We all have those comfort reads – the ones we reach for when nothing else will do, when we’re blue, when we need the literary equivalent of a hug. Now, I have a few that fit that description, but The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is probably top of the list. It makes me laugh, it makes me cry (in the best way), and it restores a tiny bit of my faith in humanity. Picking up this book is coming home to the smell of warm bread in the oven and your most beloved friends and family chatting companionably around a crackling fire, ready to fuss over you or let you sink back in a cozy armchair and just listen, depending on whatever you need.
Guernsey is an epistolary novel (one of my favorite kinds!), told through letters, telegrams, and journal entries. We begin in England, just after the end of World War II, where writer Juliet Ashton is touring to promote her collection of wartime essays and casting about for the subject of her next book. Unbeknownst to her, a copy of Charles Lamb’s Selected Essays of Elia that once belonged to her has reached Dawsey Adams, a pig farmer on the island of Guernsey in the English Channel. Wanting more books by or about Lamb but not knowing any booksellers in London (the Guernsey bookshop has long since closed), Dawsey writes to her at the address written her old book, asking for assistance. Thus begins Juliet’s friendship not only with Dawsey but with his friends in the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – an unusual book club formed during the occupation because of a secret roast pig dinner (you’ll have to read the book to know all about that). As she grows closer with the islanders and learns more about their lives during the war, she begins to wonder if she’s found something worth writing about at last.
Reading the letters between Juliet and her friends is always a comfort because they are filled with such warmth, humor, and wisdom. Whether they’re sharing hilarious anecdotes about neighbors or relating the tragedies of war and the occupation, there is something for every mood. And at the end of the day, everyone in the main cast of characters are just good, loving people who care about each other and help each other through good times and bad. Even though they’ve experienced great loss and witnessed terrible injustices, they’ve held onto their capacity for joy and humor. When I’m feeling down or just need something familiar, Guernsey always makes me laugh and draws me back into the circle of friends in the Society. If I ever figure out how to step into a book, just look for me in the pages of Guernsey – I’ll be there, playing Dead Bride with Kit, helping Isola mix her “potions” (but not testing them, thank you!), and fishing with Eben.
What about you? What book(s) would you like to live in?
–b
Book It With Becca 