Love Stories and English Letters

I just finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Shaffer and Barrows. I have had it recommended to me several times over the last year or so and finally gave it a chance--it was DELIGHTFUL!

The novel is composed entirely of written correspondence between the characters, which I thought might limit the depth of the story. However, it actually lends a richness to every aspect of good fiction: the characters describe stories and people through their own unique paradigms and lend the reader a sense of discovering real relationships by snooping through old mail. The protagonist is smart, bold and unorthodox. The supporting cast is endearing. Their stories made me laugh and sigh with sadness, and I read it all too quickly once I hit the real love story at the end, racing to find out if they meet happiness or disappointment. 

Read it! It's going on The List*

*You know, when people find out you like to read and they ask you what they should read and you feel suddenly overwhelmed by the responsibility to direct someone to something they would like, something that will turn them to reading, and something that will reflect favorably upon yourself. For times like these, I pull out a mental list of books I can rely upon to either satisfy the person's honest query or alert me to their poor taste and views.