The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is about the power of literature. An author decides to focus on an island of people and their travails during the Nazi occupation and how their lives have evolved. It’s a mystery and a character study told in part in letters from the islanders to the author and then through conversations when the author visits the island. I liked the characters and the plot. It felt real. And it’s a comedy with heart.
“It is funny, moving and quite unlike anything I have read for a long time.” – The Telegraph
Sadly, the author of the book, Mary Ann Shaffer died during the writing of the book, her first and only novel; her niece, Annie Barrows, finished the writing. Shaffer was a longtime librarian, bookseller and editor.
“The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society commemorates beautiful spirits who pass through our midst and hunker undercover through brutal times. Shaffer’s Guernsey characters step from the past radiant with eccentricity and kindly humour, a comic version of the state of grace. They are innocents who have seen and suffered, without allowing evil to penetrate the rind of decency that guards their humanity.” – The Guardian
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