Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society- Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows




How could you resist a title like this? I couldn’t and I am glad I succumbed. It was delightful to read an epistolary novel after such a long time. There- that is the first and obvious thing about this reading experience but it needed to be said. Now I can move on.


The bonus is that it is written with wit, elegance and lightly worn erudition.

Briefly- It is 1946 and author Juliet Ashton is in search for a subject for her next book. A chance letter from Dawsey Adams of Guernsey leads her to the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and its members. Soon Juliet gets involved in the lives of its members and moves to Guernsey, where she finds not only the subject for her next book but also her destiny.

The characters are charming and original- there- I found a good substitute for the over used quirky- and the story is heart warming. This is perhaps one of the rare stories of the war which is about human beings in the war and their everyday life where even the darkness is treated with a light hand.

Read it- This is a book that is filled with hope and joy. It touches you without being maudlin. and you will go back to again and again. I already did.

© Maya

2 comments:

  1. Thanks. Really looking for a good book to read.
    Sounds wonderful..
    Nithya

    ReplyDelete
  2. If you were here, you could just come and get it.

    ReplyDelete