The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

What a delightful, delightful read! The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is told through a series of letters to and from an author in London in the years immediately following World War II. Juliet is looking for the subject of her next book, but the subject ends up finding her! A resident of the island of Guernsey in the English Channel writes a letter to Juliet when he sees her name and address on the inside of a book he finds. The two begin corresponding, and Juliet is fascinated as she learns the history of Guernsey, which had been occupied by the German military since 1940. The residents of Guernsey are starved for information from around the world, as all media was blacked out by the Germans during the occupation. Juliet does her best to update the residents of the island, and in the process begins to learn about the lives of those who call Guernsey home. Shortly after making the first connection, she is exchanging letters with several members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a group formed originally as a front for meeting past the curfew the Germans instigated on the residents of Guernsey. Over the course of several years, this small group of people, who were not necessarily friends to begin with, eventually develops not only a bond with each other, but a true love of literature.

Juliet eventually travels to the island, where she meets her friends in person and also begins to unravel more of the mysteries surrounding the Society (including the origin of the name) and the island. As she struggles to find the focus of her book, Juliet finds herself becoming more and more involved with the islanders and their lives.

The book is so well-written and is incredibly engaging. If you love reading, you will enjoy the subtle (and not-so-subtle) references to literature. I shall leave you with one small excerpt:

"Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books."

Indeed, it does!