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There are currently 20 member reviews
for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
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Patricia (Dallas TX)
Interesting History, Unsatisfactory Ending
First of all, I sat up till 2 in the morning reading and finishing this book. The story it tells about the inhabitants of Guernsey (one of the UK Channel Islands) during WWII is fascinating. The first-person/letter-writing format carries the story along in a way that straight narrative might not have.
However, at some point the book becomes a romance novel, which sort of trivializes the history contained in the first part. There are two stories here - the one about the island inhabitants during German occupation (title of the book), and the one about the main character (recipient of all the letters), which deteriorates into a silly romance at the end.
Three quarters of the book held my riveted attention, and I appreciated the addition of humor. The last quarter disappointed me terribly. The ending was happy, but the story it tells is inane.
I recommend the first part for its historical perspective. I cannot recommend the last part.
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Molly (Atlanta GA)
Irrepressible human spirit
The daily privations and loss during a war time occupation are held at bay by generosity and ingenuity resulting in a clandestine feast of contraband pork. The book club hastily formed as an excuse for breaking Nazi curfew becomes a source of strength, courage and hope for the members struggling to survive the war, and results in a journey home for the journalist who visits them after the war.
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Nancy (Independence MO)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
What a lovely story. I enjoyed the letter format and the way the characters were developed. When I came to the last letter, I felt like Juliet. I didn't want to leave the lovely town of Guernsey or the special people that belong to the Literary and Potato Peel Society.
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Susannah (Richland WA)
could be funnier
I am fond of epistolary novels--those written as a series of letters--but only if there is a good reason for employing this technique. Some excellent examples are Helene Hanff's 84 Charing Cross Road and A Woman of Independent means by Elizabeth Hailey. Now Guernsey Literary has joined their ranks. The reader gets to know all the various letter writers in a depth that would be hard to match in a conventional novel. The story itself is charming, informative and amusing. However, I felt that some of the potentially funny vignettes were not given their full quotient of humor. I wanted to laugh out loud rather than smile to myself. Nevertheless, I am passing my copy along to a friend who doesn't read much but I'm sure will enjoy this book.
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Gwendolyn (Houston TX)
Lacking Substance
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a lighthearted epistolary novel about an author who travels to Guernsey, a British island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy. The protagonist, Juliet Ashton, is a writer with a warm personality and an adventurous spirit. As Juliet researches her next book about the German occupation of Guernsey during WWII, she befriends the quirky members of a book group on the island. Although The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is charming at times, this book is mostly lacking in substance. The characters are formulaic, and the plot is entirely predictable. A quick and forgettable read.
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Becky (Jackson TN)
Series of Letters
I loved the premise of this book, the setting, the time period and the title. All of these things intrigued me to read and write a review. As I began reading, the exchange of letters expanded to more and more characters. I finally gave up. The reader must do some work to connect the series of letters into a plot. Too much work for this reader.
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