This book about the German occupation of the island of Guernsey during WWII was published in 2009, but caught my attention as a new movie feature on Netflix. And I’m always looking for additions to my WWII historical fiction reading list.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – A Novel
The novel reads as a series of letters. At first, the letters were a bit confusing as Juilet Ashton corresponds with her publisher and friends. But then, she receives a letter from Guernsey (territory of Great Britain in the channel islands) because her address was inscribed on the inside of a Charles Lamb book that made its way to the island. Juliet begins corresponding with the letter writer (Dawsey Adams) and the other members of his informal literary group called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society.
“I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some secret sort of homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers How delightful if that were true.”
the guernsey literary and potato peel society (2009)
Juliet, who lived through the London Blitz, learns more about the German occupation of this island which she knew nothing about (nor did I) and eventually visits the island to meet her new friends.
This is a charming story and movie. Both were done well. The movie features some familiar faces from Downtown Abbey, which is always fun for me. Neither the book nor movie is what I consider phenomenal, but they were both interesting and entertaining and did fill in another part of the overall WWII experience that I gather from reading such fictional accounts. I also appreciated its celebration of literature, as a book club takes center stage in the story.
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LOVED the movie!
It was sweet!