“IN PROSE BOTH LYRICAL AND SPARE, SHE CAPTURES THE BEAUTY OF A FOREIGN LAND, THE COMEDY OF CULTURAL CLASHES, THE MYSTERY OF LOVE LOST AND FOUND ... I WAS ENGAGED FROM START TO FINISH.”

—JOHN GROGAN, AUTHOR OFMARLEY & ME AND THE LONGEST TRIP HOME

Note: I have an advance uncorrected proof, not for sale copy of this book. if you are interested in reading it and writing a review for this blog, please contact me: fatimagals@aol.com and write the title of this book in the subject line. Thanks.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by Mary Ann Shaff

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January 1946: writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.

Review: It had to be the all the hype, or the fact that everyone I met told me to read this book, but this was quite possibly the worse book I have ever read in my life. When you read a book and could care less about the characters, that is a sure sign to abort the mission as soon as possible. There was no hook, the letter format was distracting and confusing and quite frankly there was no real story line. I tried really hard to plow through and care, but didn't. I'm sure that there are readers out there that will disagree, but the reading guide description of this book is far better then the book itself. Sound familiar? Ever see the movie trailer for Where the Wild Things Are? Save yourself the rental fee and read the picture book, it is much more entertaining and would only take 10 minutes out of your life as opposed to the 101 minutes of your life lost that you can never get back watching that train wreck of a movie. Same here, do not waste your time, read the review and move on to something worth reading.

Read this instead of the book: Celebrating literature, love, and the power of the human spirit, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is the story of an English author living in the shadow of World War II—and embarking on a writing project that will dramatically change her life. Unfolding in a series of letters, this enchanting novel introduces readers to the indomitable Juliet Ashton. Through Juliet’s correspondence with her publisher, best friend, and an absorbing cast of characters, readers discover that despite the personal losses she suffered in the Blitz, and author tours sometimes marked by mishaps, nothing can quell her enthusiasm for the written word. One day, she begins a different sort of correspondence, responding to a man who found her name on the flyleaf of a cherished secondhand book. He tells her that his name is Dawsey Adams, a native resident of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands recently liberated from Nazi occupation. Soon Juliet is drawn into Dawsey’s remarkable circle of friends, courageous men and women who formed the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society as a cover to protect them from the Germans. With their appetite for good books, and their determination to honor the island’s haunting recent history, this is a community that opens Juliet’s heart and mind in ways she could never have imagined.

A Boy I Once Knew: What a Teacher Learned from her Student

by Elizabeth Stone

Review:

This is the first book that I have read for pleasure in quite some time. A complete page turner, especially at the beach or in the oasis we call our backyard. There is not a whole lot of depth here, just a feel good story, centering around the lives of a teacher and a student. Story line: Teacher connects with a student who wills her his journals and she writes a book about the whole experience of reading about the boy she once knew, while realizing he was a man she didn't know. Not sad, not exciting, just nice. I guess you could say she made some impression on him if he trusted her after so many years with his private thoughts and secrets. The boy/man had a lot of skeletons in his closet and he exposed them in his journals. She helped to tell his story in a clean, concise way, while revealing her inner most secrets about her journey as a young woman on the verge of becoming an adult. Overall, I think this would have played out better as a movie.

About the author:

Elizabeth Stone, now an English professor at Fordham University, has appeared on CNN's "Connie Chung Tonight" and on radio programs throughout the country, including a WBAI FM program on "Coming Out in the Classroom." She has been invited to do workshops with teachers on student secrets, to speak with members of PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), to visit book groups which have read her book, and to lecture in colleges on "AIDS Diaries." High School students have become acquainted with Elizabeth's work through "Future Teacher of America" clubs and in literature curricula. Her book has been recommended to professionals in education as well as to nurses receiving training in "Death and Dying" courses.

Co-sponsored Events

Turning Tides: A Symposium on Diasporic Literatures
McNally Auditorium, Fordham University at Lincoln Center
November 6, 2010

A creative and scholarly symposium, "Turning Tides" will highlight three different legacies of diaspora in the United States: Haiti, The Philippines and Puerto Rico. Complete details are available online at www.turningtides.squarespace.com.

Presented by Fordham University and co-sponsored by the Academy of American Poets

10 Books to Pick Up in September 2010

Dzanc Books and Guernica are proud to announce the International Literature Award 2011, which will be given to the best poetry, fiction, or nonfiction submission which engages with the world outside North America. The author of the winning entry will receive airfare, accommodations, and tuition to the Disquiet international literary program in Lisbon, Portugal in 2011 and publication of the winning piece in Guernica. Go here to learn more.