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.