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!

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.

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.

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.

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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.

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.

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.

I loved this book! And I know many people who loved it too.

Oh awesome! That's so lovely to hear!

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

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!

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.

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 🤣

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

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!

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.

Ah yes good old Mr Lamb! Haha, I love both.

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

Same — I would gladly read a series.

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.

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

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

I love this book!

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

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

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.

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

It's one of my favorite books!

Yay! Same!

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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.