Book Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

My Thoughts on the book 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows'

I wasn’t intrigued by the book cover. I felt the title was too long and ambiguous. I think it was the Potato Peel Pie part of it. But I picked it up anyway because it was one of the most recommended books in the epistolary literary genre.

And it turned out to be such an interesting and refreshing read.

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Set in 1946 post World War II, the book is made of letters exchanged between a London-based writer Juliet Ashton and the members of a book club named The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And it all started when Juliet receives a letter written by Dawsey Adams, a resident of Guernsey.

Dawsey comes across an old copy of the book Essays of Elia, written by Charles Lamb and he falls in love with Lamb’s writing. That old copy originally belonged to Juliet. Since, there are no bookshops left in Guernsey, he decides to write to Juliet seeking information about bookshops in London from where he can buy Lamb’s books. She writes him back along with a book by Lamb and a question about ‘potato peel pie’ and why it was included in their book society’s name.

After exchanging a series of letters, Juliet decides to visit Guernsey and meet the society people in person. A short trip turns into a long stay and her experience living with the people of Guernsey, especially the book society members, changes her life forever.

This book explores the heartache of living and surviving a war, the joy of reading, and love for books. 

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I had finished it reading last year in June (yes, I know I’m late to post the review). Out of all the epistolary novels I had read around that time, this book came closest to the reading experience I was looking for while reading this genre.

Writing is pretty simple and straightforward. Characters are likeable. Books written in a letter /dairy/emails format tend to be very forgiving because of its structure. And, I loved the story. I felt it was something new.

Towards the end, I felt the writing style or the rhythm of the narration changed a bit. It could be because the author Mary Ann Shaffer was not able to work on the edits and rewrites suggested by the editor (after the manuscript was submitted and accepted for publication) as she was unwell. Her niece Annie Barrows worked on the edits and rewrote substantial parts, which is why she was credited as co-author of the book.

But overall, I quite enjoyed it.

Highly recommended!!