Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Guernsey Part II

After I had read just a few pages of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Juliet Ashton already reminded me of Bridget Jones. This was not such a surprising connection to make because as the title suggests Bridget Jones’ Diary takes the form of Bridget Jones’ diary and in Guernsey, Juliet’s voice is expressed in a collection of letters. Both British women refer to themselves as aging spinsters and endear themselves to their readers with their enviable wit and humor.

As I continued to read, I began to compare Juliet to Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the wildly popular Eat, Pray, Love. When Gilbert wrote about her travels in Italy, India, and Indonesia, she was trying to find herself following a painful divorce. Juliet finds herself on Guernsey. Last night after I finished reading Guernsey, I discovered praise for the book from Gilbert printed on its back cover:

“I can’t remember the last time I discovered a novel as smart and delightful as this one, a world so vivid that I kept forgetting this was a work of fiction populated with characters so utterly wonderful that I kept forgetting they weren’t my actual friends and neighbors. Treat yourself to this book, please – I can’t recommend it highly enough.”

Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love also introduces readers to extraordinary people, the friends she makes on her journey, so it is no surprise that she is a fan of Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows’ novel. The characters in Guernsey are so vivid because their unique voices and personalities are expressed in their personal correspondences. We feel like these characters are our own friends because we read the letters intended for their closest friends. Gilbert accurately and articulately expresses the appeal of this wonderful book.

A final note: This novel is compelling for many reasons, but I was amazed to learn about the German occupation of Guernsey during World War II. As a Londoner, Juliet did not know the extent of the hardship islanders endured, and vows to write a book to enlighten readers. In her acknowledgements, Shaffer explains that she visited Guernsey to research another book, but when she learned of the island’s unbelievable history she had to write a book to bring attention to it. I find the parallels fascinating: Shaffer writes about a character that is working on a book about Guernsey residents’ experience during World War II.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - A Book Lover's Delight

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Recommend: Yes
To whom: Everyone
Why: This book has everything going for it: humor, delightful characters, a fascinating (true!) historical backdrop, and an unusual narrative style - the novel is crafted as a series of letters and correspondences between characters.

I am at last reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I have recommended the book to many customers, and it is my responsibility (and pleasure) to at last read Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows’ delightful novel. Eighty pages in, I can see I have made no mistake with my recommendation. This book is hilarious, clever, touching, and informative.

The protagonist, Juliet Ashton, is a London writer who found success writing a column during World War II under the pseudonym Izzy Bickerstaff. Her latest assignment is to write a story about the effects of reading on people’s lives. She finds a perfect subject for her article, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, when she receives a letter from earnest Dawsey Adams, who lives on Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands. He has contacted Miss Ashton because he owns a book by Charles Lamb that has her name and address inscribed inside the front cover. He wants to know if there are more books by Lamb to be found in London, since books have been scarce on the island since the Germans occupied Guernsey during the war. Dawsey discovered his love of reading after his neighbor, Elizabeth, dreamed up The Guernsey Literary Society as an alibi when German soldiers caught them breaking curfew one night after enjoying a forbidden roast pig dinner at Mrs. Maugery’s home. As a result, the residents of St. Martin’s parish had no choice but to start reading and to hold regular meetings.

I did not make a blind recommendation of this book. I’d heard testimonials on KQED’s Forum and my mom raved about it. It intrigued me because I heard that the book is a compilation of letters between characters. I am particularly enjoying it because before she was a writer, Juliet worked in bookshops. She reminisces about this time while visiting bookshops around England on tour for her book, Izzy Bickerstaff Goes to War:

“I love seeing the bookshops and meeting the booksellers – booksellers really are a special breed. No one in their right mind would take up clerking in a bookstore for the salary, and no one in his right mind would want to own one – the margin of profit is too small. So, it has to be a love of readers and reading that makes them do it – along with first dibs on the new books.” (p. 15)

Oh how I can relate, but this is a delight for anybody who loves to read. It allows the reader an inside look at the intimate correspondences between a writer and her publisher, close friends, and new friends on Guernsey. I am shocked along with Juliet as she learns about the terrible conditions imposed on the Guernsey residents by the Germans. I am eager to see how her relationships develop with Dawsey and his fellow society members.

Since I recommended this book before I ever had it in my hands, I can certainly get away with recommending it now, while in the process of reading.