I have been hesitant to read novels ever since my father fell last year and I spent everyday in the hospital with him. Since his death in May I have checked many books out of the library, but it was only nonfiction that I could focus my attention on. I didn't want to be engaged in a character only to find that they die, are injured, or suffer (the climax of many stories). I wasn't prepared to feel that for someone inanimate.
I had gotten an email from a long ago friend in Davis, California. Our girls had been friends when they were in preschool almost 15 years ago and she said that she had enjoyed the book that was part of her book club. That was it. Not you should read it or anything else. I just have such high affection for her and her outlook on life that I thought if she liked it I might too.
That started the instant love affair with The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It is based on the aftermath of WWII on the isle of Guernsey in the Channel Islands and how a columnist and writer discovers their plight during the war, their Society, and the struggles that continue to come to them.
It is a book written in letter format - some gruff and "uneducated" while others are beautifully crafted. The characters come to light during these exchanges of paper and their histories, hopes and dreams are fully alive.
Sad, very. WWII will not easily be forgotten by those who lived through those moments in our combined history. Lovely, absolutely - the parties, descriptions of the isle, the depiction of subtle smiles and ungracious bragging - just delectable.
You might find yourself wanting to either book a voyage to the Island of Guernsey or starting a Literary Society in the manner that they run theirs - so lively and filled with human expression and the love of books.
Take a chance to be swept away by this brief novel. I did and I grateful that it facilitated my reentry into the world of fiction with grace, humor, and understanding of the depth of care in the human spirit.
