My sister in law Lisa gave me the best book for my birthday. I knew I would love this book as soon as I saw the name of it. Are you ready?
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
The name alone just screams “Read me, I’m awesome”. So I read it, quickly and it is by far one of my favorites. I only wish I had read it slower to enjoy it longer. But that is me, I am read it all at once kinda gal.
Based during post WWII, the main character is a single lady who is a writer and is looking for some new material to write. She happens to start corresponding with some lovely people from Guernsey (Channel Islands). I have to admit that I didn’t know much about the Channel Islands before I read this novel, but now I long to go there and explore. I had no idea that a part of England had been occupied by the Germans. I got to spend time in England in 2008 and long to go back and explore more. It is an amazing and beautiful country with gracious people. England makes me want to say lovely and delightful a lot!
I read this just a couple weeks after re-reading one of my all-time favorite The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. This is an account of Corrie’s journey and imprisonment for hiding Jews from in her home in Holland during the war. A moving and true story that rocks me to my core and makes me remember my blessings. While The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a work of fiction, it feels real and it’s accounts could have easily happened during this horrific and challenging time. Reading these two books so close was a coincidence that made each book sit deeper in me.
The authors are a Aunt and Niece team whose story is just as touching as the one they wrote with the niece finishing the book as her aunt was diagnosed and succumbed to an illness before it was ready to be published.
The book is written as a bunch of letters. When I started it , I wasn’t sure how it would work as this can be a challenging way to read a story, but it worked. It worked really well and reminded me of a book of letters I read as a child called Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary. I loved this book and it is on it’s way to my house to delight Meg’s mind this summer.
Lisa has read it, my mom has read it. Have you read it? Let me know what you thought/think.
(Disclosure: The links are not affiliated with Amazon.com and I was not compensated in any way for my review.)
I loved, loved, loved, this book. And got a great History lesson also! A great story that really draws you into the war era England . I love england ,the people and the LOVELY way they speak. A great sence of humor! A must read!!