Fun read of a World War 2 story of heroism 2010-09-06

Reviewer: Naor Wallach

This book is told in the form of a series of letter from and to Juliet Ashton who is a freelance writer. Juliet is approached initially by a gentleman from Guernsey immediately after the end of World War II as he happened to get a hold of a book that used to be owned by Juliet. Since Guernsey is out of the normal way, and the author of the book in question is not well known, Dawsey asks Juliet for help and this leads to the whole fascinating set of circumstances related in this novel.

Guernsey is part of the Channel Islands and belongs to Great Britain, even though you can see France from their shores, but not England. During World War 2, all of the islands were taken over by the Nazis and occupied for the duration. The British did not liberate those islands until early in 1945 and this story is written in 1946 as the island rebuilds and reestablishes itself as a liberated part of Europe. As Juliet learns more about what took place on the island, she is drawn more and more to it and the people who populate it and ultimately moves there to write a book about the experiences of it's people under the Occupation.

What she learns, and how she learns it, is the main part of the book. I will not give away too many plot details, but will tell you that as she gets more and more involved with the people, she learns of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society; how it was formed; named; why it was formed; and the remarkable story of the founder and other members of this society.

The book is very easy reading and draws you into it quite rapidly. I found myself unwilling to put it down as I was reading more and more of these short letters and attempting to understand the various personal relationships between and amongst the remarkable people described. It was a nice read and a fun way to spend a few hours and I was not disappointed as the plot evolved and thickened. There are many funny moments, as well as sad moments in the book, and the storytelling part of the book is first rate. I would definitely enjoy reading more stories like this - even if they do not employ the literary technique of telling it via letters - but unfortunately, the main author died before this book was published. Five stars for sure.

Great! 2010-09-05

Reviewer: Jean Skibinski

The format of the story is told in a series of letters, making it a different and easy read. In addition, we learn a piece of history about WWII that seemed never to have reached us--about the occupation of the Channel Islands by Germany. A heartwarming story with delightful characters.

This is a good read 2010-09-05

Reviewer: Kathline Neubauer

The catchy title, and the authors name were what caught my attentiion. Marianne Shaffer is also my daughters name, so it had to be good, right. I thought this book started out a little slowly, but as I read along I saw Ms Shaffer was building her cast of characters and she did her job so well I was never lost as to who was writting who. I read my copy on my Kindle, but liked it so well I bought a copy for a gift.

Unique and delightful 2010-09-05

Reviewer: Martha Anne Allen

This book brought two firsts for me: 1) This is the first book I've actually progressed from the inkling that I should write a review to actually DOING it and 2) is the first book that when I came to the absolutely delightful, joyous, making me grin from the inside out ending, that I went back to the beginning and started again. While by the end of my first reading I had the numerous characters sorted out, they were rapidly introduced, and as the reader must keep track of who they are by referring to whom the letters are to and from, I wanted to go back and reread each character's introduction. Then I found I just wanted to keep rereading to again experience the development of the relationships between these quirky and wonderful characters. Plus there were so many parts worth rereading: playing Dead Bride, marching bejeweled to Pomp and Circumstance, the character reference Juliet had her fellow Fire Warden write, John Booker's review of Seneca, the incredible comeuppance of Billee Bee, and Isola's bumbling as Miss Marple leading to the very satisfying conclusion, to name a few. I am not just recommending this book to friends, but buying four more copies to give away. Need I say more?

Historical fiction account (in the form of letters) of the five-year WWII German occupation of Guernsey, an English Channel isle 2010-09-03

Reviewer: Julee Rudolf

Although not a fan of historical fiction in general, I liked this story about an author who dumb-luckily gets connected to an island full of colorful characters, learns a lot about its occupation (by the Germans) during WWII, and gains long-term, life-changing relationships with some of its inhabitants. The story starts slowly, as its main character, author Juliet Ashton, shares potential subject ideas with her long time friend and publisher, Sidney Stark. Fluke-like, she soon gets connected with Dawsey Adams, an island of Guernsey resident, with whom she continues to correspond. As she's in the process of trying to track down her next writing topic, Adams easily intrigues her with tidbits about islanders' occupation-era experiences. Her interest gradually increases, as does the number of Guernseyans with whom she corresponds in order to learn all she can about the occupation's effect on the island's inhabitants. Things get really good when she takes a trip to visit her newfound friends.

Information about the occupation and the character development make the book a worthwhile read, but it has its flaws (alert - semi-spoiler ahead), the primary one being that the ultimate intended object of Ashton's affections (which even I, Ms. Oblivious, figured out at page 9) was too obvious, making the author's attempts to direct readers' attentions toward another entirely unsuitable suitor a waste of time. In spite of that (and another totally-saw-it-coming incident involving Billee Bee), TGLaPPPS is still a decent read. Also interesting: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo, Suite Francais by Irene Nemirovsky and Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn.