“Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers”
It’s 1946 and a letter from the Channel Islands finds its way to a weary war correspondent in London. Juliet Ashton is embarking on a brief book tour of her collection of newspaper columns written during the recent war when she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, a resident of Guernsey who chanced upon her discarded copy of The Selected Letters of Elia by Charles Lamb. Dawsey writes to say how reading Lamb helped get him through the German occupation of Guernsey and mentions the literary society he’d been involved with. From there the sparks of friendship and more are ignited as Juliet begins a correspondence with members of the Society.
Each member has their own special story to tell, and their own unique connection to literature. Farmers who never picked up anything but the seed catalogue suddenly find solace in the words of Shakespeare while women pass their evenings with the Brontes. Book choices may be limited, but each member of the society finds something to help them escape the dreary reality of the Occupation.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a book for book lovers, and it is one of my all-time favourite reads. Inspired by my recent re-reading of this book, I chanced upon a copy of Lamb’s essays while wondering through Juniper Books one weekend, and couldn’t resist purchasing it. I’ll look forward to reading it and connecting back to Dawsey and his thoughts on Lamb’s work. Mary Ann Shafer and Annie Barrows’ writing is so vivid, with each character having his or her own distinct voice, they simply come to life and I imagine that if I were to travel back in time, I could visit Guernsey and meet these people myself, they’re portrayed so realistically.
What my fellow book clubbers had to say:
Reviews were mixed at this month’s book club meeting. One other, like myself, absolutely loved the book. A few didn’t care for it at all, while the majority were on the fence, not particularly caring for the book at first, by as they continued to read, found that the book improved so that they were able to give it a tepid “like”. I try to think back to the first time I read the GLPPPS and what my thoughts were on it initially, but all I am able to recollect is that upon closing the back cover I knew this was a book I loved, simply for its portrayal of community and fellow book lovers.
The book’s epistolary form turned off some of our members at first, but the fact that the authors managed to write such individual characters with distinct voices and portray them in each letter as well as affectively advance the story through letter format, was found to be very impressive and kudos to the writing team were duly given. Many members of the group enjoyed learning about Guernsey and the German Occupation of the island, having not known these facts previously. Much that is written about WWII focuses on major countries and cities like France, London, or the concentration camps, so it was interesting to read and learn about another aspect of that war.
Overall, the story was found to be enjoyable for most, with characters many of us could relate to or root for, and though not everyone would recommend this book to others, I am wholeheartedly jumping up and down shouting “read it, read it, oh do read it for it’s a delightful little book and well worth the afternoon of gentle reading”, a very apt description coined by one of our members.
Till next time, happy reading!
L 
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