The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: courage and ingenuity during the German occupation

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows is  the story of one woman’s discovery of the extraordinary tale of an island occupation and the residents’ fight back. January 1945, as the world is emerging from the shadow of World War II, writer Juliet Ashton is struggling with her next book idea. One day, a letter from a man who lived a world away on the island of Guernsey in the English Channel would open the door to stories of survival, courage and ingenuity, Juliet begins to correspondent with the members of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which was born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi after being discovered after curfew by the Germans. The residents send their stories, boastful tales of humor, love and outsmarting their occupiers as well as their love of various forms of literature.  When Juliet sets sail for the island, she finds her new book as well as herself. 

This book has been highly praised and made into a Netflix film that I was intrigued and it was added to my wish list. At first, I wasn’t sure if I liked the correspondence format as the story is told through the characters’ letters. However, once Juliet begins to correspond with the residents of the island, the story’s warmth and humor really opened up for me and I eagerly read the rest of it. The story turned out better than I thought it would. I thoroughly enjoyed all the members of the society and their individual stories. Even the characters that we love to hate added spice to the story. Every character felt real and could easily be people we would encounter today. From the simple people doing their part to survive to the high and mighty busybody, the residents of Guernsey Island will tell a story of love, community and survival. I highly recommend The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. 

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook.