Okay, book review time!
Last night I finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society written by a lovely duo of ladies Mary Ann Shaffer and her niece, Annie Barrows. This novel follows Juliet, a writer, in London post WWII as she tries to come up with an idea for her next writing project. She corresponds with and befriends the members of the the Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society, and the reader goes on a little historical journey into what the German Occupation during the war looked like for the islands of the English Channel.
Honestly the book took me a little while (about 100 pages) to get into, but the style of writing kept me intrigued. The book is soley a compilation of letters. There isn't one omniscient voice or the perspective of one character, but the story of the Society and the German Occupation is unraveled from information pieced together from multiple people's letters. It turned out to be quite lovely, and it got me thinking about a time in history I haven't given much thought to lately.
I wouldn't say it's a favorite of mine, but I smiled often throughout it and I was refreshed by the unique writing style. I also found myself wanting to be friends with some of the characters :) A nice book to delve into if you're wanting to forget yourself for 279 pages
That is all!
Have you read this book?
If so - what was your opinion of it?
Happy Friday! - Cheers to that -
I have read this book and I loved it! I've always had a thing for books written in letter format, so I instantly got into this one (plus WWII time period is one of my faves). I'm pretty sure I took this to the gym and read it enitrely in one sitting on the stationary bike. lol. :-)
ReplyDeleteI started to read it, but couldn't get into it and I had to return it to the library. I am going to try it again because people seemed to have loved it!
ReplyDeleteThat was a terrific book! Mary Ann Shaffer had the guts to reinvent herself as a writer late in life; as her health failed, her niece Annie Barrows finished readying the book for publication.
ReplyDeleteOn the Island of Jersey, also occupied by the Germans during WWII, two middle-aged artists were reinventing themselves as Resistance propagandists. They sent out beautifully illustrated notes urging the German soldiers to mutiny. They eventually did time on death row for their actions. I'm a middle-aged radiologist reinventing herself as a writer, and I wrote a book about them, War on the Margins. Let me know if you would like a review copy.