Watch First Tuesday Book Club
Watch Writers/Reviews and Surprises
ABC TV First Tuesday of every month, 10pm
Encore screening the following Sunday at 4.30pm
NEXT BOOKS 06/12/2008
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer
London in 1946, journalist Juliet Ashton is searching for her next subject when she receives a letter from a man she has never met. By chance, Dawsey Adams has come into possession of a book Juliet once owned. Based on their mutual love of literature, Dawsey writes to tell her about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. This society was formed alongside the Nazi occupation of the island of Guernsey. Its members are a varied and eccentric bunch.
Juliet begins a correspondence with Dawsey, then eventually, all members of the society. Through these letters she learns about their island, their war-time experiences and the books they love. Entranced by their stories, Juliet decides to make the journey to Guernsey and meet them all in person, not realising that this decision will change her life forever.
Books featured in this program are available from ABC Shops
News and Events
Indian-born Australian citizen and debut novelist Aravind Adiga has won the prestigious Booker Prize for Fiction, with his novel The White Tiger. Adiga was born in Madras (now Chennai) and now lives in Mumbai. He spent some years growing up in Australia before studying at Columbia and Oxford Universities and is a former correspondent for Time magazine in India. Michael Portillo, Chair of the Booker judges commented that “The White Tiger prevailed because the judges felt that it shocked and entertained in equal measure… The book gains from dealing with pressing social issues and significant global developments with astonishing humour.” Now in its 40th year, The Booker prize aims to reward the best novel of the year written by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland. This year’s short listed author's included Sebastian Barry, Amitav Ghosh, Linda Grant, Philip Hensher, and fellow Australian Steve Toltz for his novel A Fraction of the Whole.Adiga has said that "The tone of [the novel] was meant to be provocative and even a bit nasty at times. It's meant to get people thinking."