The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I’ll admit it; I bought the book almost for the title alone – the Potato Peel Pie Society? Sounded fascinating. And it didn’t disappoint.

The entire book is written as a collection of letters between the main character, author Juliet Ashton, and several other characters including: her publisher, her best friend and several different citizens of Guernsey. Guernsey is an island in the English Channel that was occupied by the Germans during World War II. I never knew that the Germans occupied territory so close to England.

I wasn’t quite sure how I would enjoy reading a book that was written solely as a series of letters, but as it turned out I really enjoyed it. It was a great way to write the book in first person for several different characters. At first it was difficult keeping the characters straight with the different letters going back and forth, but that can happen in any book, right? I felt like I got to know several characters on a quite close basis – and I really liked the characters – I became invested in their lives. I was sad to leave them at the end. There was also a lot of history embedded in these letters, and I found that fascinating.

I can’t remember how the people in Guernsey first made contact with Julia – I think a member of the Potato Peel Pie Society found her address in a used book and contacted her asking for more information about… a book, I think? But after that initial contact, it was amazing to watch the friendships blossom through simple letters.

Although the book was set in immediate post-war England, and several of the characters had their own “damaged” stories to share, I found the book to be warm and comforting (and educational), like sitting by a fire wrapped in a blanket… cozy. I read the book rather quickly, but loved every minute of it. I highly recommend it to all.