The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

In 1946, London writer Juliet Ashton begins a correspondence with Dawsey Adams, a resident of Guernsey who found her name inside a secondhand volume of Charles Lamb. Their exchange expands to include the members of a local book club formed under the German occupation of the Channel Islands. Through their letters, Juliet learns how the islanders used literature to endure starvation, curfews, and the loss of neighbors. She eventually travels to the island to document the experiences of Elizabeth McKenna, the society’s founder, who remains missing after being deported to a concentration camp.

Historical fiction enthusiasts read this book to understand the specific civilian hardships of the Nazi occupation through a format of primary-source-style letters. The narrative appeals to those interested in the social history of the British Isles and the logistics of wartime resistance. Readers finish the book with a factual grasp of how the Channel Islands were isolated from mainland Britain and how communal reading served as a psychological survival mechanism during the five-year blockade.

Clear-cut; an easy read.

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