It's 1946 and author Juliet Ashton can't think of what to write next. Out of the blue, she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams of Guernsey - by chance, he's acquired a book that once belonged to her - and, spurred on by mutual love of reading, they begin a correspondence. When Dawsey reveals that he is a member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society , her curiosity is piqued and it's not long before she begins to hear from other members. As letters fly back and forth with stories of life in Guernsey under the German Occupation, Juliet soon realises that the society is every bit as extraordinary as its name.
I had been waiting to read this novel from the time I downloaded it to my kindle. Written as a series of letters and telegrams by the author Juliet Ashton, her publishers and the members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society you get to know each of the characters within the book. It is not a particularly long book and made for easy reading as you could stop at any point having read one or more of the letters, meaning you could just pick up from where you left off. It was a little confusing to begin with in trying to ascertain who all the different characters were but by the middle of the book I had just about got each one fixed to my memory. It is essentially a love story but also give you an insight on how Guernsey fared through German Occupation in WW2.
I think it would be classed as a bit of a marmite book, you'd either love it or hate it. I thought it lacked a bit of umph (not sure umph is a word but its the only one I can come up with), I wanted it to move on at a bit more of a pace, which may be difficult when written in letter format. It seemed to come to a bit of an abrupt end but it could just be that I lost the thread by that point. Its a good little holiday read but wouldn't be one of my all time favourite novels if I'm honest which was a bit disappointing as I had such high expectations for it.
Don't be put off by my ramblings it's only my humble opinion after all, you may read it and think that Mitzi's barking this book was fantastic.
Mx
I haven’t read the book although I’ve heard similar comments about it, to yours. I loved the film but was very cross that it had been filmed in Devon rather than on the island. I guess it would have been too expensive. I will have to read it tho now I have seen the film. B x
ReplyDeleteI suspect with the film you get to visualise the characters more so you may find when you read the book it will flow better because you'll visualise the actor in your mind whilst reading their letters. I always think its a shame when a story is about a particular area and then it is filmed in a completely different place. I loved the book PS I love You but was disappointed with the film version that was set in America and not in Ireland.
DeleteMitzi
Go and see the film...a bit of history...love...sadness...and I suppose it helped that they filmed in my locality x
ReplyDeleteI think I should have seen the film first because then I would of had the characters albeit actors, in my memory and would of had them in my minds eye when reading about their character. For the most part I think the books are better than the film but I suspect this probably would of worked better the other way around for me. Will have to get the DVD to satisfy my curiosity.
DeleteMitzi
Thank you for saying that - I read the book & was not overly impressed but I heard everyone raving about it ... haven't seen the movie yet. I do think it's good that the story was told, wars are never easy for the communities caught in the middle & we the younger generation need to know about the real life of war.
ReplyDeleteIt does sound interesting though not a format I particularly like, always good to hear a book review xx
ReplyDeleteI had to read this for my book group and remember that I quite enjoyed it but, like you, didn't love it. I enjoyed the film, and it will probably do wonders for Guernsey's tourist industry - despite not having been filmed there! xx
ReplyDeleteI think I probably should have watched the film first so that I had the characters sorted in my muddled head. You can almost put a face to a name then but just reading the book they were just a series of names. There was a drama series years ago that was about the invasion of Sark that I want to say was called an Island at War but having googled it I can only find the adaptation from 2004 and sadly I wasn't still a child at that time in fact I was 40 and had my last child in 2003. But that programme was very good at portraying how it was for the those who lived there during the occupation. I don't think any of us who were not alive to go through or live through the aftermath of the war will ever understand what it was like for those of my mother and fathers generations and even more so for their parents.
ReplyDeleteMitzi
I almost bought the book a while back, then I discovered the format, which put me off. Reading your review makes me think that perhaps I should just watch the film instead!
ReplyDeleteI usually like the book better than the film especially as they insist on not keeping to the book but I think this might be a case for the film was probably better than the book which is unusual.
DeleteMitzi
I read the book when it first came out and enjoyed it, but the recent film was a bit uneventful. I didn't dislike it but I found Lily James too lightweight in the lead role
ReplyDeleteOverall consensus seems to be didn’t live up to the hype which is a real shame,
DeleteMitzi
I remember reading it and enjoying it but can't remember how it ended!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to go and see it at the cinema but that just didn't happen, will watch it in the comfort of my own home instead!
Lisa x