The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
Published in 2008, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, written as a series of letters between the main character, Juliet Ashton, and other characters in the book, gives a picture of Guernsey during, and immediately after, the German Occupation of World War II. It is a delightful book which, like an open window on a spring day, manages to fill the reader with new, fresh perspectives on ordinary everyday things. The characters are all unique individuals,and it is easy to fall in love with most of them. However, in spite of all the light-heartedness, there is also a more sombre thread running through the story. This thread – the actual occupation of the islands – is, in many ways, the backbone of the story inasmuch as it is always there, even if the optimism and the courage of the islanders do much to hide it. Although the idea was conceived by Mary Ann Shaffer, she became very ill before she could finish the book, and she asked her niece Annie Barrows to help her. Unfortunately, Mary Ann died a few months before the book was actually published. This is definitely a book worth reading.
Photo of Mary Ann and Annie from chrestomanci.over-blog.com
4 Replies to “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows”
Very Interesting!
Good review! I'm glad you like it!
Have you read it, Lauralee? it is really a lovely book, and it is quite amazing that it is completely made up of letters between the different characters.
My great-grandfather was actually born on the Guernsey Islands, so I felt that I had a connection with the book even before I started reading it. I loved the mixture of characters in the book – very real and very human.