"It's 1946 and author 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 other members. As letters fly back and forth with stories of life in Guernsey under the German Occupation, Juliet soon realises that the society is every bit as extraordinary as its name." (text from back of book)

'Delightfully spirited and quirky - You'd have to be pretty hard-hearted not to fall under its spell.' (DAILY MAIL)


My mum brought this book to me from her holidays in Ireland. I just finished reading this paperback and I loved every page of it. It reminds me a little bit of Helene Hanff's "84, Charing Cross Street". The letters that are exchanged are funny, wise, sad, touching... there's a bit of drama, and joy, and lots of everyday life stories. And the book gives an impression of life on the channel islands during the war and after. The research on the historical facts seems quite good.
I enjoyed it very much!! One of the books I carry with me everywhere until I've finished reading because I have to continue reading, if only a few pages on the bus or in the supermarket queue ;-)

This book travels as a Bookring.


Participants:

1. Suzanne4Books ✔ 3. September 2010
2. Leseschaf ✔ 16. September 2010
3. Sheepseeker ✔ 12. Oktober 2010
Neckarhex
4. Washti ✔ 26. Oktober 2010
5. Hholly ✔ 8. November 2010
6. Neckarhex ✔ 22. November 2010
coco7
7. recyclemouse ✔ 7. Dezember 2010
8. coco7 ✔ 6. Januar 2011
9. Feodora ✔ 23. Januar 2011
10. liljekonvalj ✔ 22. Februar 2011
11. LiniP ✔ 8. Juni 2011
12. fine-art
13. Falmouth ✔ 22. Juni 2011
14. lady-liberty ✔ 17. Juli 2011
15. enitsirhc72 ✔ 7. November 2011


This book started its "ring journey" in September 2010.

Controlled Release:

Der Ring reist Ende der Woche los :)
The book starts its journey end of this week...

Took it from the Packstation yesterday and started to read it straightaway and not surprisingly I am already enchanted... I've been nursing the idea of a visit to Guernsey for so long now, perhaps this book will be the final push towards it. Let's see.

Habe es gestern aus der Packstation gefischt und sofort angefangen zu lesen. Bin schon jetzt begeistert... ich will schon so lange mal nach Guernsey, vielleicht bringt dieses Buch tatsächlich den finalen Anstoß zum Umsatz des Vorsatzes in die Tat. Mal sehen.

Update, Sept 4th 2010: It's simply & truly one of those books you never want to end. I was so glad being on holiday when I started it, so I didn't have to put it down for hours on end...

I think it's not so much like "84 Charing Cross Road"^*) as one might suggest, I guess that comparision solely has been drawn because of both being stories written in letters during or about wartime events and the aftermath. In fact this book can't be compared at all, and hardly be described adequately.

Just read it and be thrilled, moved, enchanted – and, finally, sad that it had to end at all.

Nachtrag, 4. 9. 2010: Eines dieser Bücher, die einfach nie enden sollten. Gut, daß ich Urlaub habe diese Woche, es wäre furchtbar gewesen, dieses Buch für Stunden aus der Hand legen zu müssen...

Es ist nicht so sehr vergleichbar mit "84 Charing Cross Road"^*) als man denken könnte. In beiden Fällen handelt es sich um eine in Briefform verfaßte Geschichte, die während oder über die Kriegszeit und die Folgen erzählt – das war's aber dann auch schon. Ich denke, die Geschichte der "Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" ist kaum überhaupt zu vergleichen und ähnlich schwierig zu beschreiben – man muß sie lesen!

---

^*) I know that "84 Charing Cross Road" reflects a true story and the "Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" does not. You won't notice any difference, though. After reading, you'll be sure to have known the characters for quite some time – even the ones you know dead at the end of the book. By the way, I actually do know a person called Christian Hellmann, we went to school together... it was somehow particularly strange to come upon a familiar name in this story, more so than it would have been in any other book.

Ich weiß, daß "84 Charing Cross Road" eine wahre Begebenheit schildert und "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" nicht. Das macht allerdings keinerlei Unterschied. Nach der Lektüre wird man sehr sicher sein, sämtliche Charaktere des Buches schon ewig gekannt zu haben – sogar diejenigen, von denen man am Ende des Buches weiß, daß sie nicht mehr leben. Wo ich gerade dabei bin, ich kenne tatsächlich jemanden, der Christian Hellmann heißt, wir sind zusammen zur Schule gegangen... es war irgendwie ganz besonders eigenartig, innerhalb gerade dieser Geschichte einen vertrauten Namen zu lesen.

Heute morgen in die Lippstädter Hauptpost (!) getragen. Gute Weiterreise!

Took it to the main post office of Lippstadt (!) today. Bon voyage!

Arrived safely today

Wonderful book, thanks for sharing.

Der Rhein war doch sehr breit, daher nahm das Buch die Schneckenpost

The book's with me now, thanks!

I really tried not to like this book - I failed ;-)
Why? Highly praised books mostly bore me, can't really say whay, but this story is intriguing and unusual despite the too sweet ending. I loved Isola and Dawsey and Sindney and really all of them and got sucked into the story. Perfect. Nothing else to say. And - for that matter - not at all comparable to '84, Charing Cross Street' IMHO ;-)

Thanks for sharing this book, PeregrinTuk! Will be sent on to NeckarHex asap.

Fund the book in my postbox. Thanks for sending.

Update 5.11.10
Well, as all the other readers I too just loved the story! I think I will buy it for my PC.
Thanks for the ring. I will contact the next one on the list now.

The book is now with me. Will start reading it today.

A truly wonderful book. It touched me, made me laugh, it's so heart-warming. The characters came to life and I even felt for them.
Not only the story itself touches but also the author's note(s).

Thanks for sharing, PeregrinTuk.

The book travels on to Neckarhex.

Ist am Samstag wohlbehalten bei mir eingetroffen und wird gerade gelesen!

Finished last Saturday and can now travel to the next in the list.

This book is a wonderful reading experience, certainly one of those books you don't meet very often. I'm just sad that I finished it and don't have another of this kind... a tale about love in all its shades, and most importantly the love among friends; about people caring for each other; and about life in all its extreme forms. All this told in a wonderful light-hearted way that brings the fictional characters amazingly to life. Now I'm going to buy one copy for myself and one as a perfect gift for a dear friend.

Danke fürs Schicken:-)
Werde ich Donnerstag mit ins Krankenhaus nehmen, falls es aus irgendwelchen Gründen zu lange dauert bitte an cappucino21 wenden.

Wenn das Jahr sich dem Ende zuneigt, sollte man aufräumen...
Ich bin nicht zum Lesen gekommen und möchte dieses Buch nicht länger festhalten.
Wenn ich die nächste Adresse bekommen habe, kann das Buch auf Reise gehen.

The book arrived today, thank you. It has been on my TBR list for two years.

In spite of the sad war stories, this is a lovely, charming book about love, friendship and taking care of each other. Now I want to live there.

Oh sorry, I forgot to journal. The book already arrived days ago!
I already started and I am delighted and amused.

It was nice to read a book done in letters. In times of Twitter Facebook email skype... who writes letters.
Apart from that the story was nice. About friendship, happyness and grieve and a little bit of love.

Gerade aus der Packstation gefischt. Dankeschön! Ich freue mich schon aufs Lesen.

Gerade aus der Packstation gefischt. Dankeschön! Ich freue mich schon aufs Lesen.

Oh weh, ich sehe erst jetzt, wie lange ich das Buch hatte ... sobald ich die Adresse des nächsten Teilnehmers habe, reist "The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society" weiter.

Ein wunderschönes Buch, mit vielen liebenswerten Charakteren! Außerdem mag ich Bücher in Briefform gern. Hier erfährt man viel über die Geschichte der Kanalinseln zur Zeit des 2. Weltkriegs - so erklärt sich auch überhaupt erst der Buchtitel "The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society".

The book arrived safely a few days ago and I will start reading it today. Thanks for the ring.

Ein wirklich bewegendes Buch, das auf subtile Weise die Geschichte der Okkupation Guernseys während der deutschen Besatzung beschreibt. Das Buch kann zum nächsten Leser, sobald ich seine Adresse habe. Vielen Dank für den Ring.

Das Buch ist unterwegs zur nächsten Leserin. Vielen Dank für den Ring.

The book was in today's mail, right in time for my holidays. I'll start reading as soon as possible and will forward the book to the next reader in 3 weeks. Thanks for sending.

A wonderful book, the kind of which you want never to end.
Thanks for sharing.
I have already asked lady-liberty for her address, but haven't received an answer yet.

Geht an Lady-Liberty. Viel Spaß mit diesem schönen Buch.

Got it! :-) Thanks for the book which I already read in the German (Deine Juliet) version, not realizing that I was noted for this ring cause the title is quite different.

Die deutsche Version hatte ich wie erwähnt vor kurzer Zeit gelesen, daher war der Inhalt nicht mehr überraschend. Aber das macht ja nichts. Das Original ist zweifellos intensiver in der Wirkung und die Personen erscheinen authentischer. Es ist ja immer ein gewisser "Schwund" bei den Übersetzungen, selten hat man aber den beinahe direkten Vergleich.

Danke für den Ring! Nächste Station ist enitsirhc.

Nach einigen Kommunikationsproblemen habe ich nun die nächste Adresse erhalten und das Buch kann weiterreisen.

The book arrived safely. Thank you.

Ein tolles Buch. Dass das Buch aus Briefen bestand, war superinteressant und ließ viel Platz für die eigene Vorstellungskraft. Ich habe richtig mitgefiebert. Danke für diesen Ring, der sich jetzt auf den Weg nach Hause macht.

Unterwegs nach Hause.

The book arrived safely. It will stay at home now for a while. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this book!

this book was on its "ring journey" from September 2010 till December 2011 - that's 16 months of exploring the world with 14 friendly encounters on the way :-)