Thursday, July 12

Bibliophile [The Guernsey and Literary Potato Peel Pie Society]

Silly title, seriously fun.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer)
You've probably heard this book is adorable, and whomever you heard it from was right. It's a charming story, made entirely of letters written mainly to our plucky protagonist, Juliet. Here's the blurb:
The letters comprising this small charming novel begin in 1946, when single, 30-something author Juliet Ashton (nom de plume Izzy Bickerstaff) writes to her publisher to say she is tired of covering the sunny side of war and its aftermath. When Guernsey farmer Dawsey Adams finds Juliet's name in a used book and invites articulate—and not-so-articulate—neighbors to write Juliet with their stories, the book's epistolary circle widens, putting Juliet back in the path of war stories. The occasionally contrived letters jump from incident to incident—including the formation of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society while Guernsey was under German occupation—and person to person in a manner that feels disjointed. But Juliet's quips are so clever, the Guernsey inhabitants so enchanting and the small acts of heroism so vivid and moving that one forgives the authors (Shaffer died earlier this year) for not being able to settle on a single person or plot. Juliet finds in the letters not just inspiration for her next work, but also for her life—as will readers.

I'd say this is a great vacation read- quick, funny, heartfelt, and a happy ending to boot. Unlike many beach reads, this one is well written and engaging, and though it's light-hearted overall, it does deal with the German occupation and media coverage of the war, neither of which are fluffy topics. I want to go to tea with every one of her characters. Pick this one up for a pick-me-up anytime, and make sure to tell me what you think!

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how you like dem apples?