Editor Reviews:

Product Description:
“ I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.” January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.

Rating : - There's more to this book club than Jane Austen
The Stern Librarian always feels particularly self-conscious when she reviews a book about a book club. Most likely real book club members, who are serious readers, will be drawn to the novel and, therefore, my modest review. Self-consciousness begone, I know every book club member out there will agree with me that this first novel deserves a rave. The most refreshing thing about this wonderful new epistolary novel is that it features a book club with male members! The society at the novel's center also features people who are new to reading! This is a bit of a hard book to describe, its characters a combination of Evelyn Waugh beautiful young things and D.H. Lawrence strong country folk. The great leveler of World War II somehow dashes these class distinctions. Presented as a series of letters, the novel breezes by, perhaps a little more so in the first half (before Juliet goes to Guernsey) than the second half. Patrons will learn a great deal about the Channel Islands during World War II and, if they are like me, will be ashamed not to have known the situation there already. Even more delightfully, we discovery forgotten writers, like Charles Lamb, for whom I am now positively ravenous. This book cries out for a sequel--and perhaps a mystery series of her own devoted to Guernsey's Miss Marple. Trust me though, you won't want to make the recipes. The Stern Librarian (I have never stopped writing letters).