Note to self: Look up Charles Lamb

I just finished reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society and it was fantastic. Really, a wonderful, wonderful book. It's about an author in postwar London who starts corresponding with people on Guernsey, which had been occupied by Nazis during the war. It does a fantastic job of balancing humor and the dark topics that inevitably come up when Nazis are involved in a story. The voice of the main character reminded me quite a bit of Diana Athill, an editor in postwar London whose book Stet is also definitely worth a read. So obviously a good job with authenticity.

The book was written mostly by one woman--her life's work, essentially. She became quite ill, and it was finished by her niece. And you can't tell at all that there may have been two people working on this book; it flows very well. Of course, it also helps that it's an epistolary novel, so multiple voices are heard by virtue of the format.

It's also gotten me intrigued by Guernsey. I really know nothing about the Channel Islands, much less that they had been occupied. It makes sense; I just never thought about it.

Anyway, great characters, great storytelling, a fast read. Highly recommended.