The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

• Book: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
• Location: Guernsey
• Author: Mary Ann Shaffer

In 1946, writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.

Most of the novel is set in the capital, St. Peters Port, and this is an interesting window on to such a settlement with obviously an historical perspective. However, the most interesting aspect of the book for me was the complex web of inter personal relations between residents of the island community (on Guernsey) and the foreign interlopers. The relocation of the school children to mainland UK is also covered and the consequent family turmoils which follow are not entirely offset by the quirky humour of the characters who constitute the Potato Peel Pie Society.

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