The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

So, yes I actually am reading a book which I'm calling Guernsey just because it has such a long title.  So, the book takes place on the island called Guernsey located in the English Channel and also sort of takes place in London.  The island was one of the few parts of England that the Germans occupied during WWII.  The book is written in letters which is great because then you get to see the story from many different perspectives.  One of the letters particularly interested me.

This letter was sent between one of the residents of Guernsey (Isola) and Juliet (the main character, an author who lives in London).  Isloa is sort of nosy but not in a bad way.  She likes to get to know people and really seems sweet. Here is a quote from the letter she sent Juliet. "I see it that you cared to know about us, so I guess you would like us to know about you--only you just didn't happen to think of it first." I think that it is an interesting idea to assume people want to be asked questions. I know I, at least, liked to be asked questions about myself.  I think that it was very nice of Isola to ask about Juliet about herself, and I know Juliet appreciated it.

She then proceeds to ask Juliet many questions about a picture she saw of her: "Do you live by the water?" "Do you have a serious suitor?" "Is your flat cozy or grand? Be fulsome, as I want to be able to picture it in my mind." Isola says these questions are, "highly personal." Even though they are highly personal, I think they show that Isola is really interested in being friends with Juliet.

Besides telling the story of Guernsey and of Juliet, this book also talks about a good community (like The Human Comedy).  Isola is part of this community and this letter is an insight into the person who she is, caring and interested in others' lives (in a good way).

The Tree After

This is what our house looks like now.

Sawdust is EVERYWHERE!!!!

Tree stumps anyone? No, seriously, help yourself. :)

So ends the tree saga. Two days of chaos.

The Destruction of the Tree

They had to support the trunk so that it didn't fall. This eventually failed.

Porch clear!

A view from the second floor window.

 

My favorite part, the wood chipper!!!!!!!!!

These are just a few pictures of the dismantling of the tree.

The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street

Are we going to read anything about a community coming together?? This is a little depressing. I think that the story Monsters (as I'll call it for short) could have a different ending. I think that the message would be even more powerful if at the end we find out that all the power failures aren't caused by aliens but by something else, such as a meteor shower hitting many sources of electricity and wireless connections like a satellite or a power plant. 

What is with the two headed new residents? They make the story have a less powerful message for me. The message could be more powerful if the community turned on itself in response to a natural force in space instead of being manipulated against each other by some other intelligent creature.  Without the aliens I think that the story would be more realistic and therefore more powerful and relevant to me. As many of you know I'm not a fan of fantasy (with a few exceptions). Incorporating fantasy into the story Monsters makes it less powerful.

Let's shift gears. What could have prevented this Maple Street community from turning on itself so far that it is destroyed? Two possibilities came to mind for me. The first came from page 89. If Don hadn't brought out the shotgun and Charlie hadn't shot and killed Pete Van Horn then there is the possibility that Pete had some information that would have calmed everyone down. Maybe he had found out that it was aliens. What would that news have started? Would the people of Maple Street have calmed down?

There is one more thing that I think could have saved Maple Street. If there had been three or four more Steves. Then there would have been more than one person who would have wanted to stop the destruction of the community. There would have been more pressure to put the shotgun down, not to kill Pete Van Horn, not to be so quick to blame your neighbors. This would have been a major factor in stopping the destruction of Maple Street.

One more question. What if not everyone had been killed in the mob??? Would the story Monsters still have the same message? 

Last Night... A TREE FELL ON MY HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!

So as I'm falling back asleep after an episode of an upset stomach I hear a crash! The hollow tree in my neighbor's yard has fallen on our house. Scary? Cool? Well this is what is looks like.

Hollow!

Our car wasn't touched!!!!

Just a little hard to get in and out.

My one regret is that I an not feeling strong enough to climb on the fallen tree. (I don't think I'm supposed to do that anyways.) The Care of Trees people haven't come yet, but when they do I will update pictures of what they are doing. One way to explain this is that some alien came and knocked it down to make me angry at my neighbor. Better luck next time aliens! :)