Guernsey: A tax haven that's home to a delightful cast of characters

When listening to the audiobook of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (which I highly recommend), I often thought, "This would make a fantastic costume drama for the BBC, possibly with Maggie Smith and Judi Dench playing two of the busybudy but entirely well-meaning islanders."

And it would.  In fact, I would be surprised if no one has bought the movie rights to this book and if Judi Dench isn't on the list of people shortlisted to play Esola.

This book is such a treat.  And when I say "treat," I mean the very sweet, hurts your teeth kind.  It reminded me a bit of Anne of Green Gables because everyone in it is just so well-meaning and kind and wonderful except for some people who really are just too bumbling and ridiculous to be taken very seriously.

Is it a character flaw to like a book a lot on every level but not love it because you think it is TOO PERFECT?  Probably.  But that's the way I am!  I can't help it.  I admit there were times when this woman Elizabeth was being described as saving yet another person from death or despair or loneliness, and I just rolled my eyes because seriously, this Elizabeth woman seemed too good to be true.

Who is Elizabeth, you ask?  Well, let me tell you.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is set just after the end of WWII.  Juliet is an author looking for a new book idea after the wild success of her wartime stories centered on the fictional Izzie Bickerstaff.  One day, she receives a letter from Adam Dawsey, a farmer on Guernsey who asks her to help him find books by Charles Lamb so that he can discuss them at a future meeting of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  Juliet agrees and soon becomes pen pals with all the members of the society.  Every one of them tells her a story about its founder, Elizabeth McKenna, who had a lovely smile and was kind to everyone and resourceful at all hours of the day.  Juliet can't wait to meet this wonderful woman, but Elizabeth was taken prisoner during the war and hasn't returned.  Juliet decides to visit Guernsey to meet her friends and get more material for her book, and the people she meets and stories she hears make her so happy that she will never look back on her old life.

OK, so really, this was a really cute book to read.  The audiobook version was wonderful.  There were different people playing the parts of all the characters (which is much easier to follow when every letter is dated chronologically and introduced clearly with "From X to Y").  And every character had such a distinct voice and personality.  Really, it was these fun and lovely characters that made this book such a success, I think.  They're so alive and bright and wonderful it's hard not to fall in love with them!

But that's what's so weird about this book, too.  Guernsey had just gotten out from under years of Nazi occupation, with people starving and isolated from the rest of the world on this tiny, tiny island that was very vulnerable on all sides.  And yet, they all seemed so happy!

That's not strictly fair - throughout the book, you hear much more about the hardships the islanders faced, but they all seem to have gotten over them pretty quickly, at least enough to continue bustling about the island making cottages ready for guests and sharing wonderful stories about Saint Elizabeth McKenna.  Perhaps the "stiff upper lips" and "Keep calm and carry on" mentality really struck home over in Guernsey.

Elizabeth McKenna, whom we get to know gradually over the course of many letters and reminiscences, is the thing that made this book fall just a tiny bit flat for me.  I really, really liked it, don't get me wrong.  It was frothy and fun and just so great to listen to on miserable commutes in cold rain for days on end.  But Elizabeth... I mean, no one ever said anything bad about her.  Not even bad - no one ever said anything about her that wasn't absolutely amazing.  She was a hero in every single scene, always knowing just what to say or do to infinitely improve a situation.  It would have been easier to believe if she had a jealous streak or was clumsy or sometimes made a snarky comment.  But NEVER.

So fine, I admit it - I really liked this book but found it just a little too Pleasantville for my tastes.  If only there had been a flaw in someone's character (really, not even just Elizabeth's - anyone's), I think it would have been even more enjoyable.  But hey, sometimes bubble gum and cotton candy are just what you want :-)