The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Synopsis

It's 1946 and author Juliet Ashton can't think what to write next. Out of the blue, she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams of Guernsey- by chance, he's acquired a book that once belonged to her- and, spurred on by their mutual love of reading, they begin a correspondence.

When Dawsey reveals that he is a member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, her curiosity is piqued and it's not long before she begins to hear from its other members. As letters fly back and forth with stories of life in Guernsey under the German Occupation, Juliet soon realizes that the society is every bit as extraordinary as its name.

Loved

• Oh my goodness I just adore every single thing about this book, I can't rave about it enough!

• The society. How can you not fall in love with people who call themselves the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society? Every person in the society is so quirky and funny, but they've also gone through so much. They are all so loving and accepting even with all they've gone through. I love how they become family and take care of each other through the Occupation. And they deal with the trauma from the war by eating pie and talking about books- of course we bookworms are going to love these people! :)

• The history. Even though this is fiction, we still get a pretty good understanding of what it was like for people during WWII when their countries were occupied by Germany. I love that we get a feel for the history through personal experiences of these people. Although the stories are devastating to read, we are reading them through Juliet's eyes who is just as devastated and concerned for these people as we are, so it removes us a little from the heaviness of some WWII novels. The focus of the novel is not the trauma of the war, but rather how these people got through it by holding on to their love of each other and of literature.

• Juliet! She is witty, pragmatic and matter-of-fact while being compassionate and strong. I love watching her fall in love with the people of Guernsey just through reading their letters. I love her spunk in going out to meet them and taking on their story as her own. She is such a fun heroine and her letters had me laughing out loud throughout the story.

• The letters. This whole book is written through letters, which is so original and clever. It's so fun to read what's going on through characters retelling it through letters. It gives the whole story a more poignant and fresh feeling.

• The quirkiness. I love how each character, especially in the society is so quirky! They all have such funny personalities and odd habits and mannerisms. I love that they each accept each other for the oddities and just support each other through everything. I also love how Juliet falls in love with them for their quirks and lovable personalities.

Didn't Love

• I wouldn't change a single detail about this witty and heartfelt story- it's one of those books that just might be perfect.

Content

• Language: 
• Uses of God's name in vain
• Frequent uses of "damn" and "hell"

• Sexual content: 
• One character writes about following a soldier coming from a "tryst" in a brothel. The character says "men are not at their peak of fitness after such an occasion" (pg. 172).

• Violence:
• Frequent mentions of war violence through characters telling their stories of the Occupation- hearing about large numbers of people dying, family members being taken away and never coming back, people being starved and beaten on the island, mentions of suffering in concentration camps. 
• The society finds out one of their friends died in Ravensbruck. The person writing the letter describes their experience at the concentration camp being treated inhumanely, and how the friend of the society was shot in the head eventually (pg 181).
• One character writes about some prostitutes from a brothel being shipped on a boat and watching the boat come to shore- all of the women had drowned. Descriptions of their heads hitting the rocks as they floated. Some women watch this and say "served them right- the whores," to which the character is enraged (pg 173).

 Overall Thoughts

Oh my goodness. I just adore this book. Everything about it. My sister recommended it to me and I went in not having any idea what to expect, but I fell completely head over heels for these characters! I just love the society and all their quirky personalities. I love Juliet's witty sense of humor as she writes and captures both the heartache and the fierce kindness and strength of these people. I also love the subtle romance that isn't flashy, but just perfect for the story and the characters. This is one of my all-time favorite feel-good books and I recommend it to everyone! However, I watched the Netflix adaptation with my sister and we were both very disappointed. We felt like they made it too dramatic and took out much of the light-hearted wit that makes this story so lovable. So I do not recommend the Netflix adaptation, but definitely treat yourself to this novel- you'll find yourself laughing out loud and feeling inspired by the love and strength of these people during devastating times.