Book Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society charms you to read ceaselessly all the way to its lovely and reluctant end. Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands between England and France, slipped off the pages; it permeated my thoughts with salty air and the rushing of tall grass. I became one of the characters, tea cup perched on knees, attending readings that the literary society held each fortnight during the German occupation of the islands in World War II.


To say Guernsey Literary is a light read would be a bit of a misnomer. Easy reading yes, but marked throughout with reminders of the humanity’s darkness. This curious book was a delightful escape that somehow drew parallels to my own hardship and newly made road to recovery. The story of the book unfolds in the form of correspondence to or from the protagonist, Juliet, who discusses her research of the German occupation, her romances, and friendships. She captures loss and healing as beautifully as she paints images of one character’s memory of purple, red, and gold skies. She easily portrays how books became entwined with lives—helping neighbors bond with each other, lift spirits during wartime, and raise their intellectual engagement.

Co-written by Annie Barrows and her aunt Mary Ann Shaffer, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a book about hope. Post-war Europe in the rebuilding years will touch on many readers who have lost or experienced the kind of tragedy that leaves a shadow in the corners of the mind. The idyllic island setting, with its coasts, fields, cottages, and simple people, are reminders of beauty gained through hardship.

Selfishly, I fear lending this book. You will have to purchase your own copy!

Read, Rabbit, Read

Cleaning out the rabbit’s cage this week, I found a tattered, nibbled copy of Paul Fussell’s Class.

“Ha!” I exclaimed pointing my finger to the haughty creature. “This explains everything!”

“Well,” he snuffed, “it’s not as deprecatory as you might think. More factual, really. The neighborhood rabbit association and I were conducting a contextual analysis should we substitute certain words with rabbit, hare, bunny, or lagomorph.”

“This is not a good book for you, Rabbit. You should be reading something that opens your eyes to the plight of the working class. Something about American poverty to take the edge off your hubris. How about Grapes of Wrath?”

“Ugh,” he said, “Read it. Not one damn grape in the whole book.”

Sometimes with rabbits, you just can’t win.

In fact, you might want to see this youtube video… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcxKIJTb3Hg

Seems like rabbits could be a lot of trouble, even in the medieval years. :-)