It's hard to do your own writing when you sit around all day reading everyone else's.
Today I read and finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society. It was written by an 80-something year old woman, and after she got the book deal the editor wanted substantial revisions which she wasn't healthy enough to do. So her niece (the coauthor) did those. I don't know what the revisions were, but it might account for the uneven tone of the book.
- For those who didn't like the book, they complain about it being too light. That wasn't at all a problem for me, I love light. Adore light. I'm pretty light myself.
- There was some Serious Wit in the first half. Unfortunately once the heroine goes to Guernsey most of this peters out.
- Some have criticized the lack of research, and some reviews by Guernsey people say it really shows. I agree with one amazon dude who said the letters (the book is all letters) sounded American. There were a couple letters written by Guernsey working class or farmer types, and when I read them I caught myself having a southern American accent in my head. It was really hard to switch. I eventually managed to squeeze in some sort of pseudo-Scottish accent. But Guernsians have/had their own patois, and it's not reflected in the book at all--not even the occasional tossed in word.
- So don't read it as a history book. For that, you're better off with a Connie Willis, who researches like a mad woman, and spends years crafting her books. She's also really good at tackling serious topics without (a) veering off into a really dense, literary style like Toni Morrisson or Nadine Gordimer who are hard to read; and (b) without veering off in the other direction, to the sentimental. She knows how to create a sense of profound sadness.
- I think the author sometimes tackled topics that are waaaaay to huge to attempt within the confines of a little book. A couple of her characters end up in concentration camps, and I just don't think you can do those experiences justice in a couple letters. It wasn't unrealistic to send a couple characters there, but I would just leave it at that--knowing where they went would have been more horrifying than trying to describe it in a few pages. We all know. One Guernsey amazon-reviewer felt she didn't do justice to the hardships people faced in Guernsey, and for that I would again recommend Connie Willis. That's her specialty!
- And a final negative note, there's one character whom all the other characters talk about, but who's absent, and she is a Class A "Mary Sue" -- that is, someone too good to be true. Holy crap, this woman should have been beatified. I find characters more heroic when they still come with their annoyances and flaws. I found this with The Book of Negroes too, which was also immensely popular, and also recommended by Heather Reisman (CEO of Indigo Books -- she's a huuuge reader.) So there are a lot of bigger-than-life hero lovers around... they just don't seem to populate the science fiction fantasy web boards where being called a Mary-Jane is like the kiss of death.
- But I enjoyed the book to the end anyway because it was just like a 1940s movie, or a Jeanette McDonald, Nelson Eddy musical. I pictured Irene Dunne and Gary Cooper. It's a book for people who like romantic comedies, really.
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