Review of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Well, I have to agree with the ladies over in the Travel From Your Couch arena (topic #2), this one is awesome. Hopefully, it'll hang tight on the NY Times top 15 and everyone who chooses will get to enjoy it!
Review:
Every once in a while you come across a book that just entrances you from page one until the end ~ this is such a book. I rarely give any book 5 stars, so this is a rare treat. It's impossible to write too much of a review without dashing some of this novel's magic, but at its core it's the story of a spirited author Juliet (in post-WWII London) in search of a subject for her novel. She connects with an eccentric, endearing bunch of folks who are just coming out of the Nazi occupation of the Isle of Guernsey. Through their stories, history and literary society, Juliet befriends them and quickly becomes a part of their lives, and vice versa. The characters in this book are so engaging, it felt like being with a bunch of good friends. I did not want this one to end. I initially hesitated reading this book because of the "letter writing" style (having recently read two books with a similar approach), but these letters were like none I had read before; and this author succeeded in ways most others do not. This book has humor, true sadness, the horrors of the war, loss and love. You will smile more than once and laugh quite a bit. Highly recommended for a truly entertaining, transporting, enjoyable read.
5 out of 5 stars
Carolyn
Admin