The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Annie Barrows, Mary Ann Shaffer
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Book Summary Information
Author: Annie Barrows, Mary Ann ShafferEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-05-05
ISBN: 0385341008
Number of pages: 290
Publisher: Dial Press
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780385341004
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Book Review: Hijacked by The Guernsey "So-called Literary" Society
Summary: 2 Stars
Is there anyone else out there who thought this book, not only lacked literary substance, but was loosely formed, poorly crafted and too predictable? I must be the only reader who had to force herself through it. I do admit to finding the general drift mildly interesting although way too superficial. I thought some of the characters were appealing as well, but for the most part the book struck me as half-baked-- somewhat amusing, awkward in presentation and basically unbelievable for a number of reasons. I am surprised that the literary public has embraced what to me is a mediocre book.
When I have wondered aloud why everyone is praising it, I am met with what strikes me as two very clichéd observations: "I never heard about the Channel Islands before, so I learned some history." And, "The characters are so likable." While these are two reasons for the book's popularity, I would suggest there are many other epistolary novels that do this better. "The Color Purple" comes to mind as does "84 Charring House Road," from which "Guernsey" is derivative. The first English novel ever written, "Pamela," by Samuel Richardson was also an epistolary novel that held one's attention with a solid plot, compelling characters and intelligent observations of the times.
Particularly striking to me was how awkwardly written "Guernsey" was. Now, I know that if you're writing letters that are idiomatic and representative of a diverse group of people, the reader automatically assumes quaint usages and improper English are fine, but one has only to read Kathryn Stockett's "The Help" or again "The Color Purple," to realize that insular language usage has its own appeal, if it is also at least minimally crafted. "Guernsey" is full of sentences that not only are not quaint or particularly idiomatic, but are simply poorly written. The authors use a plethora of prepositions in sentences, such as when the authoress Juliet is writing: "With Amelia and Kit, I have walked to town several times for tea." This is a clumsy sentence, as are most in the book. The very next sentence, again by the author-protagonist: "Cee Cee was right in his raptures over sailing into St. Peter Port." And, immediately following that one: "The harbor, with the town traipsing straight up and steeply to the sky, must be one of the most beautiful in the world." These sentences are syntactically awkward, laden with unnecessary prepositions, unwieldy, and full of dubious usages. While we do not necessarily expect the letter writers from Guernsey to write eloquently or even melodiously, we do not expect the author/main character to misuse the English language or to render her thoughts in cumbersome prose. We don't expect her to be prissy in her usage, but we don't appreciate her ignoring basic rules of good writing. The language is not fresh; it is not creatively used. I am reminded of hastily hacked emails, and that is too bad. Such does not good literature make. (See, I can do it, too!)
Sometimes the voices of the letter writers are not consistent. At first Eben Ramsey presents as a country bumpkin, and that is fine, but then he morphs into a somewhat articulate and observant correspondent. Eben claims that his favorite book was "Selections from William Shakespeare" and that he particularly liked the sentence, "The bright day is done, and we are for the dark." He claims "If I could have thought the words "the bright day is done and we are for the dark, I'd have been consoled somehow [when the Germans came] and ready to go out and contend with circumstance--instead of my heart sinking to my shoes." That sentence did not make sense to me, and Eben does not explain why the quote strikes him so. There are countless examples of this phenomenon in the book. The islanders enjoyed their books, but they cannot articulate why and thus are not convincing.
In fact, among all the letters written by the Guernsey people, there is not one substantive justification for their reading the books beyond the claim that the society made them appreciate better books and thus they could no longer enjoy bad books and their reading the books explained their dubious social gatherings to the Germans. One can tell the Guernsey people are not ignorant, but they do not reveal a single intelligent observation about the insight gained from the books they read. A good example is Isola Pribbey, who writes how much she enjoyed "Wuthering Heights" because the Bronte sisters had such a miserable life. She is the one who noted "Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books." Then she rushes on to explain: "I didn't like Wuthering Heights at first, but the minute that specter, Cathy, scrabbled her bony fingers on the window glass--I was grasped by the throat and not let go." Since that is the pivotal moment in the book and the most obvious memory one would have of it, I can't see that the woman got much out of the book except its most graphic scene. She does not cite any other memory of the book. Isola notes that she finds men in literature more interesting than real men and that she makes elixirs for men who have trouble getting it up. Thus, it is all the more revealing that she doesn't have anything particularly amusing or insightful to say about Heathcliff, one of the most fascinating male characters in all of literature. Since the Guernsey readers experienced such important writers as Seneca, Aurelius, Catullus, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, the Bronte sisters, Lamb, etc., one would expect them to have SOME insight into the books rather than trite, vague, one-sentence observations. That is like reducing Plato to one sentence; it calls into question the credibility of all the Guernsey readers.
The various letters are often short, like twitters or short emails, rather than what one would have expected of a letter in those days, when people had to wait for the snail mail to be delivered. The Guernsey letters are often cryptic, sometimes funny, but to me they were ponderous and predictable except for cute asides that were rarely developed enough to sustain my interest. Moreover, I did have difficulty differentiating the characters. They tended to run together and to me they were somewhat generic.
I found the plot predictable as well. Particularly predictable were Juliet's romances. Her American millionaire, Markham Reynolds, is reduced to the British stereotype of the successful American male: controlling, interested in a beautiful woman for the possibility of her being a trophy wife and grossly narcissistic, thinking his wishes and his amusement far outweigh other more serious concerns of caring people, such as the devastation of much of Europe. Juliet naively observes that it is as if American males were unaffected by the war, as if they scarcely noticed the destruction and the death. As a daughter of a veteran who died in the War and the stepdaughter of a traumatized Vet who never discussed it because the subject was too painful, I found that observation offensive. Someone writing such a book should have consulted the statistics of American war dead and maimed before they made such an obtuse statement. Similarly, Juliet's falling for the true-blue Dawsey was obviously part of the grand scheme from the beginning and came as no surprise. Her adoption of the child likewise appeared as gratuitous as Juliet's apparent feminism in light of her own history and the fact that she's searching for a man from the novel's inception at a time when women were generally conforming. In short, the plot was contrived and hokey, as was the protagonist's characterization.
The most interesting aspect of the book is the characterization of the missing Elizabeth McKenna, who was sent off to the camps and we find out later, was executed, having demonstrated her compassion and wise understanding of people to the very end. I admit I liked that element of the book, although I cannot say I have a well drawn picture of her in my mind. I'd rather read about Catherine Earnshaw, for sure. Better yet, Heathcliff.
Finally, I would suggest the book is a mishmash of things: simplistic literary criticism, awkward letters, disparate voices -- some of them interesting, some dull, a scrim of history, some important facts about the Occupation, its results and the horror of the Nazis in general, a sense of the Channel Islands and their timeless beauty and geography, and last but not least, the implication that hackneyed romanticism is alive and well. Since this is a favorite among book clubs, I would suggest we all reconsider why we read literature. I suspect some of us are falling for the idea that we should get some history out of our reading, no matter how shallow that history is, and that books should be easy to read and light in subject rather than deep enough to enrich our sense of what people are and what the nature of the world is. Perhaps I'm old fashioned to want to see in literature a depiction of the complexity of people, of issues, of politics and love. Hey, why not delve into what has some substance rather than "feel good" reads that we justify by explaining there's SOME history to it or LOVABLE characters, or it makes us "feel good"? Give me a break!
Marjorie Meyerle
Colorado Writer
Author: Bread of Shame, a novel
Bread of Shame
Summary of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
January 1946: writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.Historical Books
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