I had this book in my library pile for a long time, and for whatever reason, I tended to skip past it whenever I was choosing something new. It could be because of the quotes on the cover: ‘uplifting’, ‘charming’, ‘touching’ and the like. I chose the book because I loved the title, but words like that bring to mind something twee and corny, and I guess I was put off. I don’t have the most spare time in the world, and I don’t want to waste the time I do have on something that’s just going to annoy me. I eventually picked it up because my baby was asleep on me and it was the only book I could reach. I am beyond relieved that I did, because I fell in love with it from the very first page and read it all in about two hours flat. It’s a gorgeous book, and yes, it is uplifting, charming and touching…in spades.
‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society’ is a book about letters. In fact, pretty much the whole book is written in letter form. It’s an interesting way to write a novel, but it works brilliantly, and as someone who loves letters and loves discovering about people through letters, I couldn’t wish for a nicer form of narration. Set in 1946, it tells of a literary society formed during the German Occupation of Guernsey in World War 2. Through the letters, the characters tell of their experiences during the Occupation. Some tales are funny, some are romantic, some are heartbreaking. There were multiple occasions on which I either cracked a big smile or found myself with tears streaming down my face (honestly, I won’t lie…books make me cry ALL THE TIME. However, it is very rare for a novel to make me grin like a maniac. TGLAPPS managed it with absolute ease). The authors of this book (an interesting, sad story in itself: the book was written by an elderly lady who died before seeing it published. Her niece, a writer, completed the final drafts following her death) have made social life in World War 2 so accessible to their readers that I would probably have been burning with jealousy if I wasn’t so in love with it. Modern European History has been my main area of study and research for my entire adult life, and I would kill to be able to write about World War 2 in such a charming, yet still tragically poignant, fashion. Finally, just to make me fall impossibly in love with it, the novel is about a literary society. The pages are littered with references to writers from Chaucer to Austen to Charles Lamb and plenty in between.
So now, I’m just going to review: this is a book about letters, World War 2 and classic novels. I am a penpaller with a degree in History and Literature. Seriously. I half expected to see a dedication to me at the start. Obviously, therefore, it’s a bit hard for me to be neutral about this novel given that I’m completely biased when it comes to the subject matter. However, I find it difficult to imagine anyone reading TGLAPPS and not falling madly in love with it. Did I even mention yet that it comes complete with a very sweet little romance? It’s entirely predictable, of course, but in a way that just makes you love the novel all the more. I read a lot of books, and it’s a long time since I found one that made me this happy…it’s unique and lovely and you should go and read it right now.
