August's pick for Book Club was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. This book, which takes place the year after WWII ended, is written as a series of fictional letters to and from many different characters. The main character, Juliet Ashton, is a successful writer that wrote humorous columns during the war and begins to focus on more serious material, in search of the perfect subject for her next book. As fate would have it, a man on Guernsey Island happens upon her information and blooming correspondences, budding relationships and a new life for Ms. Ashton quickly follows suit. There is so much more to this story from the perils of war time [famine, restrictions, German soldiers] to a strong, quick minded girl named Elizabeth and her precocious daughter, Kit. We get background stories on so many different characters: men, women, children, writers, editors…this is by no means solely a book for women!
Due to the format of this book, I was able to get through the entire read in two days. [I read very slowly!]. The letters, some short and some long, gives easy stopping and start up points for the reader and, although they are fictitious, I felt as if I was reading the private correspondence of people who lived long ago and have since passed. Before this book, I had never heard of Guernsey Island, so the research I was able to do after finishing created an even stronger home for the characters in my mind.
Jennifer made a delicious Potato Peel Pie for book club and it. was. awesome!
I enjoyed reading this book.
Book 5/30
1 comment:
Oooooooooohhhhhhh...both look good! I recently read a great book about a young girl surviving WWII
In my book club we recently read Evelynne Tannehill`s book, Abandoned and Forgotten; An Orphan Girl’s Tale of Survival During World War II
From a psychological point of view the reader can get into the head of a young girl and follow her slow thought process as she struggles for survival while everything that made up her world is ripped away from her – her family, her home, all her relatives, her pets, her doll, even her language.
Maybe next pick check this out you will love it!
Post a Comment