Yay!

Have you read the one where a wife bludgeons her husband to death with a leg of lamb and feeds the lamb to the policemen?

Oh nice! I haven't read Villette yet. I'd better go put it on my to-read list. I haven't read Agnes Grey either, so that as well. Thanks!

Yay! Nice. Anne is often seen as more modern than her sisters. You should give Anne's books a go someday. She doesn't disappoint.

Haha! Nice one

Yes, exactly! I agree with you — the film glamourised and cleaned up the story to make it more palatable for wider audiences. The book was an honest insight into the grim reality of the occupation.

I would want to give and receive different opinions and what people thought of certain scenes or quotes, less factual but a bit of Jane Eyre trivia could be fun. Good luck!

Wow, that's so cool that you met Annie Barrows. Yes, I agree with you. Well, it's not a long book, so if you do end up rereading it, I'd be happy to hear your thoughts!

Thank you for this perspective as a person from Guernsey. I understand that Mary Ann Shaffer's interest in Guernsey began, as you said, in an airport bookstore. I also think your point of the scars of the occupation still visible and painful is a very valid one, and I am sorry.

However the book is not only a romance novel — the characters often describe the horrors of the occupation and of course we have Remy, who staggers in emaciated from a long struggle in Ravensbruck. The film fails to include this, and is much more lighthearted than the book, focusing mainly on the romance between Juliet and Dawsey. This was one of the reasons I disliked the film.

The book shows a broken, but healing Guernsey in the aftermath of the war. It also gives glimmers of hope in the future and emphasises how loved ones and chosen family can be the seed of healing.

I'm glad to hear that in Guernsey you have remembrances and celebrate the liberation of the island. I think to properly appreciate the book as more than a happy romance is to face and see the grim reality of it and not adorn it with glitter and ribbons, so to speak.

Again, thank you so much for your reply. It means a lot to me as a student of history; I'm especially passionate about WW2 and the Cold War. My best wishes to you.

Yay! Same!

Oh also I hated how the film left out the Remy storyline completely. It was the most graphic description of the war in this book — Ravensbruck concentration camp.

Same — I would gladly read a series.

Ah yes good old Mr Lamb! Haha, I love both.

Yes, I agree.. a five year occupation — children sent away at eight years of age would have been in their teens when they returned, perhaps to find that their family had perished in the occupation.

I also think about how it goes on about the Germans' point of view — they came treating it like a holiday. Eventually they starved with the rest of the villagers but not quite so badly; I remember the mention of the German soldier who smashed a cat's head against a wall, skinned it and cooked and ate it on the spot.

Also Remy's storyline was really interesting and painful. It had been the first time I heard of Ravensbruck.

Haha, never mind! Writing style is a matter of taste sometimes. Personally I loved the letter narrative style; I thought it added extra authenticity, like I was reading real letters written by real people, delving into their world.

Oh awesome! That's so lovely to hear!

Ahh you need to read the book! Cool that you have the Shakespeare book (I can't recall which), but I read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë because Juliet liked it. I ended up really liking it — it was as good, if not better than her sister Charlotte's Jane Eyre.

Yes! They messed up the characters in the film too – three men condensed into one Eben Ramsey, Juliet being all fluttery, giggly and eager to please unlike in the book where she calls lightheartedness one step away from witless, how the Society wasn't welcoming of Juliet whereas in the book they all got to know Juliet, not just Dawsey, and how Isola flung herself on Juliet and kissed her upon arrival.

However I think Jessica Brown Findlay portrayed Elizabeth really well. But Kit — she's this blond, average, boring but cute six year old without any of book Kit's charisma. And Amelia! What happened?! I also hated how Mark was this nice guy willing to help her instead of that selfish control freak of the book.