Autumn in August joins The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

For our final matinee in this year’s Autumn in August film festival, I don’t think that we could’ve done any better than the Netflix adaptation of The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society.

Granted, I am far from an impartial viewer as I fondly recall reading an advance copy of the 2008 novel written by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows(aunt and niece respectively ; the latter completing the book after the former sadly passed away).

It was a novel told in letters so seeing it acted out with some of that original correspondence woven in was lovely indeed. Set in 1946, reporter and published author Juliet Ashton(Lily James) is seeking a new challenge when one unexpectedly turns up in the mail.

A letter from Dawsey Adams(Michael Huisman), a resident of Guernsey island that asks for her help in finding a copy of Charles Lamb’s work also offers some interesting info about the unusually titled book club that he’s in.

Becoming intrigued by such a group of bookish friends formed during the occupation of the island during WWII, Juliet decides to see the place and meet the society members for herself:

When she arrives, Juliet does get to attend a book club meeting and share a lively discussion with everyone over Anne Bronte(they’re reading a biography of the youngest Brontë sister that Juliet wrote!).

However, when the subject of Juliet writing about the group comes up, strong objections are as most of them don’t want certain secrets shared in public, particularly in regards to Elizabeth (Jessica Brown Findlay), the founding member of the Society. She’s been missing for a good while now and her young daughter Kit is being raised by Dawsey, with the hope that Elizabeth will be back to claim her soon.

Wanting to help, Juliet stays on to look into Elizabeth’s disappearance using her reporting skills plus as assist from her new fiancé Mark(Glen Powell), an American diplomat who seems to be getting impatient with her time away from England.

No doubt he suspects that more than this mystery search is keeping Juliet on Guernsey as she and Dawsey are becoming perhaps more than friends:

I don’t want to say anything more than that because I really hope that more people see this movie.

The performances are lovely with such a nice blend of old school British actors such as Penelope Wilton and Tom Courtenay and newer folk like Lily James, who truly shines here. I know that Glen Powell is a big deal these days but to paraphrase Shania Twain, he didn’t impress me much.

It’s been awhile since I read the book yet the script felt like a well thought out version of the original story with the right mix of drama, romance and good natured humor when needed. Developing the relationships between the main character and various others can be tricky to do on film unlike a book; however this was a nicely stuck balance for all concerned:

So this concludes our Autumn in August viewing party and my thanks to everyone who attended. In case it wasn’t clear, I will be rereading The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society this fall(even picked up a new edition for the occasion) and heartily recommend either seeing the movie or reading this delightful book.

 You can do both if you wish (and it’s fine in whatever order you choose to engage with this lovingly crafted tale of dealing with life during the tough times while still embracing the joys of this world) and hopefully by this time next year, we all will be feeling much better about the state of things and celebrating that hard earned bliss together: