Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1304
 A delightful book with beauitful characterization September 10, 2010
LauraS
I must say, I was dubious about the style of this book. I thought a bunch or letters would be stilted and boring. And to be honest, it does take a little while to get used to it. But once you're into the meat of the story, this is a delightful book with beauitful characters. The letter-style isn't a distraction - it merely reads like chapters from the point of view of different people, written in the first person. It means there is less description, but what it lacks in visual descriptions, it makes up for in characters and story.
The book has somewhat of an Austin style - if you don't like traditional writing you may not like it. But for me, it added to the charm. The latter parts of the book are dedicated to a romance, which again, if you don't like romance you may lost interest.
But for me, heart breaking stories, beautiful characters and a little dash of romance among literary allusions and a picturesque backdrop were all I needed for a good read on my recent holiday. Enjoy!
 Great Story! September 10, 2010
AvalonJJ
I loved this book. Not only is it a wonderful story with a unique style but it is also an eye opening presentation of a piece of history ow which most Americans are probably unaware. The description of the countryside had me looking into travel plans to Guernsey by the time I had read the final chapter.
Fun read of a World War 2 story of heroism September 6, 2010
Naor Wallach (Pittsburgh, PA USA)
This book is told in the form of a series of letter from and to Juliet Ashton who is a freelance writer. Juliet is approached initially by a gentleman from Guernsey immediately after the end of World War II as he happened to get a hold of a book that used to be owned by Juliet. Since Guernsey is out of the normal way, and the author of the book in question is not well known, Dawsey asks Juliet for help and this leads to the whole fascinating set of circumstances related in this novel.
Guernsey is part of the Channel Islands and belongs to Great Britain, even though you can see France from their shores, but not England. During World War 2, all of the islands were taken over by the Nazis and occupied for the duration. The British did not liberate those islands until early in 1945 and this story is written in 1946 as the island rebuilds and reestablishes itself as a liberated part of Europe. As Juliet learns more about what took place on the island, she is drawn more and more to it and the people who populate it and ultimately moves there to write a book about the experiences of it's people under the Occupation.
What she learns, and how she learns it, is the main part of the book. I will not give away too many plot details, but will tell you that as she gets more and more involved with the people, she learns of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society; how it was formed; named; why it was formed; and the remarkable story of the founder and other members of this society.
The book is very easy reading and draws you into it quite rapidly. I found myself unwilling to put it down as I was reading more and more of these short letters and attempting to understand the various personal relationships between and amongst the remarkable people described. It was a nice read and a fun way to spend a few hours and I was not disappointed as the plot evolved and thickened. There are many funny moments, as well as sad moments in the book, and the storytelling part of the book is first rate. I would definitely enjoy reading more stories like this - even if they do not employ the literary technique of telling it via letters - but unfortunately, the main author died before this book was published. Five stars for sure.
Great! September 5, 2010
Jean Skibinski
The format of the story is told in a series of letters, making it a different and easy read. In addition, we learn a piece of history about WWII that seemed never to have reached us--about the occupation of the Channel Islands by Germany. A heartwarming story with delightful characters.
This is a good read September 5, 2010
Kathline Neubauer (White Hall, AR USA)
The catchy title, and the authors name were what caught my attentiion. Marianne Shaffer is also my daughters name, so it had to be good, right. I thought this book started out a little slowly, but as I read along I saw Ms Shaffer was building her cast of characters and she did her job so well I was never lost as to who was writting who. I read my copy on my Kindle, but liked it so well I bought a copy for a gift.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1304
|
