The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Yet another contemporary read that many of my friends recommended was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer. This too was remarkable. I was a little wary when I opened the front page to find the entire text was written in the form of letters, but my wariness soon wore off as I began to be entranced in the lives of the characters who were writing the letters. I had no idea what to expect from this book. The last time my friends recommended a book that I had no idea what it was about I ended up reading Twilight. Not wanting to make that mistake again, but still believing that there might be something worthy in the book, I took my chances. Who would've thought that it would actually be a book not about literary societies, not about cooking, and not about romance, but a book about war and love. Notice that I do not consider love and romance to be the same thing. Well, I love reading about war and I tolerate a good love story, especially one filled with realistic characters and this book was just that.

All Quiet on the Western Front

To anyone who reads my blog, it is not news that I do enjoy a good war story. It's not that I enjoy suffering, but more that I want to learn about the causes of such suffering so as to be able to do my best to ensure that such pain and sorrow are not repeated. I know I am not influencial by the world's standards, but I also believe strongly that I am raising at least part of the rising generation that will be our future. I also believe that they should be taught the ugly part of our history so that they will not forget what it would be like to live in the filthy trenches of World War I or to be a slave in a Nazi concentration camp and have all dignity stripped from a person with their clothing. I do not like most video games or computer games that glorify war and make it seem appealing to the younger generation. My recommendation to any youth who enjoys fighting would be to read a book like All Quiet on the Western Front. It is a fictional story, but many WWI veterans have attested to it's accuracy in it's portrayal of trench warfare. It also goes further into the minds of the boys who were thrown into this war than you would expect and in doing so provides a clear picture of the tragedy that befell them. Although this book is generally considered a children's or young adult novel, I would not recommend it for most children until they are around 16 years old, or at least mature enough to handle the graphic details that are included. I would recommend it to all adults and say it is as good to read this book as it is to read Elie Wiesel's book entitled Night.