Pretend book club: The Guersney Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Several years ago, when we still lived in Boston, we were preparing to go to the beach, and I asked my Facebook friends to recommend some books for beach reading. Since becoming a parent, I've found that I don't know what to read so much anymore. Which is embarrassing, given that I have a degree in LITERATURE. 

My friend, Mrs. Tidwell (I'm 97% sure it was her), recommended The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer, a book that I had heard of but knew nothing about. All I knew is that I couldn't actually ever remember the title because it was such a mouthful. I didn't end up reading it that year, but I remembered the recommendation.

At Christmas this past year, I saw that Amiee had the book with her, and it made me think that I should finally pull the trigger and read it. Now, I still have the issue of just not having time/opportunity/energy to polish off too many actual books, but I do love a good audio book, and we have an Audible account. I downloaded it in January and got started.

When I first started it, I was a little disappointed because it is written in letter-writing format. I recognize that this is a legitimate storytelling style, but I don't always love it. However, I was sold after the first couple of letters. It is incredibly well done and so engaging! Here are a few of my favorite things:

1. The characters. The characters are so colorful, funny, and have such depth. Every single one. Even characters that don't "speak" are so vivid and real (there are several of those). They are so likable (or really unlikable) and full of personality. The relationships between the characters are so interesting and touching. They're interwoven together so so beautifully. Juliet, Sidney, and Isola are my favorites. And Amelia. And Susan. Never mind...I like most everyone.

2. The setting. Now, generally speaking, I greatly prefer not-sad stories. I'm just not that good at processing fake grief when there are too many real opportunities for grief in this life. That being said, I loved the ebb and flow of the happy and sad in this book. Guernsey is set in England/the British Channel Islands immediately after World War 2. You cannot have a story set anywhere near a war that does not have sad elements. You just can't. So, fair warning: there are some really heart-wrenching moments that made me cry. Hard, sad, appalling stories of how people treated their fellow humans during the war years. But, this book is so well-balanced with beautiful, kind, and funny story lines to offset the hard. I would be crying and laughing within minutes of each other. Bonus: I loved all of the snippets included about the resourcefulness of those who lived through World War 2. It's fascinating and empowering to think about how resilient and smart humans can be when they need to.

3. The cleverness. In writing a book completely in letter format, the authors have to be incredibly creative in tone, word choice, and flow. It's so well done in Guernsey. I love the witty banter and the varying lengths of the letters; some are looooong, containing stories and descriptions while others are short telegrams, comprised of concise, sassy retorts. Such good words!

It's such a beautiful story, guys. I've listened to it FOUR TIMES since January. Four times. I'll put it on while I'm doing laundry or cleaning the kitchen or doing whatever else needs to be done. It's like they're my friends who keep me company while I do chores.

Have you ever read it? Listened to it? What did you think?