Reviewed by Barbara Moore
Published in 2008, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (The Dial Press, 288 pages) already has pleased many readers. After someone gave me a much-thumbed copy, I read it in little more than one sitting.
Shaffer, the primary author, articulates the novel through descriptive, humorous and sometimes-poignant letters exchanged by Juliet Ashton and members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. In trying to discover the society's origins, Juliet garners delightful vignettes about life on Guernsey in the English Channel during a German occupation in the Second World War.
The story's strands weave into a delightful account of how a group of book-loving islanders, through courage, ingenuity and caring, overcome a time of adversity. Maybe the power of hope and human connections can compete with gun barrels.
Shaffer's ability to express the essence of her characters engages readers, almost convincing them that they know the characters personally. The most-memorable ones include farmer Dawsey Adams, vegetable-seller Isola, fisherman Eben and blacksmith Will Thisbee, creator of the famous potato-peel pie.
Much of the content involves Elizabeth, a valiant woman who founded the society and persists in the memories of the wartime survivors. After learning remarkable details about this lady's wartime experiences, Juliet decides to travel to Guernsey – with surprising consequences.
What results is a refreshing, witty and heart-warming gem of a novel. Sadly, illness overcame Shaffer before the final editing, and Burrows, her niece, filled the breach to finish the book.
For more information: www.dial-press.atrandom.com
(January 4, 2011)
ARCHIVES |
Barrows and Shaffer: together
responsible for a 'refreshing, witty
and heart-warming gem of a novel'.
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