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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

By: Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
Narrated by: Charlie Norfolk
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Bloomsbury presents The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows, read by Charlie Norfolk.

The beloved, life-affirming international bestseller which has sold over 5 million copies worldwide – now a major film starring Lily James, Matthew Goode, Jessica Brown Findlay, Tom Courtenay and Penelope Wilton

'I can’t remember the last time I discovered a novel as smart and delightful as this one … Treat yourself to this book, please – I can’t recommend it highly enough' Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love

To give them hope she must tell their story

It’s 1946. The war is over, and Juliet Ashton has writer’s block. But when she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams of Guernsey – a total stranger living halfway across the Channel, who has come across her name written in a second hand book – she enters into a correspondence with him, and in time with all the members of the extraordinary Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Through their letters, the society tell Juliet about life on the island, their love of books – and the long shadow cast by their time living under German occupation. Drawn into their irresistible world, Juliet sets sail for the island, changing her life forever.©2008 Annie Barrows (P)2019 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC 20th Century Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Romance Women's Fiction Feel-Good Heartfelt
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Critic reviews

Delightfully spirited … You’d have to be pretty hard-hearted not to fall under its spell
Utterly delightful (Helen Mirren)
Atmospheric and touching … it is about love and friendship and the ability of these qualities to survive adversity (Alexander McCall Smith)
Thronging with lovable people
I can’t remember the last time I discovered a novel as smart and delightful as this one … Treat yourself to this book, please – I can’t recommend it highly enough (Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love)
What a gorgeous book – very touch and funny (Joanna Lumley)
Absolutely perfect and satisfying, and when you finish it you sit around wishing that you could find another book just like it (Stephanie Meyer)
Every now and again, a book comes along that is simple yet effective, readable yet memorable. This is one such delight … It is a uniquely humane vision of inhumanity; one to lift even the most cynical of spirits
Funny, moving and quite unlike anything I have read for a long time
Shaffer’s writing, with its self-deprecating humour and jaunty stylishness, is a heart-warmingly nostalgic journey into another age
This heart-warming novel contrasts the grimness of occupied Guernsey with the humour and courage of the inhabitants
So comforting. A real satin coverlet of a book (Rachel Cooke)
The society’s members are quirky and lovable, their friendships touching and the letters so funny and moving that by the time she’s considering a visit to the island we are desperate to go with her … Warm and witty
Thronging with lovable people … The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society commemorates beautiful spirits who pass through our midst and hunker undercover through brutal times. Shaffer’s Guernsey characters step from the past radiant with eccentricity and kindly humour, a comic version of the state of grace … Shaffer’s writing, with its delicately offbeat, self-deprecating stylishness, is exquisitely turned
I absolutely adored it. The tone is so light and perfect that I fell in love with the characters just as she does. Heaven (Esther Freud)
Moving, authentic and funny (Paul Torday, author of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen)
A real delight
Moving … A high feel-good factor
Riveting in its inventiveness, charming in its delivery and, above all, human
Very moving
This warm-hearted tale of friendship, secrets and long correspondence is perfect rainy-day reading
All stars
Most relevant
This book was a treasure.To me it sounded too true to be fiction. The truth is always stranger than fiction and , having lived in a village during my childhood and teenage years, I felt very much akin to the characters and happenings in this story, so cleverly told in letter form. I found myself shedding tears as I read, feeling one with the angst being experienced by the very real characters who were so diverse in personality and yet so united in their diversity. I have encountered such, in village and small town life. Thank you to the authors and narrator for this lovely audible experience!

Based on real life experiences?

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I have really enjoyed this audible book. The story line was excellent which made it difficult to stop listening. The narrator was very good at changing and delivering accents but .... in my opinion she read too quickly.

Fantastic book

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I cried and laughed, felt joy and sadness, couldn't stop listening and yet didn't want the story to end. An absolutely delightful book. So well written but also perfectly narrated. I cannot recommend this more.

Excellent

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Absolutely loved this book. A lovely, gentle, humorous story, beautifully narrated and with a cast of characters I would be glad to have as friends. I wasn't expecting it to be written as a series of letters but it worked really well. If I had one criticism, it would be that it wasn't long enough!

Beautiful Story

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What a jolly good read, full of characters beautifully described and bringing to life a story line that romps along sharing smiles, laughter, wit and sadness as their individual stories unfold through their love of books.

Charming

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