Journal Entry 1 by HoserLauren from Toronto, Ontario Canada on Saturday, January 15, 2011

Got this for Christmas.

From Amazon:
The letters comprising this small charming novel begin in 1946, when single, 30-something author Juliet Ashton (nom de plume Izzy Bickerstaff) writes to her publisher to say she is tired of covering the sunny side of war and its aftermath. When Guernsey farmer Dawsey Adams finds Juliet's name in a used book and invites articulate—and not-so-articulate—neighbors to write Juliet with their stories, the book's epistolary circle widens, putting Juliet back in the path of war stories. The occasionally contrived letters jump from incident to incident—including the formation of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society while Guernsey was under German occupation—and person to person in a manner that feels disjointed. But Juliet's quips are so clever, the Guernsey inhabitants so enchanting and the small acts of heroism so vivid and moving that one forgives the authors (Shaffer died earlier this year) for not being able to settle on a single person or plot. Juliet finds in the letters not just inspiration for her next work, but also for her life—as will readers. 

Journal Entry 2 by HoserLauren at Toronto, Ontario Canada on Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Juliet Ashton is a writer living in post-WWII London. She has lost her flat due to a bomb and is looking for her next literary inspiration when fate intervenes. She is sent a letter from Dawsey Adams of the island Guernsey who owns a book that used to belong to her and is asking her more about that author. As Juliet learns more about Dawsey, she realizes that Guernsey was under occupation during the war and the islanders had quite a difficult time during those years. Juliet asks Dawsey if he could get other islanders to write her about their experiences during the occupation and she slowly comes up with the idea for her book.

This book is written entirely as letters between the different characters. I usually find that this formatting doesn't give the reader enough detail but in this book that wasn't the case. One complaint I do have about the formatting of this book is that the book started out with letters to and from Juliet. By the end of the book it was only letters from Juliet. I believe there was still value in reading the letters written to Juliet and I missed those at the end of the book.

Given the formatting, I was surprised I enjoyed this as much as I did. I enjoyed the stories that the islanders gave about the occupation and how both the good and bad side was portrayed. There was a fair amount going on the book but everything wrapped up quite nicely by the end.  

Journal Entry 3 by HoserLauren at Toronto, Ontario Canada on Saturday, February 04, 2012

Released 3 mos ago (2/4/2012 UTC) at Toronto, Ontario Canada

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

I read and enjoyed this book, so I've passed it along to a friend.