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|  | Authors: Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy Used: $1.71
as of 9/5/2010 05:29 CDT details
You Save: $13.29 (89%)
Seller: betterworldbooks_
Rating:  1299 reviews
Sales Rank: 144
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: Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy!
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 16-20 of 1299
 Sharing a good read. August 16, 2010
felce dolce
I enjoyed reading this book so much, that I thought a friend of mine, whose birthday was coming up, would also enjoy the book. He was born in England and is a writer. I'm sure he was aware of the story behind this book, so he would enjoy it that much more.
Letters August 14, 2010
Larry Melamed
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The entire book is written in the form of letters the characters write to each other. Brilliant! Very engrossing and when's the last time you read a good book with a happy ending?? I highly recommend this book.
Oh Man, Was This Wonderful! August 13, 2010
Jay Gilbertson (Prairie Farm, WI USA)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society"
by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Book Review by Jay Gilbertson
Do you remember the clever novel "84, Charing Cross Road?" It had to be the most clear-cut example of how nosey we all are--I loved it!
"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" is just such a book; the entire novel is a collection of letters written in 1946, right after the end of WWII. From war-torn London to the recently German-occupied island of Guernsey, an entire world is about to be flung open--and you're invited.
Meet Juliet Ashton, a thirty-something aspiring author looking for her next big thing to write about. Out of the blue she receives a note from Dawsey Adams, a resident of Guernsey, requesting help in locating a particular book. Juliet takes on the task with zeal and soon is introduced to an entire cast of characters. The `society' was created on the spur of the moment late one night when a group of islanders were caught outside after the German-imposed curfew. It was the brainchild of a brilliant woman that you will surely come to admire. And yes, they really did eat potato peel pie--I don't recommend it.
In the course of this often-lively exchange of letters, many of the members not only share their own literary favorites, but also reveal bits and pieces of themselves. Such as the fear your child will never be seen again, making do with no soap at the end of the month, sneaking a dead pig from house to house and all of them wondering if Elizabeth McKenna would ever come home. As the `story' moves deeper into more personal exchanges, one member's name is woven into nearly all the accounts of how they survived. This woman--the true heroine of this tale--is one you never meet, and without tossing out a spoiler, let's just say you root for her all the way. In the end, you learn that even though sometimes you're dealt a losing hand, somewhere there's a joker ready to bring in the sun...
The main reason this particular novel rang so true with me was that underneath all their struggles with day-to-day life, the darkness that shrouded their every moment didn't smother that one thing we cling to no matter what--hope. The authors were related, Barrows is the niece of Schaffer who, unfortunately, passed away in February 2008. This was a true work of love as it was Barrows lifetime dream to write a book that would be published and Schaffer made sure that dream came true. This novel, packed full of truly endearing characters (and a few I wanted to smack) is a wonderful reminder of the depth of human spirit. When we hold each other up, nothing can bring us down--nothing...
One of author Shaffer's characters says, "Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books." Perhaps so, but here, it simply doesn't apply.
Enjoy the adventure--and should you ever visit Guernsey--please greet Juliet for me!
For more information about the author(s) please visit:
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The Glory of an Island community August 13, 2010
Gustavus Ramsay
I am American, but I was brought up as a pretty rabid Anglophile, and my father served in the Bristish navy during world war II after the Intrepid (now in the Hudson River in NYC) was kamikazed for the last time. I have always admired the British stiff upper lip and sense of sacrifice for the common good. This book points all this up in spades. It made me laugh and made me cry and made me proud of my Scottish/English heritage. I have recommended it to everyone I know unqualifiedly.
 Will Make a Great Movie August 12, 2010
Melissa McCauley (North Little Rock, AR)
Despite its numerous problems, I found this book to be an entertaining and enjoyable read. In 1946, the writer Juliet Ashton begins a correspondence with the quirky inhabitants of Guernsey Island. As the letters progress the various characters relate their stories of life under Nazi occupation and the founding of the eponymous literary society.
This seems tailor-made for a screenplay (which in all honesty will probably be better than the book). Sure; the characters are shallow stereotypes, they all have the same voice, suspension of disbelief is pushed past the breaking point, and the plot is painfully predictable - but it is FICTION for goodness sake.
Showing reviews 16-20 of 1299
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