Saturday, September 1, 2018

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

That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you to another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive - all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment.
Juliet Ashton is a writer and lover of books and stories who made a name for herself writing a column about life in London during World War II. After the war, she finds herself searching for new book ideas and stumbles upon the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a book club that arose out of necessity on the island of Guernsey during Nazi occupation. Her letters back and forth to its various members form the bulk of this novel, along with her correspondence with her various love interests.

There is nothing new or groundbreaking here, but it was very adorable and just what my addled brain needed. There are several love triangles, some mysteries, enough tragedy to make you feel like your reading a "serious" book (when really you aren't but that's okay too...). The strongest bonds between the characters come from their mutual love for and appreciation of literature, and while the human love stories are engaging, everyone's love affairs with their various favorite books were even more endearing.

It's now a movie on Netflix (yes, I do have it playing in the background right now) and it's absolute perfect fodder for that. Even as an epistolary novel, it's vivid and cinematic, and Juliet is funny and acerbic and makes for a very relatable female lead. 10/10 would read again while emerging from the fog of motherhood!

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