I have just finished reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I know it was published a few years ago, why has it taken me this long to find it! This book is so cute! It has a sweet old fashioned feel to it, even when dealing with the horrors of war. I usually don't like modern writers, they either over explain everything or assume their readers have no imagination. But this book is so good! One of my favorite eras too!
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is about a writer, Juliet, who in 1946 like most people were trying to put their lives back together and move on. During the war Juliet had written a newspaper column which was so successful, it was published as a book. While she is proud of her writing and is busy promoting it through teas and book signings, she would really like to write a book. While she tries to decided what subject she could stand thinking about for years, she receives a letter from a stranger on the isle of Guernsey. Thus starts a correspondence with not just one person from Guernsey, but half the population! All it told through letters. Letters to her publisher, letters to her friends, letters to the people of Guernsey and an occasional telegram! Through them we learn about Juliet's years through the war in London, the Guernsey islanders' experiences with the Germans, how the island is recovering, how the Literary Society came to be, the members take on classical literature, and the love of books.