Book Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Author: Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
Genre: Historical Fiction
Type: Fiction

It has been so long that I have read books that made me feel so grateful for the life we have.I am always hesitant to pick historical fiction as most of them deal with the war and its consequences. It had raving reviews and was highly recommended in a book forum. I was happy to read this book for the Popsugar prompt 21–A book by two female authors.

Set in the post-war period of WW II, this is an epistolary historical novel. Juliet Ashton, a writer comes to know about a queer little book society called the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society in Guernsey. Yes, the name is a mouthful. She is dating Mark who covets her for her hand in marriage. After learning how this society came into being during the German occupation, Juliet falls in love with the land and the people. She discovers more about them and understands how little she knew about the Channel Islands. She goes to Guernsey to collect material for her next book based on this society. How Juliet brings change in the life of the people of Guernsey and vice versa forms the remaining story.

It took me time to know who is who in the book. But once I was set, there was no stopping. With every letter curiosity keeps building up. Not many books probe into the minds of book lovers and their obsessions. I am not a person who picks on the quotes I liked. But with this book I was marking down quotes that resonated with me. It is always nice to read about people’s experiences about how books have touched their lives and turned it around.

The book recollects the gruesome and depressive period of the war but the author has managed to lace it with humour. I found it was easy this way to comprehend the incidents of the war.

The book is divided into 2 sections: Part 1 was fast-moving. I felt part 2 was a bit stagnant at places. I loved the array of characters, their back stories and peculiar connections to books. I loved Juliet and Elizabeth the best.

I also watched the movie but I liked the book better. What else can you expect from a book worm? The modifications on the story-line and the characters did not sit well with me.

Verdict: I am quite happy with myself that I decided to read this book and this definitely goes into my list of forever favourites. I think most fiction book lovers would love this historical fiction.