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

I have had such a successful reading week and weekend! As you can see below I loved The Book Thief and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society definitely did not disappoint either. Both books are dealing with the second world war but in wonderfully different ways and from very different but equally important view points.
Juliet Aston is the central character, she is an author and it is now 1946 and she is stuck for something to write. She receives a letter from Dawsey Adams of Guernsey who came across an old book of hers and decided to write to her to see if she would be able to aid him in acquiring some new books on Charles Lamb, who he greatly admires. They begin corresponding about their love of books and Juliet comes to learn that Dawsey is a member of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and she, like most people would be, is intrigued. Dawsey explains how it all started with an illegal roast pork dinner and now the society has many members who get together and discuss what they have read. Juliet begins corresponding with other members of the society and friendships are quickly formed. Inevitably she travels to Guernsey to meet her new friends, I don't wish to give to much away as there may be the odd person like me out there who still hasn't got round to reading this.
The book is written solely as a series of letter between all of the characters but they form the story beautifully; I read this book in just over a day as I could not put it down. The story really is about friendship and the lengths and sacrifices we are willing to make for those that we care about. I loved the characters in the book and felt like they were old friends by the end of it. I would highly recommend this book and I know that it will always be on my book shelf to be enjoyed again in the future.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Wow! I cannot believe that it took me so long to finally get round to reading this book, it is one of the best that I have ever read and certainly the best book that I have ever read about the Holocaust. The book is set in 1939, Liesel's parents have been sent away to a concentration camp and she goes to live with her new foster family, the Hubermanns. Liesel is a thief, she steals books; the power of words and their consequences are central to Zusak's tale. The narrator of the book is Death and he holds nothing back. Death is there to show humanity in all it's glory, there are tales of courage and good but the tales of sheer evil and shame are given just as much space.
I am not going to write a long review of this book as I really don't feel that I can do it justice. There are just so many elements to this book; Zusak manages to show the awfully oppressive conditions that people lived in but the message that shines through is one of hope. People had to believe in themselves to survive and more importantly they had to believe in others. There were a few times when I had to put this book down as it literally made me cry; I really do feel like it is one of those books that everyone should read. Markus Zusak has taken probably the most tragic event in history and managed to write a book that is both beautiful and brutal.

Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt

This is the first book that I have read by Victoria Holt, that is the pseudonym for Eleanor Alice Burford who has written many books in different styles and under different names.
Mistress of Mellyn is very much a romantic suspense novel. The reader follows Martha Leigh as she takes up the position of governess at Mount Mellyn House in Cornwall. The house itself is central to the story; it is a spooky, cliff-top mansion hiding many secrets within it's walls. Connan TreMellyn is the master of the house who has recently lost his wife and so he has employed Martha Leigh to take charge of his young daughter, Alvean. Martha feels the presence of the previous mistress of Mount Mellyn immediately and sets out to uncover some of the secrets surrounding her untimely death.
This book has many aspects which are similar to some of the classics. Connan TreMellyn has many similarities to Mr Rochester of Jane Eyre and there are comparisons with Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca with the mysterious death of the first wife and the mysterious house on the Cornish coast. Some of these similarities annoyed me slightly but I still enjoyed it and I have to say that I really had not predicted the twist at the end.
I am just about to start The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It is my intention to catch up with some of the books that I missed from last year. Next on the list is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Mr S is reading this at the moment so I am going to borrow it when he has finished. It is the fastest that I have ever witnessed him read a book so it must be good!