Review: KITTY TAKES A HOLIDAY by Carrie Vaughn

Thanks to Miriam at Hachette for sending me this book!

I was really looking forward to reading this book since the last one I read (Mercy Among the Children by David Adams Richards) was such a depressing novel. All the while I was reading Mercy I was thinking ‘just a bit more and I can start the next Kitty book’. What a relief!

This is the third in the ‘Kitty’ series and it changes direction a bit with plot. The first two focused on Kitty’s job as a night time DJ and her challenges dealing with lycanthropy – a condition wherein the ‘patient’ metamorphoses into a werewolf during full moons. In Kitty Takes a Vacation, Kitty gets away from it all in a remote cabin in the woods to write a memoir detailing her experiences as a werewolf. It’s not long, however, before odd things begin happening and odder still when the people in the nearby town show their distrust for Kitty and her ilk. Throw in Ben and Cormac – characters first introduced in the previous books – and you have another fun, light read.

I won’t give away plot points, but if you’re a follower of the series you’ll meet some other otherworldly creatures called ‘skinwalkers’ and their particular brand of powers. The secondary characters are somewhat chilling in that they display some personality traits akin to the witch hunters in Salem a century and more ago. I also like the fact that in the Kitty books the endings are not always completely happy but a sort of compromise (not saying however that that was the case in this particular book – you’ll have to read it to find that out!).

Kitty Takes a Vacation didn’t disappoint me – it lifted my mood and that’s what I expected from it. I’m going to read the next one, Kitty and the Silver Bullet, in May.

Review: THE MANUAL OF DETECTION by Jedediah Berry

Charles Unwin is an unassuming clerk working on the fourteenth floor of ‘the Agency’, a mysterious organization located in a mysterious city. One morning Charles meets up with a Detective Pith from the Agency who informs him that he’s been promoted – he’s no longer a clerk but now is also a detective. This throws Charles off and agitated, he tries to reclaim his old position all the while solving the riddle of where his predecessor has disappeared. While one might assume that Charles would be pleased with his promotion, the result is actually the opposite. He enjoys being a clerk and he’s very good at it. Clerking at the Agency involves organizing, cataloguing (and discarding what the clerk deems irrelevant) all the clues, facts, evidence and solutions gathered by the detectives. Each detective is assigned one clerk who is responsible for all cases investigated by their detective.

This book is nothing like what I thought it would be. I expected something conventional in the, well, mystery/detective novel genre. Ha! It’s anything but conventional, at least plot-wise. The writing is good, sparse and to-the-point. The story takes on a surrealist, fantastical perspective and I have to confess I was somewhat lost at times. I had a bit of trouble following the plot because of the unusual method of story-telling. I don’t think, however, that it’s the author’s fault – I’m just not used to this kind of writing style. To give an example, the cases Charles’ detective (Sivart), followed were strange – one was called ‘The Man Who Stole November Twelfth” and the reader should take that title literally.

There were a few plot twists (in the normal context of this book) which I found very clever. As a matter of fact given my confusion with the nature of this novel, I likely missed some plot points as I was so focused on untangling what was going on. I plan on re-reading this book soon since there were subtleties I know I didn’t catch and I believe this is one of those books I can read over and over again and likely find something new each time.

This book is like nothing I’ve ever read before in this genre and I would recommend it to anyone who loves mysteries with and off-beat, quirky approach to the story.

Review: THE LAST TESTAMENT by Sam Bourne

After a year in Washington, DC, Maggie Costello is smothering under the control of her boyfriend, Edward, and her job as a divorce mediator. Until Washington she had been another kind of mediator, one involved in big stakes in the high-pressure world of international politics. When the US government needed someone to bring two opposing sides together, they called Maggie. And it worked well until something went very wrong and real people paid the price with their lives and so she ended up in Washington with Edward mediating fights between couples instead of countries.

One morning Maggie receives a visit by a government agent who convinces her to return to her first natural talent and she quickly finds herself in the midst of a tense standoff between Israel and Palestine. When a murder of a prominent right-wing activist stalls the talks, Maggie steps in to investigate. What she finds leads her on a spine-tingling, intensive hunt for the murderer and where at times she becomes the hunted. Along the way Maggie has the help of Uri Guttman, a man who is trying to discover what role his father played in the sensitive mid-east peace process.

A blurb on the back cover of this novel says it is “The biggest challenger to Dan Brown’s crown”. I can see why. It’s similar in that there are two characters who follow the trail of an ancient artifact knowing that what it reveals will change the course of history. And like Dan Brown’s book, The Last Testament also has plenty of short chapters with most having cliff-hangers at the end of them. But the similarity ends there. It does after all take place in the Middle East. I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet that if you liked the Da Vinci Code you will also enjoy this book.

Review: REPLAY by Ken Grimwood

Jeff Wintson dies at work of an apparent heart attack at the age of 43 while talking to his wife on the phone. She had been telling him what it was that they needed but he died before she had a chance to say exactly what that was. No matter though, because as he lay slumped over his desk, dying, he knew what she’d been about to say; something mundane like picking up milk or bread.

Jeffs wakes to the realization that he hadn’t died after all; he must be in a hospital because he was thinking he couldn’t breathe. Realizing that his head was deep into his sheets, he turned and looked at the room around him. That’s when he discovers he is back in college and eighteen years old again. The story follows Jeff through life again – hindsight does actually help him in his second chance but, as he learns, it can also hurt.

This book is a page turner – you can’t help wanting to know what is going to happen next and how it will all turn out in the end. The possibilities of what Jeff could accomplish with the opportunity of having a second chance are intriguing to say the least.

Review" ORYX AND CRAKE by Margaret Atwood

Barely surviving in a devastated and de-populated world, a man called Snowman recalls the events of his life that have led to what he is now: a shadow of his former self, slowly starving to death. Snowman thinks about his best friend Crake, an intellectual (otherwise known as a geek), who, despite his perplexing and secretive manner, was nevertheless on the road to greatness. Oryx, the only person of his generation Snowman could truly love, seemed so unreachable. His mother, a riddle, vanished, and though he tried to put her memory behind him, he continued searching for her for years. His father, cold and distant, considered his only son an afterthought.

As snowman searches through his memory, he looks for clues, the what ifs, to help him understand how the world changed so suddenly. He ponders how if he’d only read the signs, had not ignored the portentous dropped phrase from Crake here and there, he might have known what was coming. But then what? Could he have stopped it? Now all he has for company are the Crakers, a race of beings who are dependent on Snowman for answers to their questions about a world that they were born into, a world innocent of war, famine, violence and all the other outrages and misfortunes the human race brought upon itself.

Review: UNLESS by Carol Shields

Fear of the unknown suddenly plays a significant part in Reta Winters’s life as she struggles to cope with her eldest daughter’s odd behaviour. This nineteen year old woman, Norah, abandons her life – university and her boyfriend as well as her parents and two sisters to sit on a street corner in downtown Toronto begging. She wears a sign around her neck with the word ‘goodness’ written on it. No one in Norah’s family, including her boyfriend, knows why she is doing this. They try to talk to her and Reta does attempt to forcibly remove Norah from her perch, and fails miserably when her daughter begins screaming. Reta, in dismay and embarrassment, flees in her car, alone.

Reta’s ruminations on her daughter’s behaviour causes her to reflect on her own experiences dealing with the male-dominated book publishing world. She sees in Norah’s stance an acting out of her own frustrations in dealing with a society that relegates women to an afterthought. As Reta and her family try to carry on their day to day activities in view of Norah’s self-placement in society, Reta undertakes a series of letters to various male writers for columns, reviews and in one case, an obituary, thereby soothing herself for the wrongs she is feeling. She never mails the letters and in fact, signs them with a variety of pseudonyms, signaling her intentions not to send them out.

This is not a book for someone who enjoys fast-paced reads but it is definitely thought-provoking.

Review: THE STUBBORN SEASON by Lauren B. Davis

October 1929 in Toronto was as desperate as anywhere else during the great depression. People lost everything when the market crashed, and devastated, some even committed suicide. The lucky ones were not homeless, but lived a frightened existence anyway – often believing it was only a matter of time before they too joined the masses riding the rails.

Irene MacNeil is ten years old and does not quite understand the world depression, but she knows that something is not quite right in her own house. Her parents often argue and her mother, believing they’d missed the opportunity to invest when the time was right, harangues her father daily on missed chances. Margaret reads the papers religiously and as the news seems to get worse her mood mirrors the daily horrors so that in fact her mother and the world seem bent on the same disastrous ending. Her father, Douglas, prefers to ignore anything negative, and continues along as if nothing is wrong, telling his daughter not to worry, everything will be okay, all along finding his own relief in alcohol. Irene grows up in this atmosphere, where things don’t seem to get better until inevitably something happens that changes the lives of her family.

I can’t say that this is a happy story but it is a good one.

Review: SWEETSMOKE by David Fuller

Sweetsmoke, described on the cover as ‘a novel of the civil war’ is about the civil war, but it’s also very much about slavery, murder and justice.

I’ve read a few books about slavery and the stories of brutality are often echoes of the same terrible evil and the horrors suffered by many. This story adds another dimension. There are heart-wrenching tales of injustices, but what makes it different is the focus on the murder of a freed black woman and the efforts of a slave to discover her murderer. An additional flourish that gives this book an interesting perspective is that it takes place in 1862, during a raging civil war that most people at Sweetsmoke believe will end in a victory for thee south.

I don’t think I’m an adequate judge of whether the adversaries and obstacles faced by the protagonist, Cassius, are realistic, but I do know I really liked this book. Cassius is a very likable character and lives among others who are portrayed in shades of grey (except the children who are depicted as completely evil), as people really are. It’s interesting to note that the author did not use quotation marks when one of the slaves was speaking, as if what they had to say was of no importance compared to someone who was either freed or white.

When Cassius discovers that Emoline, a woman who cared for him when he needed it most, did not die accidentally, he decides to find her murderer - not an easy thing to do for a slave. Since Cassius’s job on the Sweetsmoke plantation is carpentry, he has a bit of leeway to move around, unlike most of the other slaves. While this allows him to do a bit of detective work it also lends itself to jealousy and resentment among the other slaves who feel he is favored by the plantation owner. The search for Emoline’s murderer leads Cassius away from Sweetsmoke and the further he gets, the closer he comes to the truth. Along this journey Cassius encounters traitors, slave traders and soldiers and sees first hand the terror of war.

I highly recommend this book – it is difficult to put down. I would like to thanks Lex at minibookexpo.com and Hyperion for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

Review: DAUGHTER OF MINE by Laura Fabiani

Tiziana Manoretti is a successful young engineering technologist who lives with her parents and leads a happy, active life until she discovers a long-held secret about her origins. She feels betrayed and angry, and decides to go on a trip to Italy, and specifically Gaeta, the village where she was born. There Tiziana hopes to find some answers and reflect on the revelations recently gleaned from her parents. While there she wastes no time in meeting new people and experiencing the local cuisine and culture.

This novel contains romance, suspense, humour and a hint of mystery. The chapters are fairly short and the plot moves along at a fair pace; it kept my interest. Occasionally, I found elements of the story a bit hard to believe but certainly not enough to hinder enjoyment of it. The characters are distinctive and well developed, and although I did find a few of the physical descriptions of the males slightly ‘cookie-cutter-ish’, the character of Giacomino (a man whose mother tries to find appropriate and newly arrived tourists to marry her son) lent quite a humorous touch. The descriptions of Naples, Rome and Gaeta were vivid, colourful and made reading the novel feel like one had recently visited the country. I also enjoyed reading about the local cuisine and life in Italy where

“…Italians sped, ran through red lights, and honked other drivers out of their way, hurrying along to jobs where service to the public was always in slow mode.”

Daughter of Mine is a charming, engaging novel complete with several twists and turns to keep the reader’s interest. Anticipation of what will happen next also keeps the pages turning and ends the story with a satisfying conclusion.

I'd like to thank the author for giving me the opportunity to read and review her book and I look forward to reading her next novel.

Review: MARLEY & ME by John Grogan

Anyone who has ever enjoyed the companionship of a pet will likely relate to some of the episodes described in this non-fiction book. The author started writing a month after his beloved Labrador retriever, Marley, died at the age of thirteen. John Grogan is a columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer and often worked Marley stories into his column. When his dog died he wrote about that too and said in an interview, “The day the column ran, nearly 800 Inquirer readers emailed or called. A typical day might bring 30 to 50 responses. That's when I knew I had a bigger story to tell.” Obviously other people could relate.

Marley was not just the worst dog, but also the best. The only predicatable thing about Marley was his unpredictability. John and Jenny Grogan decided to get a puppy not long after they were married – figuring that a dog would give them some idea what parenthood would be like. Of course the puppy grew up to be close to one hundred pounds of a constantly moving, pulling and running blur who would tear up the house in a terrified frenzy every time a thunderstorm hit. Living in Florida, the thunderstorm capital of the world, did not help John and Jenny’s furniture, sofa cushions, woodwork and just about anything else within reach become victims of Marley’s thunder phobia.

When the couple decided the time was right, they had their first child and in Marley’s world, the baby fit right in. Apparently dirty diapers were a special treat and Mr. Grogan describes the expression of pure heaven on Marley’s face whenever he came into contact with the diaper pail.

Marley did go to school to learn better manners and John was thrilled when Marley actually came 7th in his class (out of a class of 8) and was not expelled as he had been on their first attempt at training. John’s hopes for better behaviour were not even dampened when Marley happily ate his graduation certificate.

I very much enjoyed reading about Marley’s antics, but the story dragged a bit for me whenever it delved deeper into the author’s life. I was not so interested in that! I suppose I just couldn’t relate to this man but I could relate to having a dog like Marley. Mine was a black lab named Coal who once greeted me at the door once with her tail wagging and my long and very sharp bread knife sticking out of her mouth. At least she had hold of the handle part! I’m happy to report that after I was able to figure out how to get it away from her, there were no injuries.

Review: FODOR'S NEW YORK CITY 2009

My husband and I are planning a trip to New York this spring so receiving this book now was timely.

At the front of the book is a page titled ‘Be a Fodor’s Correspondent’ with headings that speak to the commitment of these guides. The headings are ‘Tell us when we’re right’, ‘Tell us when we’re wrong’ and ‘Tell us what to include’ and under each are requests from the publisher for an honest opinion about the book. Calling the reader a ‘correspondent’ may be a marketing ploy but it does extend to the reader a certain amount of ownership to the book and which I think is a good way of connecting to the guide users.

The table of contents is divided by area, i.e., there is Lower Manhattan, Soho and Little Italy, Central Park, Midtown, the Upper East Side, etc. These sections follow a table of
General items of interest such as New York City with kids, New York City Like a Local, New York City for Free as well as other ideas. After this the contents focuses on well-known areas and where to eat, shop, accommodations and entertainment. There is a list of maps to be found in the guide and then a page about how to use the book, which is somewhat superfluous because I found the book’s structure highly intuitive. However, the list of symbols is a useful tool.

The guide is structured for practicality. It gives information on accommodations and dining depending on your budget. Districts are explored for their culture and history so if that’s the kind of thing that interests you, this is a good guide for that alone. What I also enjoy is the advice that is offered everywhere, for instance:

“Driving is not recommended as parking here is very difficult.” Then directions about taking the subway to the Lower East Side are given.

The book is full of brightly colored photos of everyday situations found in diverse areas of New York which gives one a ‘feel’ for the city. Maps are everywhere and give a good sense of ‘place’ in relation to areas of interest. The pages are quite sturdy, so much so that they give the guide quite a heft (well, that could also be because this book is 550 pages). I have to admit I weighed the book on my kitchen scale – it weighs just short of 1 ½ lbs (about .6 kg). Now that’s not much if you’re driving to New York and you have it tucked into your glove compartment but hauling this book around in your luggage might get heavy. However, even if you tend to travel light, I’d make room for this book.

All in all, I found this book to be an excellent resource. It’s complete as far as I can tell, and one can always check the Fodor website (www.fodors.com) for more information.

Review: NO SUCH CREATURE by Giles Blunt

Owen Maxwell and his great uncle, Max, travel around the US ostensibly selling wigs and other accoutrements to theatrical companies for their productions. Max is highly theatrical himself and often quotes Shakespeare to his young charge. Owen, just 18, is tired of the uncertainty of life with his uncle, especially given the fact that selling disguises to acting troupes is just a cover for their real profession – which is thievery. Preferably thievery from wealthy republicans. Max and Owen have a couple of cohorts whom Max hires when they have capers planned, one of whom (Roscoe) adds considerable flavour and humour to their jaunts as he contributes Jeopardy-like trivia questions whenever their occupations has them spending time together’.

Enter Sabrina, the daughter of an old friend of Max’s. Sabrina is a young woman of considerable charm who hits it off with Owen. Sabrina is followed relentlessly by an admirer who stops at nothing trying to save her soul from the devil, or worse, Max and Owen. Into the mix we have three felons who are very interested in Max and Owen’s spoils from various jobs. When Sabrina, Max and Owen hit the road in a Winnebago, they are followed by four people who are desperate to find them, Bill, Sabrina’s saviour and the three felons. What ensues is in turns harrowing, comical and sometimes a bit sad.

The only problem I had with the story was the abrupt introduction of Sabrina. She seemed to come out of nowhere. That leant a sort of credibility issue to the plot – not that other readers wouldn’t have problems with credibility overall – I just usually run with a plot and ignore those sorts of issues. However when a character is introduced awkwardly it has a tendency to take me out of a story. (Everyone’s a critic, eh?!) Other than that small hiccup though, I enjoyed this novel.

This was a bit different from anything I’ve read lately so I’m happy about that but even more, since I hadn’t read anything by Giles Blunt before it’s nice to find a new to me author that I enjoy. I will check out his ‘John Cardinal’ crime series.

Review: CODEX by Lev Grossman

Another story about an ancient book! If you like Geraldine Brooks's People of the Book then you may enjoy this as well.

This one sees a junior financial analyst leaving New York for England to take a promotion with his firm after having worked long, hard hours for several years. As a favour to his employers Edward agrees to catalogue a rare book library for one of the firm’s wealthy clients. At first he’s bored but then becomes more focused in finding one particular book that may or may not exist but is referred to in several other books. His research takes him to the library where he encounters Margaret, a rare book scholar, who knows just about everything concerning medieval manuscripts. Margaret insists the book does not exist but agrees to help Edward with the cataloguing and research. As time goes on, Edward finds himself distracted by a computer game that seems to mirror in a surreal way his search for the book. One has nothing to do with the other - or does it? The wealthy clients, the Wents, also figure very mysteriously throughout.

This was an fun book, and does not delve into serious historical aspects as does the novel 'The People of the Book'.

Review: PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by Geraldine Brooks

The Haggadah is an ancient illuminated Hebrew book that has survived across centuries of war, plague and persecution to come under the study of Hannah Heath, a rare book professional. She travels to Sarajevo where the book is located and makes minor repairs to the binding. In the course of her examination, the book reveals minute clues to its previous journeys and Hannah researches the possible routes the book may have taken to bring it to its present location.

The story reveals the nature of this journey through vignettes visiting different periods of time from the 1500’s to the present day and describing how the book came to be made. Eventually the plot returns to present day and Hannah, who begins to worry that the current caretakers of the Haggadah may have ulterior motives in regard to the book. She can't let the matter of the book rest and her suspicions lead her to various locations and specialists in medicine and science to help her discover the hidden agendas of various people she encounters. In so doing she discovers something in her own background that connects her to the book on a much more personal level than she had anticpated.

This is an interesting novel, but not a page-turner since too much of the book is interrupted by the back and forth traveling between centuries.**1/2. Hardcover, 384 pages.

Review: SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN by Lisa See

As a young girl growing up in a peasant family in Puwei village in China, Lily is favoured by her parents through the largesse of a matchmaker. Not for her wedding match, however, but for the pairing between her and her laotong, an emotional bond with another girl - an ‘old same’ to whom Lily is contracted. Since the other girl, Snow Flower, comes from a better family, it is to Lily and her family that Snow Flower visits, Lily believing that the status of her own family is not good enough for her to visit and stay with Snow Flower’s. They go through all of the rituals that were expected of girls and women in China in the 1800’s: footbinding, betrothal to men they had never met and the wedding ceremonies that follow as well as events that affect everyone – famines and diseases. When they are apart, they communicate through a secret women’s writing called nu shu – a practice not understood or given any value to by men. It is through these writings – often secret messages written on their shared and valuable possession – a fan – that they find comfort and happiness, but also share their loneliness and despair when faced with an unjust mother-in-law or husband. Their friendship traverses villages and people but always comes back to whether or not they can depend on each other through the worst events in their lives.

This is a wonderful book that shows the historical perspective of women's lives in China in the 19th century.

Review: THE GIRL WHO STOPPED SWIMMING by Joshilyn Jackson

Laurel Hawthorne, her husband David and daughter Shelby live an idyllic life in an idyllic gaited community called Victorianna. Life is wonderful until one late night Laurel is visited in her dreams by the image of Shelby’s best friend, Molly, who leads her to the backyard swimming pool. There Laurel discovers Molly’s floating, lifeless body and suddenly the carefully constructed world Laurel has created starts to come apart at the seams – nothing is as perfect as she thought it was and Laurel’s efforts at keeping it all together unravels slowly at first but quickly gathers steam. Laurel seeks the help of Thalia, Laurels estranged sister, as the only person who has the force of personality to deal with police questions and to find out what really happened that night.

This book reveals what it would be like to have an outwardly perfect family held up to a magnifying glass. It was a good read and I would recommend it.

Review: THE VANISHING ACT OF ESME LENNOX by Maggie O'Farrell

In the 1930’s two young girls, Esme Lennox and her sister, start life together in India where their father practices law. Kitty, the older sister, conforms to the norms and etiquette of the day while Esme is more herself – beyond the normal conventions, trying to live her life ahead of the times. Needless to say, this behaviour gets her into trouble.

Fast forward to present day and a young woman called Iris Lockhart, who owns a second hand clothing store in London. Iris receives a mysterious phone call concerning a great-aunt who until that time Iris was unaware existed. Her grandmother, so she thought, was an only child. Iris is told that the great-aunt must find some other accommodation since the institution in which she lives is closing. And about time too – it being an outdated, outmoded psychiatric hospital. Suddenly Iris finds herself coping with an elderly relative who, in turns out, is not so unlike herself in many ways.

The journey with her aunt leads to many discoveries, not the least is which some long buried family secrets.

I definitely recommend this book! The writing is fast-paced, the plot intriguing and the characters are well laid out.

Review: THE WHISKEY REBELS by David Liss

Set during the 1700’s, not long after the signing of United States Constitution, The Whiskey Rebels follows Ethan Saunders and Joan Maycott as they navigate the brutal atmosphere of their struggling new country. Ethan and Joan are treated separately in the book until about the midpoint when their individual causes collide head on.

Joan is a surprisingly strong female character given the situation of women in 18th century North America. She follows a path that takes her from rough western Pennsylvania farmland to the drawing rooms of the upper crust of Philadelphia and New York, looking for a way to deal with unjust taxes levied on poor Americans. Captain Ethan Saunders, (who reminds me of George MacDonald Fraser’s uncouth but lovable character Flashman), meets Joan while investigating the financial dealings of an unscrupulous financier. Both engage in a dangerous game of spying and manipulation, relying on a network of friends and acquaintances to help them towards their respective goals. Both apply the adage of ‘follow the money’ to fulfil their missions.

As a side note, the description of how stocks were first traded, bought and sold is quite enlightening. From all accounts it seems only the location of trading has changed (from taverns to stock exchanges) - certainly not the influence of confidence.

Full of intrigue, suspense and humor, The Whiskey Rebels will not disappoint anyone who loves historical adventures set in the old west.

Review: SKIPPING CHRISTMAS by John Grisham

After stepping into one too many slush puddles, Mr. Krank sits down one evening and figures out that he and his wife spend approximately $6000 every year on Christmas. Consequently Mr. and Mrs. Krank decide to ‘skip Christmas’ one year and spend the money on a cruise instead. The neighbours, who expect everyone on their street to erect giant Frosty the Snowmans on their roofs every year, are aghast when the Kranks forgo this particular holiday ritual. But why bother when they’re not going to be there? The local stationary store owner calls asking for their order of Christmas cards. Another tradition down the drain. Also gone by the wayside is the annual holiday party the Kranks host. A friend of Mrs. Krank, disturbed by this turn of events, suggests they have the party on Christmas Eve instead since they’re only leaving for the cruise on Christmas Day. People who would normally celebrate/and or profit during the season - from their colleagues to friends to the merchants who count on their business, find it difficult to understand how the couple could give up Christmas. This is a novella with a single topic which gets a bit tired after awhile.

Review: THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

A whimsical story, written in the form of letters just after WWII between a writer and members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, unfolds through bits and pieces in the letters, teasing the reader here and there with hints of events to come which will be told in future correspondence.

I find books written in the form of letters or via other epistolary techniques such as diary entries very easy to read but often lacking in substance. This book thankfully avoids this deficiency but suffers from other problems, the most prominent being its similarity to Helene Hanff's 84 Charing Cross Road. In one letter the protaganist is asked to enquire about a particular book at bookshop, and her reply is: "I told Mr. Hastings you would like a good, clean copy (and not a rare edition) of More essays of Elia." Anyone who has read 84 Charing Cross Road (even though it is non-fiction as opposed to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society) may recognize that style of writing. Add to that that Charing Cross also took place during and after WW11, and there are too many similarities for me.

Another problem is the title - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It’s sweet, whimsical, charming - all those things - but difficult to say and even harder to remember.

Despite these reservations, I enjoyed the book. The characters are brought vividly to life and the letters were sometimes quite humorous.