Charming, adorable, sweet, romantic- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was all of those things without being cloying. The story is told in the form of letters between a variety of characters. Juliet is a writer living in London immediately after the end of World War II. She has recently embarked on a book tour to promote her collection of war-time dispatches. She is contacted by a man named Dawsey, who lives on the isle of Guernsey- he is in possession of a book that formerly belonged to her. As Guernsey was occupied by the Germans during the war, the residents had no access to news or books and Dawsey requests only that Juliet refer him to a bookshop where he can get more writings by the author Charles Lamb.
Through this simple request, Juliet’s new writing project develops. She begins to correspond with the members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society to find out what life was like under occupation. She becomes so enamored of the people she corresponds with that she convinces her agent to let her make a trip to Guernsey to get some in-person research. Her writing and her life start to blend together and very quickly Juliet has become an accepted and vital part of the Society members’ lives.
I am hesitant to watch the movie that was recently made based on this book, because I don’t want it to sour the very sweet lingering effect of the book itself.