World War II is taking over my reading life! Lately, I've read Sarah's Key, Shutter Island, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and my next book is N or M? All of these books are set during WWII, or in the case of Shutter Island, involve the psychological aftereffects of the War and Nazis and Dr. Mengele-esque medical experiments. Even the crossword puzzle I've been working on the last couple of days is WWII themed. I've got Nazis out the wazoo!
I think The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is the best of the bunch. I loved this book to death. I could hardly stand for it to end. I'm sure it will be made into a (horrible) movie soon if it isn't already in the works because the characters are so appealing and the geographic setting would make for lovely cinematography. And who doesn't like a British historical costume drama?!? London in the Blitz! Spunky lady journalists! Quirky islanders in a quaint seaside village! Call me a sucker, but you can sign me up for two helpings of all of it. I'm buying my plane ticket for the Channel Islands tonight.
I also love, love, love the premise that READING BOOKS was a survival technique for an isolated group of diverse people during the long, dark night of Nazi occupation. It's so appealing to me that a book club would be the thing that provided them with camaraderie and support, and I so enjoyed how the individual characters discuss the particular books they cherish and why. I would join their club in a heartbeat!
The book is written in the form of letters, which I also find appealing. In the Afterword, Annie Barrows says that people often ask her if she knows of other books written as letters and she mentions Daddy Long Legs, which was a favorite of mine when I was a girl. I can also think of the Griffin and Sabine series, which I love, so I guess it's a technique that really captures my imagination.
Additionally, the gorgeous discriptions of the islands and the lovable characters are a perfect contrast to the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis and the destruction of London. The book goes to dark places, but overall you're left with the beauty - of nature, which regenerates itself, of people, who have resilience and compassion, and of art, which lives long even though life is short.
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I loved this book too!! So glad you enjoyed it! :)
ReplyDeleteI definitely going to have to read it!!! I have seen it several times in bookstores across the country -- the first being in Ft. Collins in February of 2009! I'm glad you loved it. I'll add it to my ever-growing list! Going to make banana pancakes :)
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