Carlo Goldoni wrote: “A man with a good book in his hands can never be alone.” A person with a good book in his hands can survive the worst: famine, war, loss of loved ones. A person with a book can find on its pages (and not only) new friends, and with them – and the meaning of living on. This is an adaptation of the novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
1941, the island of Guernsey occupied by German troops *. Longing for hearty food (and even more – for human warmth), the neighbors, the inhabitants of the island, who are familiar with each other, but not too close to each other, decide to have a joint dinner. At the end of the evening, they are stopped by a patrol for violating curfew. To avoid punishment, the islanders improvise: they tell the Germans that they are returning from a meeting of a book club (such meetings are allowed in Guernsey), to which they immediately, on the go, compose an awkward name – “The Club of Lovers of Books and Potato Peel Pies”.
The idea suddenly turns out to be not so bad and quickly develops into weekly meetings on Fridays. From now on, a small group of people imprisoned on a prison island need only a candle to see new worlds. Books help them forget about the occupation, war, enemies, everything that and whom they have lost, and remember that they are people.
This is a story about blinders of prejudice that prevent us from seeing who is next to us.
The war ends, life in Guernsey returns as normal as possible, but the impromptu club continues to exist, and one day a young writer from London finds out about it. She goes to the island for a plot for an article, but finds something more.
Of course, the Michael Newell-directed film (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco, Mona Lisa Smile) and the best-selling book that underpins it are not only and not so much about reading.
This is a story about the blinders of prejudice that prevent us from seeing who is nearby, especially if this someone by all indications falls into the category of “alien”. About why the stories of seemingly completely unfamiliar people respond to us with such pain. About the true relationship of souls, which, as a rule, has nothing to do with blood relationship. About the nature of writing, about true love and the power of books. Great unifying force.
Other Movies About Reading and Books to Watch
Dead Poets Society (Dead Poets Society, 1989, dir. Peter Weir) – a tape about how books help us find ourselves and our place in life, and about how one caring person with a stack of paper sheets in cover can influence the fate of others. The film won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
“Ninth Gate” (The Ninth Gate, 1999, dir. Roman Polanski) – a mystical thriller based on the novel by Arturo Perez-Reverte “The Dumas Club, or the Shadow of Richelieu”, from the original plot of which, by the way, there is not much left in the tape. In Polanski’s painting, the craving for mysticism is much greater than the love of reading, but the world of booksellers and collectors is shown quite amusingly.
“Reader” (The Reader, 2008, dir. Stephen Daldry) – adaptation of the bestseller of the same name by Bernhard Schlink with Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes. A sensual and poignant story about the relationship between an illiterate German woman convicted of heinous crimes and a teenager in love with her who reads great books aloud to her. The role of Hannah was originally intended for Nicole Kidman, but Kate Winslet, who was chosen to replace her, received an Oscar for her.
“Book Thief” (The Book Thief, 2013, dir. Brian Percival) is an emasculated and, perhaps, too “Hollywood” variation on the theme of Mark Zuzak’s novel “The Book Thief” with Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson. At the heart of the story is how books help a little girl to briefly escape from the horrors of Nazi Germany.
* Guernsey is an island in the English Channel, a crown dependency of the British crown, but not part of the UK.