This quirky book, written entirely in letters, and awash in colorful, spirited characters, is on my shortlist for Best of 2012 thus far. Briefly, it is the story of making a (n often new) life in the ration- and rubble-filled years in immediate post-WWII England. It is so vividly written that not only did I feel I was in Guernsey along with Juliet, I also felt the grind of the Occupation - and what it was to be free of it after so many years. Also, the authors (more on that in a minute) get bonus points for character names: Dawsey, Izzy Bickerstaff, Booker, Simon Simpless. Simply reading the names on the page was half the fun.
These little islands are caught in a bit of the channel between England and France, and are probably the richer in culture for it. The islanders are true to King and country - the Union Jack, lavish teas, the Royal Family, and all that is right and good and British - yet, it's the Normandy coast they can see in the distance. Naturally, my reaction to such a place is to want to visit it, not that I hadn't already planned on trekking to the Channel Islands one day or another.
Now about the authors. I was surprised and saddened to read in the afterword that Mary Ann Shaffer died before Guernsey reached final publication and that it was her writer-niece, Annie Barrows, who completed the rewrites and edits, and saw it through publication and its rise in popularity. Perhaps somewhat selfishly, I think I was most disappointed because, as this was her first book, there is nothing else to read by Mary Ann Shaffer.
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