THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY, by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

BEWARE !

I'm a student and I'm still learning english everyday. 

Therefore, there could still be some mistakes in this  piece of writing.

Please forgive me for this.

To read this article in French, just click HERE.

SUMMARY

It's 1946 and Juliet Ashton can't think what to write next. Out of the blue, she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams of Guernsey - by chance, he's acquired a book that once belonged to her - and, spurred on by their mutual love of reading, they begin a correspondence. When Dawsey reveals that he is a member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Juliet's curiosity is piqued and it's not long before she begins to hear from the other members. As letters fly back and forth with stories of live in Guernsey under the German Occupation, Juliet soon realises that the society is every bit as extraordinary as its name.

MY REVIEW

Half-boring, half-fascinating.

Half-terrible, half-lovely.

This is a pretty long piece of writing that makes you go through different feelings along your reading. You cannot say "Gosh! This is a masterpiece!", but you cannot either say "Gosh! This is a dead loss!", for you're most likely to feel both of these at any time in the book.

The beginning is pretty laborious, as you suddenly turn in Juliet's life without knowing the ins and outs of what you are about to discover. "Good thing!", you'll say. Well, truth be told, not so good, because you're just reading long and boring letters who people you absolutely know nothing about have sent to each other. The only thought you can have at this time is : "Why the hell am I reading this?" (until an inside evil voice reminds you that you are obliged to, it's just part of your chore duty for the university).

Then, luckily, things start becoming a bit interesting. You learn more and more about Juliet, about her past life, about her independence, her nature, her career, and so on. Surprisingly, you start being a little curious about what will happen next and you tend to read more and more, just because you are stuck in the story: the first letters of Dawsey, the story of the Literary Society, the letters coming from all its members and the disdain of an old woman for almost all of them, this is giving some punch to the book.

Until... unfortunately... it becomes boring again... and remains boring until the very last page of the book. Well, there are some funny or appalling moments showing up here and there that catch some part of your interest - especially appalling actually, it's the war after all - but generally, the whole plot cannot really avoid driving you to distraction. Of course, the characters are lovely and pretty brave, of course it's a sad and regrettable story that makes everybody shivering, but as far as I'm concerned, it was totally lacking in a deep interest, even if I felt pretty moved by the very end's events.

Poor me, I'll have to know it inside out if I want to pass this year's oral examination.

Wish me luck! :)

- Have had my fill of it -

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