return to home  
Join   |  Gift   |  Member Login   |  Library Login
BookBrowse Mobile
Follow Us: 
   Reader reviews

Read what people think about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows, and write your own review.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
Hardcover: Jul 2008,
288 pages.
Paperback: May 2009,
304 pages.

Publication information
First book/First Novel


Author Information:
Shaffer
Barrows
Critics' Opinion:   
Readers' Rating:  
About BookBrowse Rankings
Share: 
Buy This Book
Page 6 of 6 There are currently 35 reviews
for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Select your view:
Order Reviews by:
Click Here To Write Your Own Review
Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Kathy
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
I absolutely loved this book and was so sorry when I finished it because there was no more. It is reminiscent of 84, Charing Cross Road, but to me it was even more engaging. Epistolary novels either work really well or they don't work at all and this one really works. You really feel you have gotten to know all the characters and you laugh with them and you cry with them. I can't recommend this book enough. Read it!

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Laurie
Beach Read for Bibliophiles
What a delicious beach read for lovers of books, book clubs and historical novels. Presented as a series of letters written among friends, acquaintances and business associates during 1946, the story includes charming “reviews” of literary classics by readers with very fresh views of those classics, and touches on an aspect of WWII history which was new to me.

When I found myself weeping over the letters recounting Holocaust experiences, I regretted my cranky reaction to what seemed to be a whiney, preachy paragraph on book store profit margins found in Juliet’s letter of January 23.

In some ways, the book is a light read, and the main character a post-WWII Bridget Jones. The characters, however, are memorable and, in the short time required to read the book, the reader will experience a wide range of emotions and, perhaps, come away with a desire to learn more about the German Occupation of Guernsey and other Channel Islands.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Judith
WWII for non-history majors
Page 11: "...one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive---all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment." I can't say it better than that. This book was sheer enjoyment. People writing letters to people (before email which I admit is useful but not nearly so long-lasting.) Those who lived on Guernsey during the war telling their stories and the 'writer's' observations to her publisher. All this entwined with the daily lives of a variety of characters. I couldn't put it down....and I'm NOT a history buff. This isn't school history. This is personal and enchanting if such can be said about anyone in time of war.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Elizabeth
Charming and Unique
This creative novel has a lot to offer. Formatted in letter-only narrative, a wonderful story unfolds in post-war England. Although the basic history is known, it offers a perspective of how hard hit England was and how difficult it is to recover from the horrors of war and the legacy it leaves. But this book isn't depressing or preachy--it's lovely and chronicles the wonderful journey of a writer. Fun stuff for people who understand how writing can bring people together and create a powerful bond. This novel would be great for book groups--it's not long and offers a beautiful humanity as well as interesting history of the English island of Guernsey which was occupied for five years by the Germans. A great read--I'm already looking forward to re-reading it!

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Nancy
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
What a lovely story. I enjoyed the letter format and the way the characters were developed. When I came to the last letter, I felt like Juliet. I didn't want to leave the lovely town of Guernsey or the special people that belong to the Literary and Potato Peel Society.

«  prev   1 2 3 4 5 6

Lists of books with similar themes


Read-Alikes


Buy This Book:

Become a Member
Click Here
Editor's Choice
  •  May 21 
  •  May 20 
  •  May 18 
Helga's Diary
Helga Weiss

Helga's Diary Jacket

The remarkable diary of a young girl who survived the Holocaust—appearing in English for the first time.
Fever
Mary Beth Keane

Fever Jacket

A bold, mesmerizing novel about the woman known as "Typhoid Mary," the first known healthy carrier of typhoid fever in the burgeoning metropolis of early twentieth century New York.
The Woman Upstairs
Claire Messud

The Woman Upstairs Jacket

The riveting confession of a woman awakened, transformed, and betrayed by passion and desire for a world beyond her own.
Click Here
   Most Recent Blog Entries
Movies Based on Books: Summer 2013 (May - August)
Jewish Young Adult Books That Are Not About The Holocaust
Books to Give This Mother's Day
rss  RSS   rss  subscribe
Recent Reader Reviews
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Fowler
Z, the novel about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is at points charming and; like another reviewer, I kept thinking of the movie, "Midnight... read more
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on... read more
The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag
Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read... read more
RSS RSS feed More...  
Most Viewed This Week
1. The Help
Kathryn Stockett
2. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Rebecca Skloot
3. A Child Called It
Dave Pelzer
4. Half the Sky
Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn
5. The Glass Castle
Jeannette Walls
More...
Book Club Recommendations
The Gods of Gotham
by Lyndsay Faye
Paperback (Mar/13)
Forgotten Country
by Catherine Chung
Paperback (Mar/13)
Philida
by André Brink
Paperback (Feb/13)
Gone Girl
by Gillian Flynn
Hardback (Jun/12)
More...
First Impressions
Members read and review books often months before they're published. See what they think in First Impressions!
The Sisterhood
by Helen Bryan
Four Stars            (Apr/13)
The Last Girl
by Jane Casey
Four Stars            (May/13)
Golden Boy
by Abigail Tarttelin
4.5 Stars            (May/13)
The Caretaker
by A .X. Ahmad
Four Stars            (May/13)
More...
  Latest BookBrowse News
British Parliament asks Amazon to clarify why it pays $9 million in income tax on $23 billion of UK sales. (May 20 2013)
Amazon will be called back to give further evidence to members of the British Parliament "to clarify how its activities in the U.K. justify its low corporate... Full Story
rss RSS feed More...
 
BookBrowse Poll
Q: Which of these Summer movies based on books would you like to see? (Info on each movie here)
The Great Gatsby
Epic
Man of Steel
World War Z
The Lone Ranger
The Wolverine
R.I.P.D.
Percy Jackson
Paranoia
The Mortal Instruments
Select Any That Apply
Search: Title or Author
Free Newsletters
The Light Between Oceans

Online Book Club
More about
The Comfort of Lies
Join the discussion!


Win This Book!
On Sal Mal Lane


"Piercingly intelligent and shatter-your-heart profound."

Enter To Win Now!

wordplay
Solve this clue:
"I I M B T Give T T R"

and be entered
to win....
frame top
New Author
Interviews
Menna van Praag
Erica Brown
Helga Weiss
Kate Morton
frame bottom
HOME Book Submissions | Advertising | Library Subscriptions | Reviewing for BookBrowse | Contact Us