The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society

What the heck is this book about? Potato Peel Pie? Say what?

I was given this book to read a few weeks ago. My boss said, "I think you will want to read this." I had forgotten that my friend Gina in Belgium, had just vacationed in the area of the Normandy Coast of France and she had been thinking of taking a day trip to one of the Channel Islands. At the time she mentioned them, I did a little research and learned that these Islands, just off the Coast of France, are actually English possessions. I guess I mentioned the Islands to my boss and she remembered my interest.
I glanced at the book and found that the story is actually entirely written as letters between people. I was not sure about whether I wanted to get into this or not, but then I read the first few pages...
I was hooked. Amazingly, to me, at least, the people who write the letters, become real people and the information the letters impart, tell the story of the Island of Guernsey's history, during the occupation by the Germans in WWII. The bad things that happened to the Islanders and how a small piece of serendipity, an off the cuff excuse to German soldiers, that the people who had left a (forbidden) gathering, were actually members of a Literary Society, going home after a meeting, turns into the single most important part of their lives. The next day, to back up the lie, they on the spot formed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and each person is instructed to read books and report on them. They did this at first, to look legitimate to the Germans, who threatened to stop in on their meetings. Eventually, their newfound love of the written word, became each members way of coping with the bad times they were living through.

I highly recommend this book. It's very sad at times, but it's proof of man's resilience in the face of adversity.

...and about that potato peel pie? Yes, they would eat them, at the meetings.