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|  | Authors: Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $5.42
as of 11/24/2009 12:15 CST details
You Save: $8.58 (61%)
New (83) Used (48) Collectible (1) from $4.89
Seller: usmedia
Rating:  1019 reviews
Sales Rank: 43
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st Thus.
Pages: 290
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.8
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: New, paperback, spine has not been cracked, 100% Money Back, USMedia ships daily with delivery confirmation.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 16-20 of 1019
 TOTALLY WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! November 15, 2009
Pamela A. Poddany (Toledo, Ohio)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY
If you read only one book this year or next year or the years ahead of that, make sure this is THE book.
Like the thousands of reviewers before me, I found this book to be a delight. What a smart and totally different way to tell a story -- in the form of letters and telegrams between all of the characters. A book has never left me feeling so charmed and under its spell.
We meet Juliet Ashton, living in London after World War II. Juliet wants to write a book and keeps running into dead ends. She receives a letter from a man who lives in Guernsey and they strike up a correspondence relationship, which leads to Juliet hearing from others who live on the island. She is invited to visit and decides to go and let the people tell her their true stories about the German occupation. Once at Guernsey, Juliet falls in love with the island, her once pen-pal friends, and the life she is living there. Read the book and find out all of the details of Juliet's life in this lovely place; it is quite the adventure.
History comes alive for both the reader and Juliet while on Guernsey. I personally discovered so much about this phase in our world history that before was totally unknown to me. Little did I know that this beautiful island even existed, let alone that it was occupied by the Nazis. Story after story is unfolded straight from the human heart. The characters are so alive and well thought out that I found it hard to believe they weren't real and living down the street from me. This book contains the misery and heartbreak that only war can bring; however, hand-in-hand with that heartbreak comes the true human condition -- love, fellowship towards man, and triumph.
The characters themselves all have voices of their own, each one conveying what happened to them during the war and how their world was torn apart. The authors were able to make each character so different and unique it was unbelieveable. Taking actual historical events and putting the characters right in the thick of things came off so smoothly and made this book a true treasure. Some advice? Keep a box of tissue handy, you will certainly be using them.
As stated above, if you only read one book in the years to come, make sure it is this one. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
Thank you.
Pam
The Guernsey Literary... November 15, 2009
Book Reader (Maryland)
Loved this book. Unusual style and terrific characters, each one clearly drawn. Very interesting time period. Obviously quite a bit of research to get the right tone.
 The Divine Literature of the Potato Peel Ya Ya November 15, 2009
Hester the Molester (Washington, DC United States)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'm a law student who was hungry for a good novel, and followed the recommendations, which are glowingly complimentary. Perhaps in the future I should take this as a signal that the work in question is a book to avoid. The note on the cover from Elizabeth Gilbert saying I simply MUST read this should also have been a clue (I found Eat Pray Love to be grotesquely self-indulgent and gave up on it when her blue soul and her ex-husbands flew around in the air in India forgiving each other).
Long and short is that I just began part two and I really don't care anymore. Contrived, dishonest, sickeningly sweet, and cliche (complete with annoying old schoolmarm type whose come-uppance we are clearly meant to relish). The "letter format" gimmick was intriguing at first but became annoying and hard to follow; it also is a significant barrier to real literary tension and plot development (I defy anyone to tell me in one coherent sentence what is the central conflict of this novel). So many people in first person and it's hard to keep them separate (and frankly when I want a delicious and thoughtful escape I don't want to have to work hard to keep up with who's who). I cannot help but feel that I am being manipulated a bit, with random images of horror interspersed among giddy, light, happy letters. I wouldn't suggest a gloomy novel, but what a wonderful subject and potential for real human drama. This is Hallmark Card drama, not Kite Runner drama, or Handmaid's Tale drama. I am officially giving up on this book, which is not easy to do. I read through the reviews hoping someone would say it just drags through the middle but WHAT AN ENDING! Nowhere in sight and my reading-for-pleasure time is strictly limited and I cannot afford to keep the commitment I usually make upon opening a book and reading the first 10 pages.
Too bad. It's almost good, just not quite.
If you're looking, a much better novel with alternating first-person narratives in a unique setting is The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsovler.
a perfect book November 15, 2009
B. Laurie Gillespie (greenville, ms)
This is a perfect book. I enjoyed this book so much - I do not usually read books more than once, but I listened to it on CD after I read it and enjoyed it all over again. This book was more than delightful - it was perfect.... we need more books like this one!!!!
Best Book I've Read in a Long Time November 15, 2009
J. Czajkowski (Stafford, VA USA)
I hate being one of the herd, but I have to agree: This is a marvelous book. Not only were the characters interesting, but I also learned a lot about a time and place that were unfamiliar to me. I wish I could be friends with Juliet, Elizabeth, Isola, and just about all the rest of the characters. I almost feel sorry for the authors because I don't know how they can top this with their next book. But I'll be willing to find out.
Showing reviews 16-20 of 1019
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