Take 38: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Tuesday: My "take" on a film.

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)

I read the book by the same title several years ago and had difficulty getting into the story due to its format -- a series of letters from multiple correspondents. I'm glad I persevered in reading it since it turned out to be a beautiful story. 

When Goodreads recently sent an email announcing the movie is available on Netflix, I was thrilled.

Set shortly after World War II, Elizabeth McKenna (Jessica Brown Findlay) is a published author living in London. She receives an unexpected letter from a stranger living on Guernsey Island, Dawsey Adams (Michiel Huisman). He belongs, he tells her, to The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society--a book club. 

Intrigued by the name of the group, Elizabeth corresponds with Dawsey and learns how the club was formed and named under a peculiar circumstance during the German occupation. Sensing a story, Elizabeth packs a bag and her typewriter and heads to Guernsey Island where she grows fond of the land and people.

The movie is much easier to follow than the book and still contains the delightful story.

Trailer: The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society

Notes on content:

• No nudity or sex.
• No profanity.
• Small amount of violence shown, and some violence not shown but understood in narrations of the war.