Let's Bust a Recap : The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The day has come. The title of this blog post could not fit on one line. Oh sad, sad day. But this book is worth it.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was not on my radar, but I picked it up one day as I was browsing through The Book Shelter simply because I couldn't pass up a title like that. I mean, look at it. My husband has dubbed it "The Governor's Luncheon and Pecan Pie Club" because he can't ever remember the actual full name of it. (Though how he consistently remembers "The Governor's Luncheon and Pecan Pie Club" I'll leave you to puzzle out. He's silly.) When I realized it was a historical novel on the German occupation of the island of Guernsey during WWII, I was sold. 

I had no intention of reading this book this year, and I was completely oblivious to the fact that it was recently adapted to film and Netflix would be releasing it last month. But the very week I happened to buy this book, my new bookish bloggy friend Sabrina at Tired Mom Reading mentioned on her Instagram account that she would be re-reading it in anticipation of the movie release and would anyone like to join her? That would be a quick Yes from me and Bob's your uncle, I was reading it the first week of August like it was my full-time job. I could not put it down. 

How this book escaped my notice for 10 solid years since its original publication in 2008 is beyond me and a total tragedy because it instantly earned All Time Favorite status with me. I immediately made my mom and then my best friend and then her mom read it because it is that good, y'all. I've waited to post this recap until I could watch the film (which I waited until I could watch with my mom and sister-in-law over the Labor Day weekend) so stick around for my thoughts on it at the end of this post. 

The novel is actually set in 1946 after the war has ended and is made up entirely of letters sent between all the characters in the book, the main character being Juliet Ashton. Juliet receives a letter from a perfect stranger who lives on the Isle of Guernsey and has somehow acquired a copy of a book Juliet used to own, and from this first letter, a correspondence begins which leads Juliet to the island to meet her new friends and learn more about the German occupation they lived through during the war. 

This book is captivating. Every character is quirky and lovable (I want to adopt Isola Pribby), and the way Shaffer and Barrows managed to capture different attitudes and emotions of Guernsey's inhabitants about the war and the occupation was remarkably believable and relatable and unique to each voice portrayed. This book had me laughing and crying and sighing and grinning and shaking my head. It elicited every response a good book ought to and I loved every second of it.

As for the movie: I was disappointed. My mom and I were the only two out of our little watch group that didn't like it, and all my internet friends liked it, too, so I'm guessing I'm in the minority with my disappointment. But let me tell you what will ruin an adaptation quicker than a wink for me: when the actual plot is changed from what was written. I understand that a movie can't be developed the same way a book can and that things are going to have to be cut. But when you start changing the things that you actually do put in, that's when I'm done with it. On top of that, Lily James' portrayal of Juliet Ashton was an extreme letdown. She didn't capture her vivacity or charm at all in my opinion, and I wasn't impressed with the other female leads either. I did think that Michiel Huisman, Matthew Goode, and Glen Powell were wonderful as Dawsey, Sidney, and Markham, but that did not make up for the glaring flaws in this film. Sad.

Annnnnnd.....unpopular opinion time over. Have you read the book or seen the film? What did you think? Anyone that read the book and watched the film care to offer a defense for it?