The Democracy of Reading

There couldn’t have been a better book to begin my 50 at 50 Project, where I read fifty books recommended to me by fifty different people, than The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. My goals for the 50 at 50 Project are to read books that I wouldn’t have otherwise, and to engage people in a conversation about books that they enjoy, and both of these goals are major themes in TGLAPPPS.

My wife and I met at a book group, which started as a group of people talking almost exclusively about books, and grew to incorporate more social elements, including food and friendship. Reading and talking about challenging books was a great way to get past the small talk and really know how and what people thought. In fact, we got to know each other very deeply, but skipped right past some of the biographical details that often seem essential. One person had been attending the group for over a year before we ever learned that she had a daughter. I remember telling people, after I’d been a part of the group for a couple of years, “I don’t even know for sure how many children John has, but I know what he would say in response to this passage from Nietzsche.”

TGLAPPPS is the story of a unique, accidental book group which grows to become a diverse group of people who care deeply for each other. It’s hard to avoid the word “charming” when describing the book. I found it a compete joy to read. It is one of a very few books that actually made me laugh out loud.

One of the themes that spoke to me was what I will call The Democracy of Reading. People unused to reading, or with minimal education, can still encounter an author and find themselves changed. This resonates with my own experience of reading passionately, almost compulsively, for several years between high school and college.

Two characters in particular nicely depict this Democracy of Reading. One character, Clovis, develops an interest in poetry for the first time in his life. Clovis is a farmer and World War I veteran who comes across the poetry of Wilfred Owen. (If you don’t know Owen, you must read Dulce et Decorum Est, which angers me every time I read it. I think any politician who sends soldiers to war, or who blithely seeks popularity by posturing as a War Hawk, should be required to memorize this poem.) Clovis appreciates Owen in a way that those of us who have never seen the horror of war cannot. He also grows from his encounter with Owen, and finds other poetry that speaks to him in different ways. His encounter with literature isn’t confined to a classroom, but hits him where he lives.

Another favorite character of mine is Booker, who is so struck by The Letters of Seneca that he credits them with saving him from the “direful life of a drunk.” Seneca’s letters turn Booker into a bit of a philosopher himself, who is able to see how the Roman philosopher’s writings apply to people at all times and in all places. He’s so struck by Seneca that he doesn’t read anything else, but continually rereads The Letters over and over again to his great joy and edification, and to the fatigue of the rest of the members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Booker is a man without formal education, who finds his salvation in a book. I love it.

Thanks to Becky G. for recommending this book, which perfectly, charmingly, models what I’m hoping to do with this 50 at 50 Project.