Potato Peel Book

Dear Miss Ashton,

My name is Dawsey Adams, and I live on my farm in St. Martin's Parish on Guernsey. I know of you because I have an old book that once belonged to you--the Selected Essays of Elia, by an author whose name in real life was Charles Lamb. Your name and address were written inside the front cover.

Dawsey Adams, Amelia, Kit, Juliet, Isola, Eben--all of these are the fascinating characters created by Mary Ann Shaffer, whose work was completed by co-author Annie Barrows, in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I won't say much, because this is piece of fiction so worth reading, and I wouldn't want to spoil it for someone out there who plans to take it up.

Shaffer takes the reader back to a time before e-mails, Tweets, and blogs, when letter writing was really the most frequently used form of communication, which is a hard thing for us to imagine now. In fact, this is a whole novel composed of letters from different characters in the novel to each other.

It is 1946, and World War II has just ended. Juliet is a young writer living in London. She's trying to decide what to write next when she receives the above quoted letter from Dawsey Adams. In the rest of his letter, Dawsey asks Juliet if she could possibly find more books by Charles Lamb and send them to him.

And this is the beginning of the correspondence between Juliet and the members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, because Dawsey is not the only resident who has developed a love for literature during the German occupation of his beloved home. The book club, formed as an alibi to protect its members during the German occupation, has become much more than an alibi, as the members discover the value of literature and its transforming effect during a very bleak time in their lives. And yes, there is an explanation for the name of the society, but you'll have to read the book to find out.

What an intriguing way to write a novel and to create characters, revealing their traits through their own accounts and also through the accounts of others. One exceptional moment occurs when a member of the society asks Juliet for character references. Juliet responds by sending a recommendation from a minister who is fond of her and from a person who dislikes her. Juliet explains, "Between the two of them, you may get a fair picture of my character." And we do.

Perhaps my only disappointment with this novel was the inclusion of a homosexual character, something that seems to be an unwritten rule these days. To be fair, the author treats the matter discreetly, as it would have been treated discreetly in 1946. And the character's sexual orientation does serve to explain an important relational issue between two of the characters that probably would have been difficult, although not impossible, to explain otherwise. But there are really no details about the character's homosexual lifestyle, and the inclusion of a gay character doesn't detract from the overall marvel that this book is.

So if you're looking for something charming, witty, intelligent, creative, and touching to read, pick this one up. You will not be disappointed.