KEY POINTS:
THE GUERNSEY LITERARY & POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY
Mary Ann Shaffer
(Allen & Unwin, $35)
If you're looking for a novel to sink on to the sofa with on a winter's afternoon, The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society will most likely fit the bill. It's an old-fashioned "good read" set in postwar Britain and written as a series of letters. Touching and heart-warming, it's reminiscent of Helene Hanff's much-loved 84 Charing Cross Road.
The story follows the correspondence of writer Juliet Ashton, who has made her living during the war from a series of morale-boosting newspaper columns and, now peace has broken out, can't think what to do next. Out of the blue she receives a letter from a stranger, Dawsey Adams, who lives in Guernsey and has bought a second-hand book with her name and address written inside the front cover. When she learns that Dawsey survived the war thanks to the companionship and reading he found at a literary society, Juliet becomes fascinated and soon she begins corresponding with members of the society.
The story that emerges through their letters is of the suffering of the Channel Islanders during World War II. Invaded by the Germans, cut off from all contact with Britain, starving and bullied, life was beyond tough. There is a lot of comedy in both the characters and the letters, and this leavens the grimness of their wartime lives. Of course, Juliet, who's the spirited type, ends up going to Guernsey and once she gets there it's kind of obvious what's going to happen next, but that doesn't detract from the appeal of book at all.
The story behind The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society is just as touching. Shaffer was a retired librarian who was persuaded by her book club to have a go at writing a novel. She was suffering from memory problems by the time the manuscript was accepted so her niece, writer, Annie Barrows, helped her with the final draft. Sadly Shaffer died this year and never saw her novel in print.
There are many reasons why this book is appealing. It's about the essential decency of most people, and the way a good book can sustain the spirit. Plus it has romance and adventure. It's also easy to read despite the number of characters and the many strands there are to the story. The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society is destined to be a huge book club favourite.
