Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1147
Quick read March 12, 2010 S. Capps (Edwardsville, IL USA) 0 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you enjoy historical fiction, particularly the WWII era, you will enjoy this book. It is a quick and easy read set up in a letter format. Don't be put off by the somewhat strange title. You will understand once you are into the book.
You cannot help but falling in love with all of the members of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society March 12, 2010 Ladybug (Norway) I loved this book! I laughed and I cried(both of joy and sorrow). The story felt so real and alive, I had to keep reminding myself that it was fiction. You cannot help but falling in love with all of the members of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Now I want to go live in Guernsey and join a Literary Society. I can also say that I know a bit more about what happened at Guernsey during World War II, a period in time that we shouldn't allow ourselves to ever forget.
Has a Little Bit of Everything March 12, 2010 Kerry E. May (Amesbury, Ma) My mother recommended this book so I decided to buy it for a trip I was taking to New Zealand with a friend. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the book because I thought its primary appeal would be to an older demographic. I was on the vacation of a lifetime in one of the most beautiful places on earth, but I couldn't wait to get back to my book. I would read it late at night after a full day of sight seeing and adventuring and I am sure my traveling partner was amazed at how much time I spent laughing. Some scenes were so funny I felt like I needed to read them out loud to share them. It was one of the few books I have read lately that I wished would not end. It has been a couple of months now and I think it is time to read it again.
Forgot it was Fiction March 12, 2010 Kathryn Lopez Simply put, this book combined wit, pain, suspense, history, and romance into one beautiful read. I am a fan of historical fiction and The Guernsey...provided some of the most fun and fascinating read about post WWII life on the British Channel Island of Guernsey [as well as London]. I wasn't even aware Guernsey was occupied by German forces especially for 5 years! Thank you to the authors for creating this beautiful story that won't be forgotten!
Unadulterated Pleasure, Spiced with Wisdom and Wit! March 11, 2010 Daniel Murphy (Redmond, OR USA) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm a family physician, and sometimes my patients recommend books for me to read. Only once have they NAGGED me to read a book, and Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was that book. I'm grateful to my patients for having been persistent.
Let me pick the low-hanging fruit: The writing is exceptionally good-humored, wickedly witty, deeply engaging, all without sinking into cloying sentimentality. As historical fiction, it is rich and often surprising.
What sets this book apart from all the other books that have the above qualities? This, I think: it is hard to think of a recent book that is so able to look brutality directly in the eye, yet maintain a determined and grounded optimism about human nature. Some books push readers down into the cesspool of human depravity, and never let them up for air. Others chirp away with relentless cheer, bubbling about making lemons into lemonade, and thoroughly convinced that you really can make a sow's ear into a silk purse. Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society does not sidestep evil, but neither does it quail or moan before it. It simply feels good, from time to time, to revel in the better aspects of human nature: courage, integrity, humor, and the capacity to love. This book allows that, and does it with a surplus of dignity, as well as a dearth of sentimentality.
Is this book the literary equivalent of a chic flick? A qualified yes. If you are so deeply masculine that you can't tolerate Pride and Prejudice or Austen's other masterpieces, maybe you should pick up a Clancy or Clancy/clone shoot 'em up, and read some guy stuff instead. Me? Though a confirmed proud owner of a Y chromosome, I love Austen (and the Bronte sisters), and if all chick lit was like this novel (or Austen's, or the Bronte's), more than half my literary diet would consist of it.
The letter format, in some books, can be annoying. Not this one. You won't even notice. My patients....they were right. "You gotta read this one" they said. They were spot on.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1147
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