The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Book Review

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer is one of the best books that I have read in the past year. The book was really written by Annie Barrow and Mary Ann Shaffer. The book was really written by Mary Ann Shaffer who died before it was ready to be published so it was finished by her niece Annie Barrows. The partnership resulted in near perfection.

Reading is one of my passions and as a child is was my saving grace. My perfect day will always include a visit to a bookstore with time to wander the aisle, touching the books, pulling out ones that look interesting, looking at covers, reading the front slip, perusing the reviews and then carrying all of my choices over to a comfortable chair where I can sit and drink tea and decide which books will be coming home with me and become my friends.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society became one of my best friends very quickly. As I do have a slight addiction to bookstores I picked this book up before most people. It was located in the new fiction section and I was immediately drawn to the cover. I loved the colors and the font. It spoke of a simpler time and evoked a sense of romance. I also loved the texture of the cover is was not slick but a little grainy leading to the feeling that when one was reading and holding the book one would be transported back in time. When I read the book jacket I knew that I was buying the book. It is a story of a woman who travels to the Guernsey Island off the Coast of England right after World War II and what she finds. These islands were occupied by the Germans during the war and the residents and the Germans found a way to co-exist. It was not always peaceful or pleasant but it allowed the residents to survive.

The book is written as a series of letters between the main character and her good friend and publisher in England. In her letters she documents what happened during the war along with current conditions. These letters give one insight into the war and survival along with insight into how times of trauma can bring out the best in people and at times the worst. When describing this book to friends I say it feels like you are curled up in front of a fire with a cup of hot chocolate and there is an occasional lightening strike that wakes you from your daydream.

I do not want to give too much away. The book is to good to go in with preconceived notions and ideas. I will tell you that it contains romance and secrets, recipes and heartache, strength and slight despair. Life itself. As stated earlier this book is near perfection.