Friday, August 14, 2009

BC Consensus: Guernsey

Would you like to crème de la crème from our book club dicussions this month? You are in luck! In July, we read Schaffer and Barrow's The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Here are some of the comments our members made about the book:

“I liked how this book presented war life on Guernsey without being heavy handed. It made me think of how difficult it would be to decide to send my children away or not too. I like books that make me think and present something new. I had never heard of Charles Lamb before, and now I want to check out his essays. I think this book will cause people to travel to Guernsey in search of Juliet, Dawsy, Isola, and Kit just as people go to Prince Edward Island because of Anne.”

“The best fiction, I think, is the kind that helps you better understand real life. This book definitely did that for me. Can you imagine coming home to find your home blown up by a bomb? Can you imagine not having enough food to feed your family or heat to keep them warm? This book made so many of these experiences real to me. They were terrifying and heartbreaking, but it helps me appreciate the experiences of those who did experience and survive such things.” +/-


“The characters were delightful. The way everything unfolded was a treat to read. This was another book I wouldn't have read without this book club. So I'm glad I had a reason to read it.”

“I was jealous of Juliet and everyone else in Guernsey. It was still in an age without being tainted by all of the distractions we have today. In that age, people still worked incredibly long and hard hours, but somehow it just seems so romantic. It seems carefree. I know I shouldn't be jealous, there are parts that would be hard to swallow. But it was so picturesque when Juliet arrived, even with the scars of the war. Anyway, I would like to go to Guernsey.”

"One of the things that made this book stand out in my mind from other WWII books is that it focused a lot on the healing process that took place after the tragedy. I remember reading once where someone said that we need fewer books that tell us how terrible tragedy is--we all know tragedy is terrible--and more books that tell us what it means and how to move on from there. I liked this book because I think it did that very well."

"I really enjoyed this book, despite feeling dubious about it in the beginning. At first I found the letter format a little jarring . . . mostly because you don't have a lot of description of environment, textiles, other items, etc, and I'm really used to sinking into the lushness of such description. But I got used to it, and found that I liked examining the details of Juliet and Company's thoughts just as much."

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