Book Review – The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Title: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Author: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Format: Hardback

Year Published: 2008

I was initially introduced to this book on a message board I belong to, where we have a book challenge thread (the goal is to read a set number of new books in a year). Quite a few members were reading and enjoying this book, so I checked it out from the library. I loved it. I love it so much I had to buy a copy – and then I bought a copy to give to my mother. (While rereading the book in preparation of this review, I kept telling people, “I forgot how much I enjoyed this book!”)

As mentioned in the Ella Minnow Pea review, while I am not generally a fan of first-person novels, apparently epistolary novels pass me buy. This is the other example I mentioned.

The main character is Juliet Ashton, a writer who gathered some small fame during WWII by writing light-hearted columns, but who has decided that she’d rather focus her attentions on more serious pursuits. In the midst of all of this she receives a letter from a member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and her life is changed forever. She begins a correspondence with the members of the Society, learning not only what happened to cause it to form, but what happened in their lives during the German Occupation of the island (and after).

Each of the characters has a unique voice in their letters, from Juliet to her publisher to the members of Guernsey. As a bookworm, I loved finding out what books had grabbed the Literary Society member’s attention, even for those who would not normally be readers. As Juliet becomes more embroiled in their lives, you wait with her to discover what happened to Elizabeth (the brazen young woman who came up with the idea of the Society in the first place, to avoid German arrest) and what will happen with Elizabeth’s daughter.

The novel is broken into two halves, and the first half is definitely the stronger of the two. Once Juliet arrives on Guernsey, the story shifts to a more day-to-day approach, and the focus changes from “Juliet is fascinated” to “Juliet is falling in love” (not only with a man, but with the islanders, and the island itself). The first half of the story is full of little mysteries to solve/questions to answer, while the second half really has one main mystery.

This is not a fast-paced novel, which may deter some, nor is it full of adventure. Instead, the focus of the story is the characters, and their relationships with each other and the challenges each have faced.

5/5 stars

Book Review – Ella Minnow Pea

Title: Ella Minnow Pea

Author: Mark Dunn

Format: Hardback

Year Published: 2001

Ella Minnow Pea is a book that takes place on the fictional island of Nollap, so named after the inventor of the widely-known sentence “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” with the use of all the letters in the alphabet. The island has a statue of the writer, along with the alphabet and the phrase written on it. Then the unthinkable happens – one of the letters falls off, and the leadership of the town take it as a sign from the great Nollap that they should stop using that letter. Proclamations are distributed, and the rules are put into place. One slip-up, be it verbal or in writing, results in a verbal warning. Offense number two means you go either to the stocks or you get lashed. Offense number three? Banishment or death.

As more letters continue to fall, the town challenges their leadership: if they can come up with another sentence using all the letters of the alphabet, then the leadership will rescind their previous rulings.

The novel is told in epistolary fashion, which is apparently the one form of first-person POV that I like (there will a review of another novel coming soon that I also loved told that way). This presents a challenge, as the characters continue to lose letters and are forced to work around their loss in increasingly convoluted ways (this is definitely a wonderful novel for a wordsmith).

Although I loved the novel, there were parts of it where it felt like the author was deliberately making fun of those, like me, who have strong religious belief and who believe in living by faith. Although so many of the events that the leadership cling to are obviously outrageous, I can’t help but wonder if the author meant to have the reader question other beliefs that they hold that are not supported by fact.

5/5 stars. I fully intend to reread.