The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Submitted by carrotwhirl t3_124elo2 in books

I don't think this book gets as much recognition as it deserves! I loved it — it's a beautiful book set in Guernsey in 1946, told completely in letters and telegrams the characters send to each other. The Channel Islands were the only part of the the British Isles that were occupied by Germans, and being so seemingly insignificant the British government didn't spend much on protecting them. This book shows the aftermath of living with 'the enemy' for nearly the whole war. Often the characters recall what it was like in 1940-45, painting a gruesome and harsh picture. A character arrives at Guernsey, having suffered most of the war in the largest all-women's concentration camp, Ravensbruck.

It's surprisingly comforting as it portrays the terrors of war and the grim reality of life during the occupation; it is also a pure romance between a writer from London and a pig farmer from Guernsey and a romance of books. It is a story of chosen family. It's wish fulfillment for me, so reading it feels like going home. It also contains a lot of tongue-in-cheek humour guaranteed to make you laugh aloud. And a very unique six year old, orphan of a bold, brave English mother and a kind Nazi. Happy ending. In my opinion, it ended too soon!

I would recommend it to anyone who's interested in WWII, books, romance and family.

Anyone else read this and liked it? I'd love to talk to someone about it; I don't know anyone who's read it.

73

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

flipgirl12 t1_jdzbjwr wrote

I knew nothing about the Channel Islands before reading this.

I do not remember most of the details of the story, but one thing that stood out was about how Eben (I think, Eben?) said that the war made him miss his nephew's childhood. That part seemed so sad to me. It is one of those casualties of war that people don't think much about.

​

Also, I read the Wiki page about the author after reading the book, and the author actually died before the book was published (and possibly it was her only book?). That gave the book even kind of a different feel, as if it was really important to the author, more so than just an ordinary book in a series of books written by someone.

14

carrotwhirl OP t1_je03ap5 wrote

Yes, I agree.. a five year occupation — children sent away at eight years of age would have been in their teens when they returned, perhaps to find that their family had perished in the occupation.

I also think about how it goes on about the Germans' point of view — they came treating it like a holiday. Eventually they starved with the rest of the villagers but not quite so badly; I remember the mention of the German soldier who smashed a cat's head against a wall, skinned it and cooked and ate it on the spot.

Also Remy's storyline was really interesting and painful. It had been the first time I heard of Ravensbruck.

3

vivahermione t1_je1zp4e wrote

Ravensbruck rings a bell. I think Auguste van Pels (from Anne Frank's diary) went there. Sadly, she didn't survive.

3

SarniaLife t1_je2egf5 wrote

As a person actually from Guernsey the book has an odd place here. It was written by an American author who got stuck at our airport one day and the only thing to hand to keep her entertained were books about the occupation in one of the shops.

The movie was filmed in England (because our government did agree to some terms to have it filmed here). The scenery is all wrong.

So it all feels a little off. We can be a little reserved about our history. Being occupied. Having children evacuated. To a lot of people, these don’t feel like things to be writing romance novels about.

We have loads of scars on our landscape and people from the occupation. Concrete German bunkers are visible everywhere. Our local language diminished significantly with the children having been evacuated that it is almost a dead language. There is a lot of sadness about the occupation.

But there is also remembrance here. Every year we celebrate liberation day on the island. We have cavalcades of Second World War uniforms and vehicles. Music from the era. And every local on the island has heard tales from their older relatives about what they got up to during the occupation.

sorry for the long reply. this book does that to most islanders. I once gave a tour to some friends of friends who loved the book and after the second stop it was too much for them. They wanted the happy ending not the grim reality.

10

carrotwhirl OP t1_je2nqp0 wrote

Thank you for this perspective as a person from Guernsey. I understand that Mary Ann Shaffer's interest in Guernsey began, as you said, in an airport bookstore. I also think your point of the scars of the occupation still visible and painful is a very valid one, and I am sorry.

However the book is not only a romance novel — the characters often describe the horrors of the occupation and of course we have Remy, who staggers in emaciated from a long struggle in Ravensbruck. The film fails to include this, and is much more lighthearted than the book, focusing mainly on the romance between Juliet and Dawsey. This was one of the reasons I disliked the film.

The book shows a broken, but healing Guernsey in the aftermath of the war. It also gives glimmers of hope in the future and emphasises how loved ones and chosen family can be the seed of healing.

I'm glad to hear that in Guernsey you have remembrances and celebrate the liberation of the island. I think to properly appreciate the book as more than a happy romance is to face and see the grim reality of it and not adorn it with glitter and ribbons, so to speak.

Again, thank you so much for your reply. It means a lot to me as a student of history; I'm especially passionate about WW2 and the Cold War. My best wishes to you.

3

SarniaLife t1_je2rask wrote

I have read the book but it was a long time ago. I in fact have a signed copy by Shaffers niece who completed the book. I meet her at an event on the island to celebrate the book. I have seen the movie much more recently and it’s tainted my memory.

I don’t dislike the book and it does have more to it than the movie. It’s just one of those things that if you brought it up with any group of people of here you’d get a range of feelings, but everyone would have something to say!

Overall I’m just glad that there are lots more people in the world that won’t give me blank stares when I say I’m from Guernsey. Now I get oh the potato book was from there!

I think you’ve inspired me to pick the book back up and have another read through.

2

carrotwhirl OP t1_je37n77 wrote

Wow, that's so cool that you met Annie Barrows. Yes, I agree with you. Well, it's not a long book, so if you do end up rereading it, I'd be happy to hear your thoughts!

2

NeatPrayLove t1_jdz8xov wrote

One of my favorites. Prior to reading this book I didn't know much about the Channel Islands. I've always been interested in reading up on WWII so it gave me a fresh perspective.

Chosen family really is at the core of the story. Shared adversity creates the strongest of bonds. I immensely enjoyed the themes, and didn't even mind the epistolary style of writing.

But yeah, I didn't like the movie either. In fact, I don't think I even finished it, despite the mini Downton Abbey reunion AND a Glen Powell appearance.

6

littleone327 t1_je2qz1c wrote

I could not do the movie at all they were jumping around on timeliness and just I hated the actors.

1

imsosleepyyyyyy t1_jdzsfja wrote

I didn’t read the book but I enjoyed the movie! Lots of downton abbey actors!

3

Reevadare1990 t1_jdztc34 wrote

I wanted to love this book but the narrative style (only letters/telegrams/etc) was too jarring for me. I tend to avoid books with that style with only a few exceptions (mostly classics like Dracula) because it takes some SERIOUS concentration and a notepad for me to keep track of details 🤣

Pity, there are so many books out there with that style that are amazing from what I hear but my poor brain just does not compute!

3

carrotwhirl OP t1_jdzxehy wrote

Haha, never mind! Writing style is a matter of taste sometimes. Personally I loved the letter narrative style; I thought it added extra authenticity, like I was reading real letters written by real people, delving into their world.

3

Reevadare1990 t1_jdzxmov wrote

Oh it does! I wish I could make sense of it better since it lends a lovely unique voice to the narrative. Sadly I seem to lack the brain to handle it without some SERIOUS confusion. So weird 🤣

2

Old_Bandicoot_1014 t1_jdzytpt wrote

I loved it so much! ❤ I kinda wish I could go back and read it for the first time

3

Sasebo_Girl_757 t1_je6kvvd wrote

I read the book twice and watched the movie. The movie was pretty but the book had a lot more depth/ complexity to it. The sense of a community's survival was such a big piece of the book.

3

carrotwhirl OP t1_je7i2k8 wrote

Yes, exactly! I agree with you — the film glamourised and cleaned up the story to make it more palatable for wider audiences. The book was an honest insight into the grim reality of the occupation.

1

MidwestHiker317 t1_je03ez8 wrote

My book club read this maybe about 10 years ago. We all enjoyed it!

2

Learningisall t1_je05s11 wrote

I agree with you. This is a wonderful story, and as WWII is of interest to me, is quite interesting. A very gentle handling of a very difficult situation, and a wonderful love story

2

jesse-taylor t1_jdz0pln wrote

I loved it too. It sort of fell apart at the end and felt rather unfinished, but for the most part, I enjoyed it a great deal. The movie, not so much, but probably for the same reason...they tried to make up for the weak finish, and screwed it up even worse!

1

carrotwhirl OP t1_jdz4jle wrote

Yes! They messed up the characters in the film too – three men condensed into one Eben Ramsey, Juliet being all fluttery, giggly and eager to please unlike in the book where she calls lightheartedness one step away from witless, how the Society wasn't welcoming of Juliet whereas in the book they all got to know Juliet, not just Dawsey, and how Isola flung herself on Juliet and kissed her upon arrival.

However I think Jessica Brown Findlay portrayed Elizabeth really well. But Kit — she's this blond, average, boring but cute six year old without any of book Kit's charisma. And Amelia! What happened?! I also hated how Mark was this nice guy willing to help her instead of that selfish control freak of the book.

2

Froopluits t1_je0ghe3 wrote

I loved the movie but only because I watched it before reading the book. The book characters are so much richer.

2

carrotwhirl OP t1_je03uv2 wrote

Oh also I hated how the film left out the Remy storyline completely. It was the most graphic description of the war in this book — Ravensbruck concentration camp.

1

FreddieMonstera t1_jdzcpxw wrote

I’ve only seen the movie so can’t comment about the book. I have the Shakespeare book they talk about so that’s exciting.

1

carrotwhirl OP t1_jdzcxb7 wrote

Ahh you need to read the book! Cool that you have the Shakespeare book (I can't recall which), but I read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë because Juliet liked it. I ended up really liking it — it was as good, if not better than her sister Charlotte's Jane Eyre.

3

Previous_Injury_8664 t1_je00yyr wrote

Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb.

Nothing beats Jane Eyre in my opinion, but I did really enjoy The Tenant of Wildfell Hall!

3

5538293 t1_je0j787 wrote

I love this book!

​

​

Came across a movie adaptation...try to find it; it's pretty good also

1

ReadWriteHikeRepeat t1_je0ttn3 wrote

I loved this book too. Angela Thirkell's novels helped me get past the hangover of finishing it.

1

lololynn258 t1_je14yq3 wrote

I really loved this book. It was quite popular when it came out, and on many book club's reading list. There was a movie made, with an excellent cast, but I was quite disappointed in it.

1