loregess reviewed on 8/2/2013 + 175 more book reviews

This book taught me something history books failed to teach me in school: there was actual British soil occupied by the Nazis during WW II. Guernsey, a small island off the coast of Southern England was occupied for 5 years.

This story begins right after the war. Juliet, a London writer and journalist is looking for some new material. She finds it in the form of correspondences with people from Guernsey. Dawsey, a Guernsey resident and survivor of the war, is one of the founders of the literary group. The group formed out of sheer survival instinct. One day Dawsey, Elizabeth, and a few other residents break curfew and are caught. Elizabeth lies to the Germans on the spot, and says that she and her friends hadnt noticed time pass as they were in a book group discussing German literature. The soldier lets them go and Elizabeth convinces everyone to get their hands on any book they can find and meet up regularly at their neighbors house just in case the soldiers decide to follow up on her story. They do just that and find solace in the books they read, and in the friendship and support they find in one another.

Where does the Potato Peel in groups name come from? Since food was very hard to come by, especially sweets, one of the group members figured out a way to make a mashed potato type of pie and sweetened it with beet juice (I think). This is what members ate during meet-ups.

Dawsey, a fan of Charles Lamb, finds a book with Juliets name and address on it. He reaches out to her in hopes that she can send him another book by Lamb. His letter explains the hardship residents have had to deal with during the war and Juliet shares hers as well. Soon after, Juliet decides that the residents of the island are the story and she begins to correspond with them about their war experiences.

The first third of the book really dives into the residents and their personal experiences with the war. The wartime recollections capture the desperation and deprivation of the time. The author loses the thread a bit, and the second third, and the heart of the story, is how most of the members-- most of which never had an interest in reading, find a connection with a text or author a connection which makes their existence on the war-torn island bearable. Although Elizabeths positive influence on each of the members is mentioned throughout the whole story, the last third provides us with her own back-story, and how her kindnesses have helped everyone cope and see that there is a silver lining in all of this. Most of all, she helps Juliet center herself and recognize what is most important in her own life.

I think the book started out very strong and then tapered off into a bit of fluff. I havent been as forgiving of this trait in other books Ive read - somehow it just works for this one. Maybe its because of the subject matter. Wartime is so raw and devastating that one looks forward to sweetness and light at the end of it all. I cant quite place my finger on where or how the book lost steam. But, I think the book is worth reading if only for a lesson on how it came about that this piece of British soil happened to be occupied by Nazis.

I loved how a simple book club grew and grew. Each of the members had different tastes in books as well as different and personal reasons for reading and continuing to meet after the war. I felt like I was a silent member of the group and wanted to join in on the discussions! My greatest take away: Thats what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you on to another book, and another bit there will lead you on to a third book Its geometrically progressive all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment.

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