Book review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

This turned out to be an absolutely delightful read. I was so pleasantly surprised. I am usually not a fan of books that are written as a series of letters and other correspondence between characters, but the authors provided some genuine and unique "voices" for the people who populate the book. It felt much more like accidentally stumbling upon a shoebox of letters in one of my great aunts' closets than a book. If only the pages had been loose and tied with a faded ribbon...

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society is set in post-World War II England. Juliet, a writer, is pondering the subject of her next book when she receives a letter from a stranger who found her name on the flyleaf of a used book about Charles Lamb. Letters are exchanged and she finds herself intrigued by the experiences of the stranger and his neighbors during the German occupation of the English Channel island of Guernsey. You will soon find yourself thinking about the characters as your friends and neighbors. They are a wonderful collection of people.

I also am fond of this book because if was written by an aunt and her niece. Since I have close relationships with two of my nieces (both of whom are creative, gifted writers), I like thinking that perhaps I could do the same some day.

I would strongly recommend this novel for a book club or as a vacation read.