The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Critics

• Book Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

  In a recent article, Elizabeth Wein, the author of Code Name Verity (right now, my favourite read of 2012) listed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society as one of her literary influences. Coincidentally, I had a copy of the book sitting on ... (read full critics)

  thebooksmugglers published on Tue, 21 Feb 2012

• 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' by Mary Ann Shaffer

  It's got a lovely cover, a great sounding name and everyone seems to be raving about it. So what's not to like? Unfortunately, as far as I am concerned, quite a lot. The book is composed entirely of letters between a successful newspaper columnist, J ... (read full critics)

  readingmatters published on Tue, 28 Sep 2010

21 Reviews

• 2 people find this helpful

  

  Unusual style - the book consists only of letters and telegramms, received and sent by the fictional woman-writer who collects material for her next book. Topic is the German occupation of the Channel Islands during WWII and while this is a very serious matter, the authors manage to make it an easy ... (continue)

  Unusual style - the book consists only of letters and telegramms, received and sent by the fictional woman-writer who collects material for her next book. Topic is the German occupation of the Channel Islands during WWII and while this is a very serious matter, the authors manage to make it an easy and compelling read. All characters are well cut out and even though they are quite different and normally probably wouldn't mix, the occupation brings them together in this book club. It's a charming book, describing lovely people who survived the worst.

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  Lunarossa said on Aug 24, 2009 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

• 2 people find this helpful

  

  This book is absolutely amazing. I love it mainly for three reasons:

  (i) the way it is presented, i.e. in a string of correspondences in 1946 between Juliet Ashton, a writer in London, and her friends and a group of new acquaintances in Guernsey, which had just been liberated from the Nazi o ... (continue)

  This book is absolutely amazing. I love it mainly for three reasons:

  (i) the way it is presented, i.e. in a string of correspondences in 1946 between Juliet Ashton, a writer in London, and her friends and a group of new acquaintances in Guernsey, which had just been liberated from the Nazi occupation. It reminds me of "84 Charingcross Road", but this one is even more interesting and fascinating.

  (ii) the wonderful characters of the book, especially members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Their lives, revealed through the letters, are a celebration of human courage, compassion and dignity in times of extreme oppression and dire straits.

  (iii) the story behind how the author, Mary Ann Shaffer, came up with the idea of the book, saw it to fruition and passed away shortly after the book was published. The fact that Shaffer, an American, could write in such a British style and know so much about the very English Channel Islands is astonishing.

  Highly recommended.

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  Tracy W said on Aug 20, 2009 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

• 1 person find this helpful

  

  An absolutely charming story!!! Loved the letter format and how the writer could make a serious theme light and enjoyable.

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  Nini said on May 24, 2011 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

• 

  Serious story, witty style

  A serious story about the German occupation of Guernsey, told with in a lovely witty style.

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  lankylad said on Nov 26, 2011 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

• 

  Actually spell-binding. I could not put it down. The fact that it's written as a series of letters makes it easy to read and very personal, only giving you glimpses of what Mary Ann Shaffer wants you to see. A refreshing take on life during and after World War II and truly romantic. I'd definitely r ... (continue)

  Actually spell-binding. I could not put it down. The fact that it's written as a series of letters makes it easy to read and very personal, only giving you glimpses of what Mary Ann Shaffer wants you to see. A refreshing take on life during and after World War II and truly romantic. I'd definitely read it again!

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  Valentine said on May 24, 2011 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

• 

  
  one of the loveliest books, witty, precious!

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  Nickoletta said on Feb 25, 2011 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

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Book Details

• Rating:
  (140)
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• English Books
• Paperback 256 Pages
• ISBN-10: 1408800489
• ISBN-13: 9781408800485
• Publisher: The Dial Press
• Pub date: Jan 01, 2008
• Dimensions: 1381 mm x 865 mm x 129 mm Just how big is that?
• Also available as: Hardcover, Audio CD, Others and eBook
• In other languages: other languages 繁體書, Livres Français, Libros en Español, llibres en català, Libri Italiani, Nederlandse Boeken, Svenska böcker

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ISBN	Edition	List	Sale	Seller
9781408800485	Paperback	$17.69	--	The Book Depository
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