A wonderful book! Original, moving, informative. A deceptively light and easy read about the horrors of the German occupation in World War II, friendship and the transformative power of books. ( )

I loved this book. I wasn't sure I would enjoy a book that was all letters, but the author made it come alive. I have read the book twice and will probably read it again. I get something new every time. ( )

Un très joli livre qui donne à voir sur le mode épistolaire ce que put être la vie à Guernesey durant l'occupation allemande, au cours de la seconde guerre mondiale. Pour les britanniques, ce fut une expérience rare, car aucune autre parcelle du territoire national ne fut occupé. Les auteurs en tirent une jolie chronique pleine de personnages attachants. Ils réussissent à donner à chacun d'eux une voix qui lui est propre. Il se dégage de l'ensemble un charme qui a touché toutes les personnes à qui je l'ai fait lire. ( )

This is a gentle funny and happy book. It also reveals some interesting facts about the Channel Islands during World War 2 . My only regret is that this author only wrote one book. ( )

Reading this stunning work of historical fiction, it's easy to feel the sun warming the beaches of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands between England and France -- but much harder to grab your heart back when you've finished spending time with your new friends Poignancy, Heartache, Gratitude and Stunning Prose. Basically, after you've finished reading Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows' The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

The novel opens in 1946, just a few short years since the end of World War II and the ravaging of Europe by Hitler's Third Reich. Much of London is still decimated -- dilapidated buildings still stand, but spill their contents onto the streets by the River Thames. Author Juliet Ashton survived the difficult time in England through her writing -- and helped others deal with the terror, confusion, pain and harshness of war through her columns in a London newspaper. Often humorous, Juliet's musings were so popular in England that, after the end of the war, they were published -- and sold quite well. Now riding high from the success of her book, Juliet is struggling to find a new subject on which to focus her literary pursuits . . . and is coming up empty.

Told entirely through a series of letters from a great variety of individuals, Guernseyis first and foremost Juliet's story -- but quickly shifts to encompass the lives of so many other exceptional people, too. As Juliet travels England on her book tour and laments her lack of inspiration, a letter from far away drops right into her lap. A man on the island of Guernsey has stumbled across a copy of book once having belonged to Juliet -- before the contents of her home were ripped apart in a bomb blast years before. Somehow the book made it to the Channel Islands, still with Juliet's inscription in the front -- and has become a staple at the meetings of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a slightly underground organization developed on the island during the five years in which German troops occupied Guernsey, making its inhabitants captives.

What always stuns me about fantastic historical fiction -- particularly those stories which bring life to the people affected and haunted by World War II, one of the greatest blights and tragedies in human history -- is its ability to completely transport me to another time, a distant place -- and display to me, in a very human way, the toll of war upon those who fight and those who stay. None of the characters in Guernseywere soldiers, but they all knew -- and loved -- soldiers. None had to pick up and bear arms, but they did bear the daily burdens of not knowing whether their loved ones were safe.

I don't want to make Guernsey sound morose . . . because it's quite the opposite, really. It's a testament to the human spirit. Like other fiction and non-fiction books I've read from the time, including The Diary of Anne Frank, Elizabeth Berg's Dream When You're Feeling Blue, Markus Zusak's The Book Thief and The Diary of Dawid Sierakowiak, it's as much about the unexpected kindnesses as it is about the tragedies . . . it's about the resilience of the human spirit. It's about being alive.

I feel very fortunate to have read this novel -- and only kick myself for not getting around to it sooner! Lovers of historical fiction and those with an interest in England, war or just humanity will delight in this enchanting book -- and have a hard time forgetting it. And I'd put money on that!

(For an even shockingly longer review, visit me at write meg!) ( )