A story in letters

....the written kind.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
- Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

I had almost forgotten what it was to read a book like there was no tomorrow. The kind that makes you set all your chores aside and just lounge in a comfy couch, book in hand. To go along with the book I was hooked to, I made samosas and dipped them in tangy Maggie's tomato-pudina sauce- again some thing I haven't done in a very long time. It has been a while since a book has kept me in one place, aching for more. I have been on a reading hiatus for some months now and the bestseller lists from NY Times or the Washington Post weren't cutting it for me. But I had pre-ordered the latest book in the Mma Ramotswe series which arrived last week(Tea time for the traditionally built). I want to believe that jump started my reading habit. Once that was out of the way in a short span of two work days, I decided I'd check out Guardian.UK for the bestseller list across the pond. And I am so glad I made that leap. For this was what I picked at the library.
Aside, what are your usual sources for good reading material?

The whole book is in the form of letters back and forth between various characters. The story is set in post-WW2 Britain, ravaged by long years of war. Its about a writer who is on a book tour of her latest release- a humorous take on the effects of war. A farmer in Guernsey writes to her asking for some help finding more works of Charles Lamb. He also mentions in the passing about this literature club that they have- the Guernsey literary and potato peel pie society. And thus she gets introduced to this Channel island of Guernsey. Aside, this was the first time I was hearing about Guernsey and the way the characters in this quaint little islet come alive is so endearing, I would book myself on the next flight out there in a heartbeat! She starts interacting with other people from this island, hearing about their experiences with the German occupation and the rationing and curfews that had been imposed on their lives, cramping their style and coercing them to start the Guernsey literary and potato peel pie society. How this title came about, who were its members, what did they do for a living...all make up for some wonderful reading and even more beautiful letters- the ones that make one store them in shoe boxes to be read and re-read for generations to come.

The writer eventually decides to go visit Guernsey and see for herself all these friends that she has made through letters, who have gone through trying war times and have still emerged as survivors in their own right. There are many small incidents in the course of the letters and the book that are utterly cute. There is one character in the island and in the club- Isola. She is by far my favorite. She finds some letters written to her Granny Phin(short of Josephine) that are traced back to Oscar Wilde. Yes, Oscar Wilde himself wrote 8 letters to her grandmother.

What happens next? Does the writer find fodder for her next novel out here? Who are the other members? What do they do? Find out for yourself and get carried away to this charming and precious little island- a journey in words, a time capsule ride into the past, a vacation well spent.