I heard about this book long before I decided to look into myself. The title is not one easily ignored; and the recommendations from others quickly draw a person into its pages. The cover is opened, and the first letter is being read before you are even aware. Yes, this is a novel comprised entirely of letters between Juliet, the residents of Guernsey, and the people whom Juliet knows as friends; which could be a bit of a distraction to some, if not for the wonderful characters these letters reveal. They speak with their own voice, conveying a true first-person narrative, offering a more complete telling of the story of the island, and how the perils of war affect a people, than only a solitary individual might relay.
The story comprises all the elements of the human condition: there is humor; there are elements of romance; there is the tragedy of war; there is a bit of everything for anyone who enjoys a good story - and if one entertains the audiobook version, several actors are employed to tell the story, including a lady who reads the letters of Juliet, who tells her version of the tale with whimsical humor and aplomb: a true delight to spend the time.
I will add one other mention here: constructing the entire book in the form of letters is a double-edged sword. On one side, it offers a more complete and full version of the events on Guernsey Island than could ever be told from a mere one soul. On the opposite side, there were various holes that seem to develop cracks between each character's letters. They are, after all, addressing one another. They do not address the reader, which is a minor, but present, distraction - but only minor, minor, minor.
The story comprises all the elements of the human condition: there is humor; there are elements of romance; there is the tragedy of war; there is a bit of everything for anyone who enjoys a good story - and if one entertains the audiobook version, several actors are employed to tell the story, including a lady who reads the letters of Juliet, who tells her version of the tale with whimsical humor and aplomb: a true delight to spend the time.
I will add one other mention here: constructing the entire book in the form of letters is a double-edged sword. On one side, it offers a more complete and full version of the events on Guernsey Island than could ever be told from a mere one soul. On the opposite side, there were various holes that seem to develop cracks between each character's letters. They are, after all, addressing one another. They do not address the reader, which is a minor, but present, distraction - but only minor, minor, minor.
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