the book with the funny title that you've already been told to read

Okay, I remember my mother-in-law recommending this book a little while back. That was the first I had heard of it, and all I eventually remembered was that she thought I would adore a book with a wacky name that eventually escaped me. Then my friend Corinne reviewed it, and in the meantime I've seen it appear on almost every single Nightstand month after month. So, you can imagine my joy when The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was chosen for this month's Bookclub over at 5 Minutes for Books. Finally the exact impetus I needed to buckle down and just read it. The first obstacle was actually getting my hands on a copy-- seeing as this is apparently one of the most sought after books in the library system. Thanks to a pal who just happened to have a copy on her shelf, all I had left to do was to sufficiently ignore the family for a couple of days and my mission would be fulfilled.

With the family ignored, I finished the book yesterday, and between the alternating outbursts of sudden laughter and fast-to-fall tears, I found myself in love with everything about this story. Since I borrowed a copy of the book from a pal, I refrained from taking my pencil and highlighter to its pages, and instead opted to post-it-note the passages that spoke to me -- those quotes that forced the laughs or tears, or the passages that amazed me with their absolute perfection. I, um, used a lot of post-its.


Where to begin?? Since Melissa has done the work for us by putting out some discussion questions, that seems a fair enough place to start. I loved the first question, because this was actually not the first novel that I've read that used the letter format. Griffin and Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence and Ella Minnow Pea are both beloved selections on my cannot-be-given-away-books that caught my attention because of their unique plots as well as written-letter-formats. But for Guernsey, I think the format was elevated even more-- what better way to convey a story that holds the value of the written word as one of its core themes, than through a series of letters written by the characters themselves. Talk about literally hearing a character's voice! After a few pages, I realized that I no longer needed to pay much attention to the note preceding each letter for the sender info, because that became apparent within the first sentence or two of the correspondence. This group of people pulled together by atrocious circumstances lent itself to individual perspectives that were as unique as could be, even when they shared common loves. I don't think I'm alone when I say that this story just wouldn't have been the same as a typical fictional narrative-- just as Juliet didn't think her book 'worked' as she was writing it, until Sidney pointed out the centrality of Elizabeth to all the stories. You could say that the written word itself is at the center of Guernsey.

As far as Juliet's comment about being in "a constant state of surprise these days," I do believe that it is another way to describe her new awakening. I can liken it to when I got my first pair of glasses as a child-- I hadn't realized that my view of the world around me had been so dulled by my poor vision until that pair of (horribly ugly, of course) specs were placed on my face and I began to look around. I clearly remember seeing individual leaves on the trees outside-- details that were lost to me before. With Dawsey's love and Kit's growing affection, and perhaps just as importantly, her new found community's embrace, Juliet is finally awoken from the dullness in her life before. Not that she was unhappy before, but now life is more than just the absence of negative feelings, but the presence of absolute completeness-- in love, in purpose, in friendship and in the honor of writing about something --and someone-- meaningful to her. She can see those little details everywhere she looks, and it is most definitely a constant state of surprise.

Some random quotes of the MANY that got post-it'ed:

pg. 15, Juliet: "No one in their right mind would take up clerking in a bookstore for the salary, and no one in his right mind would want to own one-- the margin of profit is too small. So, it has to be a love of readers and reading that makes them do it-- along with first dibs on the new books." (Sound familiar, 5M4B ladies??)

pg. 58, Juliet: "Did you know that Wilkie Collins maintained two separate households with two separate mistresses and two separate sets of children? The scheduling difficulties must have been shocking. No wonder he took laudanum." (Burst out laughing at that one!)

pg 82, Adelaide Addison: "I take no pride in my prescience. It would not be Christian." (Yeah, obviously. Man, that lady burned me up.)

pg. 109, Susan Scott: "The boy in the mail-room (I don't bother learning their names anymore) got drunk and threw away all letters addressed to anyone whose name started with an S. Don't ask why." (HA!!)

pg. 121, Juliet: "I suppose I do have a suitor, but I'm not really used to him yet. He's terribly charming and he plies me with delicious meals, but I sometimes think I prefer suitors in books rather than right in front of me. How awful, backward, cowardly, and mentally warped that will be if it turns out to be true." (Oh, how blind she could be sometimes even when it's clear that deep down she already knows the answers to her own questions!)

pg. 141, Isola: "Then a troop of goose-stepping soldiers turned onto our street; everything about them gleamed; buttons, books, those metal coal-scuttle hats. Their eyes didn't look at anyone or anything-- just stared straight ahead. That was scarier than the rifles slung over their shoulders, or the knives and grenades stuck in their boot-tops." (So powerful about the loss of humanity during war.)

pg. 227, Isola: "She's awash in Amativeness, is Juliet. Also Conjugal Love. I told her it was a wonder she wasn't married, with such great mounds." (Okay, I admit to busting a gut on that one, just like a 12 year old boy would have.)

pg. 259, Juliet: "She was showing me her treasures, Sophie-- her eyes did not leave my face once. We were both so solemn, and I, for once, didn't start crying; I just held out my arms. She climbed right into them, and under the covers with me-- and went sound asleep. Not me! I couldn't. I was too happy planning the rest of our lives." (I for one did cry, making it very hard to read this passage through the blurriness of tears.)

pg. 263, Isola: "Saw Daphne Post digging a big hole under Mr. Ferre's elm tree. She always does it by the dark of the moon. I think we should all go together and buy her a silver teapot so she can quit and stay home nights." (I LOVED this character!! She didn't even know when she was being hilarious.)

pg. 274, Juliet: "Think of it! We could have gone on longing for one another and pretending not to notice forever. This obsession with dignity can ruin your life if you let it." (Amen. Beautifully said, I thought, as someone with very little dignity.)

Okay, just a few of those sticky notes, right? Well, if you haven't read the book yet, just think-- you've just gotten at least an 1/8 of it right here. And now, you absolutely MUST go find a copy. Immediately. Then you can ignore your family, too, for a short time to be immersed in this incredible world of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. If you've already been to Guernsey, link on up with us at 5 Minutes for Books' Bookclub!


With a love of readers and reading,