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|  | Authors: Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy Used: $1.85
as of 9/9/2010 13:19 CDT details
You Save: $13.15 (88%)
Seller: bayfrontbooks
Rating:  1302 reviews
Sales Rank: 145
Languages: English (Unknown), English (Original Language), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st Thus.
Pages: 290
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.4 x 0.7
ISBN: 0385341008
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780385341004
ASIN: 0385341008
Publication Date: May 5, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Light water damage. ... "Acceptable" books have significant defects, but lack the most serious defects possible. We make every effort to identify defects, but as we're only human, we do occasionally miss one. If you get a problem book, be sure to contact us.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 11-15 of 1302
 Delightful August 21, 2010
Deborah Correnti (Chicago, IL USA)
This book was a delightful quick read. I normally do not like books written in letter form, but in this case it worked beautifully, revealing just a little more of each character in each letter and still managing to portray a central character without any letters. I knew very little about the occupation of Guernsey, so loved learning about this part of WW2. Enchanting characters in a unique setting. Great beach read.
The Guernsey Society Rocks! August 20, 2010
John
Extremely well written! Historical with all the realism of living thru WW11 on the Nazi occupied British island of Guernsey. You will not be able to put the book down; laughing and crying your way thru it! A must read for historical fiction lovers as well as true WW11 history buffs. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Random House Reader's Circle)
Pure Delight August 20, 2010
C. Wharton (Indianapolis, IN USA)
A friend recommended I should read this book with the strange title; knowing nothing about it, I didn't want to invest in buying a new copy, so "Thank you, Amazon!" My used copy arrived shortly after ordering it; it was already broken in for my reading and handling of it, and I am soooo glad I did. It was a delightful experience: educational and enlightening to a period in history that has always grabbed my attention and my heart; pleasing to my "literary side" as the descriptions of the various characters emerged as believable, loveable personalities -- just what my imagination held for an islander Brit; emotionally multi-faceted, making me laugh, smile, shed a tear, and then to ponder the atrocities of life lived in war-time. I loved it and I've thanked my friend Jesse for recommending it.....and oh by the way, yes, I also recommend it!
SIMPLE READ August 19, 2010
Turina Young (Texas)
As previously described,"Its description of life in the Channel Island of Guernsey during and soon after World War II will raise readers' interest". The book is a VERY simple read...has lots of insight about what went on during/after the war time, but not really written as a History of the events. It is a great book for a middle school/Freshman child/student to be able to understand the characters and still get some meat from the book about the real world horror. It puts a "little" light on the darkness these people were exposed to, without the dripping gore as we know it's ugly truth.
 Parts were wonderful and entertaining, but too many Nazi horrors took it out of the realm of pleasure reading. August 19, 2010
Jane Stewart (Chicago, Illinois)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
REVIEWER'S NEGATIVE OPINION:
I would have given this book 5 stars for the writing, the personalities, the interactions, the community, and the sweet, lovely, uplifting ending. But the authors ruined it for me by having eight to ten episodes of Nazi torture and death of good people. (The eight to ten is an approximate, I didn't count them.) I would have loved the story if the Nazi parts were eliminated and/or less horrible conflicts were used. I wish the front cover had a warning about the Nazi horrors. Publishers Weekly also did not warn me, they just described it as "Geurnsey was under German occupation." Had I known, I would not have read this.
I want to feel good when I read. Years ago I watched several movies about Nazi atrocities and decided to watch no more. To this day I still shudder with some of those memories. This book added more horrors to the memories, and they haunt me. Recently I woke up from a nightmare about it. What the Nazis did to good people makes me cry. I hated certain Guernsey people informing on their good neighbors, which caused Nazis to send the good neighbors to concentration camps. This is fiction, but it's based on the author's research. I believe these kinds of things happened. I just don't want to experience them in my pleasure reading.
STORY BRIEF:
Juliet is a writer in London. She receives a letter from a farmer in Guernsey which starts a series of letters between Juliet and several people in Guernsey (an island between England and France). It's 1946, just after the war. The Guernsey people tell of their experiences during the Nazi occupation of their island. There are wonderful stories and horrible stories. After receiving many letters, Juliet decides to visit Guernsey. She loves the people there. The entire book consists of letters. I was surprised at how nicely done it was.
A group of locals have book club meetings and call their group The Guernsey Literary Society. There is a story in the book about why they formed that group during the Nazi occupation. Potato Peel Pie is another story told in the book.
REVIEWER'S POSITIVE OPINION:
I loved the people in this book. I wanted to move to Guernsey and be part of their community. Many of the stories were uplifting, warm, and welcoming. I loved Juliet's style of letter writing - so interesting and pleasant. I wish I wrote letters the way she did. I listened to the audiobook version. The narrator for Juliet was wonderful. She sounded like Julie Andrews (The Sound of Music). There were several actors doing the narration, and all were good.
DATA:
Story length: 8 hours. Swearing language: probably none to mild. Sexual content: none. Setting: World War II through 1946 in Guernsey, London, and Europe. Copyright: 2008. Genre: historical fiction, Nazi horrors.
Showing reviews 11-15 of 1302
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