The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society

This is the second time I've read this book. Thank you book clubs.

I reread it so I could remember what I'd forgotten, which pretty much turned out to be everything from the first time. All I remember was that I'd enjoyed the read.

Second time around is a charm.

I love the way the story is told through letters and revolves around Juliet. She is my kind of gal. I enjoy watching her fall in love with this society, the island, and, ultimately, the love of her life.

It brings to light an overlooked part of the world that suffered during WWII. While bringing the tragedies to heartfelt life, the story perpetually offers hope.

A thoroughly delightful read. Well researched. Well told. The characters are fully developed. The writing clean. The themes it explores could take a book club weeks to discuss.

If it comes up in book club again, I'll gladly read it a third time.

Amazon

“I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.” January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.