I loathe books written in letter format- loathe them.  I don’t like having to guess who the main character is, and in the case of this novel guess the sex of them as well.  I never understand why an author finds this plot device necessary.

Now that I got that out of my system, I’ll tell you that beyond this one little failing- I thoroughly loved this book.  It’s a book meant for book lovers.  For those of us that feel like reading is like the air we breathe, and books are not only an escape from real life, but help us to understand life better.

It’s based in post World War II, and most of the negative reviews I’ve read center around how fluffy this novel is in post war times and how annoying they found the main character Juliet.  Sometimes I wonder if people just like to be cynical.  I’m pretty sure not every human being in post war Europe was destitute, starving, and near death.   Not to mention last time I checked authors were allowed to take liberties in fiction. The war isn’t glossed over in this book, as much as it’s almost another character in the book.  Don’t read this expecting WWII carnage and misery (although there is a very little bit of it sprinkled throughout).  I found the main character Juliet refreshing- she’s a little self deprecating, and it offsets her selfishness enough so that you fall in love with her.  The people of Guernsey are really the stars of the book, and my lifelong dream of visiting PEI after having read Anne of Green Gables, has almost been upstaged by a fervent desire to visit the Channel Islands.

A beautiful, quirky, and at times heartbreaking read.  Will have you staying up half the night to finish it.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society is written by Mary Anne Shaffer & Anne Barrows

it can be ordered on Amazon