“I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.”
January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….
As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends --- and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society --- born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island --- boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.
Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.
Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.
It was interesting reading a novel completely composed of letters. It made everything seem so much more personal. But still confusing to me because I kept reading the letters without reading who it was addressed to. So I'd read the first few paragraphs and go, wait, who is writing to whom? It's probably because I am impatient and want to find out the meat of the story, so I lose sight of the details.
In the beginning of the book, you get the sense that Juliet is a very independent sort of woman that has been through a difficult time, understandably as it is after World War II. We learn that she loses her flat after a bombing that hits her neighbor's home which takes half of her flat as well. We learn that she has difficulty maintaining relationships or even finding a man that interests her, for that matter. Which is why it was a bit difficult for me to understand how she falls into a whirlwind relationship with a wealthy American publisher. It just didn't seem to jive with the character that I've come to know. But I supposed that it would be flattering and welcomed to have a fun, carefree relationship after the hardships of the war. I can't fault her for that.
Needless to say, I wasn't too surprised that she didn't accept right away when marriage was proposed. Her escape was to Guernsey which she had fallen in love with through her letters with the members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
The correspondence began with Dawsey who somehow ended up with a book that used to belong to Juliet. Dawsey writes in hopes that Juliet would point him in the right direction to get more books of that nature. He mentions the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society which piques Juliet's interest and so the letters begin. One by one, the members of the society begin to write to Juliet sharing their stories about the Nazi occupation.
Juliet ends up visiting Guernsey under the premises that she will write an article about the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, but she ends falling in love with the people and the island.
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