The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society |  | Authors: Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
Creator: Various
Publisher: Random House Audio
List Price: $34.95
Buy New: $19.85
as of 11/24/2009 11:16 CST details
You Save: $15.10 (43%)
New (25) Used (13) from $19.35
Seller: any_book
Rating:  1019 reviews
Sales Rank: 13449
Format: Audiobook, Unabridged
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Unabridged
Number Of Items: 7
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 6 x 5 x 1.2
ISBN: 0739368435
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780739368435
ASIN: 0739368435
Publication Date: July 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers. January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man shes never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb....
As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friendsand what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Societyborn as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their islandboasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.
Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the societys members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.
Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 1019
 Loved it! November 24, 2009
Jill L. Caldwell
This book made me laugh and cry, and I was so sorry when I had finished it -- I wanted it to go on forever! I'm recommending it to all my friends.
Mmmm. Mango Curry.. November 23, 2009
Andrew iyer (CA USA)
This book goes well with hot chocolate and some cookies. It's a playful, fun, lighthearted read that on occaision injects (lightly) the horrors of Nazi occupation. It is very well written, and the characters are lively and entertaining.
I enjoy the british-style of humour, and the british (well, back in the day, anyway) style of the "stiff upper lip", that seems to have gone missing from the UK recently. It's on full display in this book. This is, at its heart, a sweet love story, and it is done very well. Some critics here have called it fluff - I suppose if you're a Hemingway man, who needs RED MEAT in their books, and lots of MAN-STUFF - then yes, it is fluff.
But it isn't sugary-sweet fluff, like fairy floss. It's more, well, a delicious mango chicken curry. And now i'm hungry. I liked this book - it's more for people in an emotive, happy love story type mood, although admittedly the change in author towards the very end does affect the flow a teeny bit. But it's minor, and at the *very* end of the book.
Someone else mentioned the Book Thief - it's a good book too, you should also read it. Both books are very different though - this is a love story, the Book Thief is more focussed on the horrors of Nazi Germany, with the associated emotions (spoiler alert! Not Happy Ones). But don't skip this book for that one. Unless you're in a Hemingway or a Conrad mood (and there seem to be a few people here who need to feel "raw emotions") - then read
anything by Elie Wiesel. I'd start with Night (Oprah's Book Club).
...
There, now you're all depressed - oh, you need cheering up? - i'd recommendThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Random House Reader's Circle) to cheer you up. And some hot chocolate.
A Tiny Corner of English History Just After WWII ! November 23, 2009
Newly Retired Reader (Maryland, MD USA)
Written in an interesting, captivating Letter Writing format!
Character development works well in this format.
It teaches in an informal way, as well as entertains the reader.
I liked it so much, I have given copies as gifts to friends and family.
Even the title, unusual as it is, draws you in and keeps you focused!
So, if you enjoy the lost art of letter writing, and have even a passing interest in history, you too will enjoy this book!
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society November 20, 2009
Amy Musher
Very interesting and well written. It is written as letters back and forth wherein the story evolves about how one tiny town experienced the German invasion and the Holocaust. If you like that subject, you will like this book. I enjoyed it and would recommend it.
One of the best! November 20, 2009
Charles H. Mathers
This is one of the best novels I have read in years. Using the device of a letter exchange between all the characters was brilliant. By doing so, the author let the reader become intimately familiar with every character. The story, based loosely on the actual experiences of the inhabitants of Guernsey during WWII, was lucid and compelling. I just simply couldn't stop reading once I had started. Be sure to read the author's remarks after the end of the book. For once, they actually contributed to the book.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1019
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