A review by agrippinaes
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows, Mary Ann Shaffer

5.0

I watched the film before reading the book, and I sort of assumed that the book would be very much like the film - a gentle romance. It is, kind of, exactly that, but with a heartbreaking centre that I did not quite expect.

There is some truly lovely, beautiful writing in this. I’m not usually a fan of epistolary novels, but the format worked so well and I thought it was a very effective way of telling the story. There’s so much more depth to the novel than there is in the film. Whilst there is a romance, the true story in this book is the occupation of Guernsey by Nazi Germany - or, in a lot of ways, how people can find joy during and following a traumatic experience. As I said earlier - there is a truly, truly heartbreaking side to this book

Spoiler

the story of the girls from the brothel, for example, or Remy’s story of Ravensbrück, for example

, but there is also a gentle warmth and sense of humour that runs throughout it.

The real highlight of the book is the relationships - everyone in the Society, Sidney and Juliet, everyone with Kit. The writing really shows how strong all of their bonds are. The characters are also really good - the characterisations of everyone is very strong and in a book with so many characters it was easy to tell them all apart. I loved Dawsey in particular, but also Isola; Elizabeth, obviously, is a wonderful character.

The romance is very sweet and lovely, and I liked that it took a backseat rather than being the main focus. The ending of the book was also good -

Spoiler

I loved that Juliet proposed in the way that she did.

Finally - I loved the way that the novel described Guernsey - I was very jealous of the idea of Juliet being able to start a new life there.

Overall, this is a lovely, often heartbreaking but beautifully written story about love and survival; I’m not sure I’d reread it, but I’m very glad that I did read it.

I would recommend it if you want to read a well-written epistolary novel with some romantic elements that focuses on World War II.

Content Warnings:

Spoiler

Details of the occupation of Guernsey by Nazi Germany; descriptions of concentration camps, slave labour, forced prostitution, bombings, war in general, antisemitism, animal death.