For starters, I definitely enjoyed the second part much more than the first after the plot started thickening and I couldn't wait to read what would happen next. You know how sometimes you get so into a story, you start skimming and skipping ahead, scanning the page for what's in store for the characters only to then force yourself back to the beginning of the page? I had the bad habit of doing that here - especially if there were any font changes on the page.
Which leads me to ask: how do you suppose they italicized by hand??
- How sad and courageous was Elizabeth's story? I said I wanted to "meet" her and in a way we did in the same way Juliet did - through the stories of the people she touched. She stood up for what she believed was right through to the end and even though she paid dearly for it, her acts continued to ripple on long after she was gone.
"Remy watched the sea breathe in and out. Then she said, 'It would have been better for her not to have such a heart.'
Yes, but worse for the rest of us."
- Oh, the whole episode with Isola, the Oscar Wilde letters and Billee Bee was great! Isola and her crazy antics definitely kept me entertained. If Sidney weren't "a homosexual," I would've wanted those two to hook up. Actually, I think I still do.
- My favorite moment in the whole book made my eyes tear up. It was when Kit woke Juliet up to finally show her the treasures she carried in her little box. How Juliet carefully took out the contents underneath the tissue paper - a baby pillow, a picture of her mother Elizabeth, a handkerchief, the poetry book her father gave her mom, her grandfather's "magical" WWI medal and a sweet note left behind by a loving mother.
"She was showing me her treasures, Sophie - her eyes did not leave my face once. We were both so solemn, and I, for once, didn't start crying; I just held out my arms. She climbed right into them, and under the covers with me - and went sound asleep. Not me! I couldn't. I was too happy planning the rest of our lives."
And how happy I was when she was able to adopt this little girl - and then marry Dawsey, the stranger who had serendipitously found her book and led her to where she was meant to be.
I thought The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was such a sweet and touching story. I only hope you felt the same - but if you didn't that's ok, too!
Image: blueislands.com