There’s a line a few pages into The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society where Juliet Ashton, our central character, muses that, “perhaps there is some secret sort of homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.” It’s funny, since this book sort of found me. Stalked me, actually.
A few weeks ago I was early meeting a friend for dinner and decided to spend the time wandering through a nearby book store. I love a good book store. Even one of the big ol’ big box variety - sprawling shelves of books are shelves of books regardless of whose selling them, I say. Before I knew it I had an armful, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society included. But, then the guilt kicked in and I did the good responsible thing and put them all back – why spend money on new books when you have unread ones at home – and forced myself to leave the store empty handed. Couple of weeks later, Goodreads.com (Not on there? You should be. Find me, we can be friends!) listed it as a recommendation. And then last week I went to my mom and dad’s house. Mom always has a giant shelf of books that I raid on a regular basis. The first thing I saw was a familiar cover. That’s when I realized that I better read this book before it invaded my dreams and chased me as I ran down the street naked.
So I set out. We start with a letter. And then a reply. And then another. And it took me about ten pages and a quick flip through the rest to realize, “oh, it’s an epistolary novel.”(That’s a fancy-pants way of saying a novel made up of letters and other “found” documents.)These are not always my favorite –think I am a bit traumatized by Clarissa and Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded - both I had to slog through in grad school and both that I wanted to toss into a weed whacker.
But this one was different. Because at the core, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is about a group of readers, the books they read, and how reading transforms their lives. Uumm hello, I’m all over that.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (good lord that’s a long title – can we go with TGLPPS from now on? Thanks) is a kooky group of islanders trapped in the English Channel during the German occupation of WWII. Sounds like heavy stuff, and it is. There is a lot of sadness and tragedy going on in one small place.
But there is also a lot of joy. And for this group, most of that joy comes from the community they form. Each one is touched by books and reading in a different way. And each is saved in some way by their connection to literature. And each other. Regardless of what happens during the war, and after, the TGLPPS are and always will be connected through their love of reading. As we read their letters, we see it open their minds, heal their hearts, educate and entertain them, and change the way they see the world.
A few times I was taken aback by the way a TGLPPS member described reading and how it moved them. Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows were in my head, putting into words things about reading I have always struggled to describe to non-readers.
Reading is for the most part a solitary adventure. But we readers know that second to the joy of getting lost in a good book is the joy of talking about that book with someone else. That’s what this feels like. You’ll become member of TGLPPS when you read this book. It’ll make you want to reach out to a stranger and create a literary community of your own.
Maybe we can start here….?
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