The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

My Hawkeye Book Club recently read the book The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, written by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. For clarification, Mary Ann wrote the book; when she became ill, Annie, her niece, did the rewrites at the very end. This book has a clever title but it is also wonderful writing: it consists of a series of letters written by a group of residents on Guernsey Island to a writer named Juliet. It takes place during the aftermath of World War II.

Juliet has written a book and started to do the book tour for it; she is already trying to come up with her next project when she gets the first letter from Guernsey. A man named Dawsey found a book by Charles Lamb that she had once owned; he wants her to know how much he enjoyed it, and could she help him find more by Mr. Lamb? When she supplies him with more books, their friendship is established. Soon, more residents are writing Juliet and telling her their stories of survival during the long period of occupation by the German soldiers. As each new writer tells his or her story, the reader is drawn further into the present day experience.

We also learn more about Juliet; she is an orphan and her two dearest friends are Sophie and Sidney (who are brother and sister). She met them as a young girl when she was sent off to a boarding school. Now, Sidney is her editor and Sophie has married and had a child.

Juliet becomes so intrigued that she soon plans a trip to the island; she wants to meet these wonderful people. She feels that she has already gotten to know them (and so has the reader). When she arrives, she stays in a little cottage owned by the absent Elizabeth--who was taken prisoner by the Nazis and sent off to a prison camp. Her friends --and young daughter, Kit--are waiting for her return. Juliet discovers that Kit's father was a German officer, a doctor, and that he, too, was sent off to a prison camp. Unfortunately, his ship sank and he drowned. Elizabeth's friends care for young Kit in her absence: they take turns taking her to one of their homes. However, Kit warms up to Juliet and they bond.

I did not expect to enjoy this book; however, I found it tremendously compelling. My husband and I were on a vacation, and I read chunks of it out loud to him while we were driving up to South Dakota. Not to sound trite, but I found myself laughing, crying, and re-reading a number of the letters. Not only was this an amazing read, it also made me realize how little I knew about the Nazi occupation of the islands so close to France and England. I want to read more and learn more about this almost forgotten aspect of the war.

Not only do I recommend the book, I urge you to read it. You can find it in the Adult Fiction, Large Type and CD Book collections.


c Waterloo Public Library 2010