I was surprised when I found that I was reading a comfort book. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows is just like sitting down in hot bath after a hard day. It’s been such a long time since I’ve read a book like this that I forgot that they existed. Yes, relaxing is the word describing this book.

Schaffer’s and Barrow’s use of letters to communicate the entire novel works very well. Each letter brings a major character more into focus in a slow and engaging manner. The major characters are pleasant people, the kind that you are happy to meet unexpectedly in the grocery store or in the park. Letters from minor characters reveal personality more quickly, doing what the marshmallows do for Marshmallow Mateys.

The book is a nice period piece focusing in, not on World War II itself, but the aftermath in London and on Guernsey. Schaffer and Barrows dish out details about the German occupation of Guernsey slowly through many letters to Juliet. You won’t put this book down being an expert on this occupation, but, if you are like me, you will know much more than you did before you picked it up.

Being a comfort book the authors are very careful to balance out the humanity, and inhumanity, of both the occupiers and the islanders. Unless you are like one of the three undesirable characters in this book, you won’t be able to hate anyone.

Throughout most of the book I was enamored with Juliet and each new warm, quirky character I met. These are the warm, colorful, kind, and intelligent people I dream of meeting. Eventually I realized I was reading a fantasy—not the wizards and dragons kind, but the kind that good dreams are made of. You wake up and know that you will never have a circle of friends this perfect in this world of disappointment. Not fitting into the traditional fantasy genre I term it a comfort book.

Yes, reading Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is like slipping into a hot bath. It’s comfortable, warm, and relaxing. It holds no more surprises than when the bar of soap accidently slips into the water. If this sounds like the thing you need right now. Get a copy and enjoy.

As a side note, I listened to this book on Audible. The letters from different characters were read by different voice actors, all of them distinct, colorful, and professional. The readers added a layer of enjoyment to the literary experience.

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These books by Tory Anderson are now available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback format: