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

Genre: Fiction, with a historical basis
Publisher, Year: Dial Press, 2009
Other Works: Ivy & Bean series (Barrows)
Rating: A, or Great Read
Premise: On the island of Guernsey, a small place in the English Channel, a group of neighbors and their story of survival during the German occupation in World War II are discovered by an English writer on the mainland.

This was another book club pick, and it was well worth the time. If I could sum up this book in one word, I think I would have to choose charming. I’ve read a couple of books now in the journal/letter format, and it works for me. I heard it described as Austen-esque, and I think that is a very apt description, as letter-writing was also then taken as a serious and authoritative, and also sometimes humorous, form of communication.

Juliet Ashton wrote a regular newspaper column during the war. We meet her as she’s touring to promote a book made up of her collection of columns. She soon receives a mysterious letter from a man named Dawsey. He lives on the island of Guernsey—a small island located in the English Channel—and found a book that used to belong to Juliet. They strike up a friendship through letters, where she learns about the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and becomes intrigued by it. She ultimately decides that she must go to Guernsey and make it the subject of her next book. While visiting, she meets in person that unlikely circle of friends she’s been corresponding with. She finds herself welcomed into a community of people who epitomize the pain and loss of war, the healing power of friendship, and the strength of the written word. +/-

I really liked the main character, Juliet. Although, I’ve read reviews of people who thought her shallow, I quite liked her quick wit and adventurous spirit. And, although Guernsey was a place of sad stories and hard times, it was also a refuge for a strange mixture of people, bound by the ties of true friendship and community. I loved the cast of characters in Guernsey and how they could still find reasons to smile and laugh. It reminded me of how people can become great friends even when they have nothing else in common except for being thrown together in the same place. I also loved how they used literature for an imaginative escape from their dreary reality. And, Juliet jumps into this world feet first. It’s like she always belonged there, like she’s coming home.

Elizabeth, a strong, creative woman and young mother, was sent away from Guernsey during the occupation before Juliet gets to meet her. Although she is not a “voice” in the book, her presence is expressed through each member of the Society. I think it could be argued that Elizabeth is the central character in the book, rather than Juliet, although Juliet is our heroine. It was Elizabeth’s bravery and lust for life that kept Guernsey going and fueled her neighbors’ dying hopes. In the end, I think that sentiment is the one that shines through: hope for Guernsey and for us, too.

It was a quick, easy read, and I really enjoyed every minute of it. I would definitely recommend this book.

BC About the Author: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

For the month of July, we read Shaffer and Barrow's The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Mary Ann Shaffer was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, in 1934. Her career included libraries, bookstores, and publishing, but her life-long dream was to "write a book that someone would like enough to publish." Though she did not live to see it, this dream has been realized in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

She became interested in Guernsey while visiting London in 1976. On a whim, she decided to fly to Guernsey but became stranded there when a thick fog descended and all boats and planes were forbidden to leave the island. As she waited for the fog to lift, warming herself by the heat of the hand-dryer in the men's restroom, she read all the books in the Guernsey airport bookstore, including Jersey under the Jack-Boot. Thus began her fascination with the German Occupation of the Channel Islands. +/-

Many years later, when goaded by her book club to write a novel, Mary Ann naturally thought of Guernsey. She chose to write in the epistolary form because, "for some bizarre reason, I thought it would be easier." Several years of work yielded The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which was greeted with avid enthusiasm, first by her family, then by her writing group, and finally by publishers around the world.

Sadly, Mary Ann's health began to decline shortly thereafter, and she asked her niece, Annie Barrows, to help her finish the book. Mary Ann passed away in February 2008, knowing that her novel was to be published in English and in translation in many languages throughout the world.

Visit the book's official website here.

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Annie Barrows grew up in Northern California, and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, with a degree in Medieval History. Unable to find a job in the middle ages, she decided upon a career as an editor, eventually landing at Chronicle Books in San Francisco, where she was in charge of "all the books that nobody in their right mind would publish." After earning an M.F.A. in Creative Writing at Mills College, Annie wrote a number of books for grown-ups about such diverse subjects as fortune-telling (she can read palms!), urban legends (there are no alligators in the sewer!), and opera (she knows what they're singing about!).

In 2003, Annie grew weary of grown-ups, and began to write for kids, which she found to be more fun. Her first children's book, Ivy and Bean, an ALA Notable Book for 2007, was soon followed by other books in the series.

In between writing books about Ivy and Bean, Annie began to write The Magic Half. "I wrote the kind of book I loved as a kid—what I call regular magic, which means that it takes place in the same world we all live in, except that a magical event occurs. The Magic Half is a catalog of my favorite daydreams: a tiny door in an enchanted house, time travel, and twins."

[Annie wrote a beautiful afterword (which was included at the end of my copy of Guernsey, hopefully it is in yours too) about her aunt's talent with words and stories. If you get a chance, it's definitely worth reading.]

Vist her website here.