Thursday, June 24, 2010

mmmmm pie

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Every once in awhile, a lovely little book comes along that charms and delights. Such is Guernsey.

Juliet Ashton is a writer covering the Second World War and its aftermath. One day she receives a letter from a member of the Guernsey you-know-what society, she plans to write a novel on the war's effects in Guernsey. Soon, the inhabitants of this small island are flooding Juliet with their stories. Typical small-town folk abound: the nice-but-awkward Dawsey, the mean ol' church lady, the fiesty spinster.

Guernsey is a nice little epistolary novel that provides a good story (if a bit predictable) and enchanting (if a bit one-sided) characters. Such a story in another's hands might have felt cloying or oversweet. However, while some aspects of the novel seemed almost too good to be true, the novel doesn't fail to captivate: once I started it, I couldn't put it down.

In a nutshell: Sweet but not overbearing, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a lovely little delight.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4.5 out of 6 stars

FTCBS: Personal copy. Sigh.




7 comments:

Hannah Stoneham said...

Thanks for sharing a lovely review - I have never read a negative review of this book! there must be one somewhere...

Thomas Hogglestock said...

It really is a charming book. And one that took me surprise I was bent on hating it because of the overly cutesy title. But I loved it.

BookQuoter said...

I really liked the simpleness of this book. It also made me feel like visiting Guernsey.

Trisha said...

Simple, quaint, elegant, these are the words to describe this book - and without the typical condescension that accompanies them. Love the short and sweet review of a short and sweet book.

Anonymous said...

This book is gorgeous isn't it? Well worth it; I think this is the kind of book almost everyone likes.

Marie Cloutier said...

I can't believe I still haven't read this. I have it- somewhere! :p LOL

Anonymous said...

I didn't mind the predictability. I thought it was a charming book that touched upon a difficult period in history without being too hard to read.

I hope it's okay to link to your review on War Through the Generations.