character deepened enough that I didn't dislike her so much. And then her sincere interest in the literary society and what the people on the island went through endeared her to me a lot more.
The format of the book is done well--each letter has a header stating who it was written to and from, so before you even start reading the letter, you are fully aware of that. It helps a lot, as eventually there are quite a few characters to keep straight. Some become more familiar, and others fall away, but overall, I only had a little struggle sorting through them.
Unsurprisingly, the characters are what make this book so great. I loved the way that the heart of the literary society was never even physically present in the book, once characters came together in the physical space, yet she was still a big part of the story. On the other hand, Juliet has this suitor that is pretty terrible. I don't get why she doesn't see how incredibly misogynistic he is, even in that somewhat different time.
This book is split into 2 parts, and by the time I got to part 2, I was completely hooked. It's a fairly short book, and I think the epistolary format makes it particularly easy to read, because there's not a lot of description. I read the bulk of it in a day. This is one book I am definitely going to re-read in the future. I recommend it for all fans of historical fiction, but even others, especially those who like character-driven stories. ( )
A really bittersweet post-World War II book written in letters and set on the island of Guernsey. I really enjoyed the writing and characters. The slow-burn romance was wonderfully crafted! I want to visit Victor Hugo museum in Guernsey and I loved references to him in the book.
Despite overall hopefulness and lightness, there were also very grim war-time stories from the German occupation, which make you wonder again why people do that to other people and how much suffering we can survive. Coming from Latvia, I don't really like WWII books where Germans are portrayed as the only villains and Russians are portrayed as liberators, though it might have been true in certain parts of Europe. ( )
I expected this to be one of those "throw-away, good quick reads". Instead I was captivated by both plot and characters - what a wonderful surprise! ( )
I enjoyed the book after I watched the film. If I'd read it before I'd have compared the film to the book and been disappointed by story changes. Instead, I was delighted with both. ( )
"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society," written by the late Mary Ann Shaffer and her niece, children's author Annie Barrows, stays within modest bounds, but is successful in ways many novels are not. This book won't change your life, but it will probably enchant you. And sometimes that's precisely what makes fiction worthwhile.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society commemorates beautiful spirits who pass through our midst and hunker undercover through brutal times. Shaffer's Guernsey characters step from the past radiant with eccentricity and kindly humour, a comic version of the state of grace. They are innocents who have seen and suffered, without allowing evil to penetrate the rind of decency that guards their humanity.
You could be skeptical about the novel's improbabilities and its sanitized portrait of book clubs (doesn't anyone read trashy thrillers?), but you'd be missing the point. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a sweet, sentimental paean to books and those who love them.
Lovingly dedicated to my mother, Edna Fiery Morgan, and to my dear friend Julia Poppy —M. A. S. And to my mother, Cynthia Fiery Barrows —A. B.
First words
8th January, 1946
Mr. Sidney Stark, Publisher Stephens & Stark Ltd. 21 St. James's Place London S.W.1 England
Dear Sidney,
Susan Scott is a wonder. We sold over forty copies of the book, which was very pleasant, but much more thrilling from my standpoint was the food. Susan managed to procure ration coupons for icing sugar and real eggs for the meringue. If all her literary luncheons are going to achieve these heights, I won't mind touring about the country. Do you suppose that a lavish bonus could spur her on to butter? Let's try it—you may deduct the money from my royalties.
Quotations
Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books. - Isola Pribby
Men are more interesting in books than they are in real life. - Isola Pribby
Perhaps there is some secret sort of homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers. How delightful if that were true. - Juliet
I can't think of anything lonelier than spending the rest of my life with someone I can't talk to, or worse, someone I can't be silent with. - Juliet
I think you learn more if you're laughing at the same time. - John Booker
This obsession with dignity can ruin your life if you let it. - Juliet
That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto 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.
None of us had any experience of literary societies, so we made our own rules: we took turns to speak about the books we'd read. ... the purpose of the speakers was to goad the listeners into wanting to read the book themselves. Once two members had read the same book, they could argue, which was our great delight. We read books, talked books argued over books ...
Dr. Stubbins pronounced that you alone had transformed "distraction" into an honorable word - instead of a character flaw.
Sidney is having a grand time as Isola's houseguest. They apparently sat up late talking last night. Isola doesn't approve of small talk and believes in breaking the ice by stamping on it.
Will said ... Miss Beddoes wasn't a good kisser and he for one was tired of kissing her, even for Sweet Charity's sake.
Dawsey's barn is exceedingly clean. He also stacks his hay beautifully.
Isola is better than a stalking horse.
Last words
P.S. I ran into Adelaide Addison in St Peter Port today. By way of congratulation, she said, "I hear you and that pig-farmer are about to regularize your connection. Thank the Lord!"
As London is emerging from the shadow of World War II, writer Juliet Ashton discovers her next subject in a book club on Guernsey--a club born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi after its members are discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island.
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Book description
Beginning at the end of WW2, this book is told through the form of letter between writer Juliet Ashton and her friends. Juliet initially receives a letter from a man on the island of Guernsey asking for more books. She becomes so in love with stories and descriptions of life in Guernsey that she decides to go herself. Through the letters she sends home and the letters from her new friends the stories of people's lives are revealed. This book points out that the lives of people were more important than the formality of the writing.
Haiku summary
In post-war Britain friendships are forged through a shared love of literature. (passion4reading)
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The Book Thief and The Guernsey Litereary & Potato Peel Pie Society
Wikipedia in English (2)
4
The book started out a little slow, but when it took off, it really took off. It's written entirely in epistolary style, with letters and telegrams between various characters telling the story. The characters are endearing, and as the trials they went through during the war are revealed, the lasting effects are shown alongside them. The emotions are real, and I found myself swept up in them.
Early in the book, I was mostly annoyed with Juliet and her tendency to complain. It was establishing her background and life, I know, but maybe specifically because of the book's format, since we saw everything directly from her perspective, she just seemed whiny. Around the time she got the first letter from Dawsey on the island, her character deepened enough that I didn't dislike her so much. And then her sincere interest in the literary society and what the people on the island went through endeared her to me a lot more.
The format of the book is done well--each letter has a header stating who it was written to and from, so before you even start reading the letter, you are fully aware of that. It helps a lot, as eventually there are quite a few characters to keep straight. Some become more familiar, and others fall away, but overall, I only had a little struggle sorting through them.
Unsurprisingly, the characters are what make this book so great. I loved the way that the heart of the literary society was never even physically present in the book, once characters came together in the physical space, yet she was still a big part of the story. On the other hand, Juliet has this suitor that is pretty terrible. I don't get why she doesn't see how incredibly misogynistic he is, even in that somewhat different time.
This book is split into 2 parts, and by the time I got to part 2, I was completely hooked. It's a fairly short book, and I think the epistolary format makes it particularly easy to read, because there's not a lot of description. I read the bulk of it in a day. This is one book I am definitely going to re-read in the future. I recommend it for all fans of historical fiction, but even others, especially those who like character-driven stories. (