Subsequently the very married Mr. Archer went out on the town with a very close friend, and was observed by a newspaperman in the company of a “Lady of the Night”. The scandal hit the headlines and Archer sued for defamation. His buddy swore he had been with Archer every minute of the evening and that he was never near a hooker. The Judge accepted the author’s denial and the friend’s evidence and awarded Archer 1 million pounds in damages.

About ten years passed and the close friend who accompanied Archer on the night in question could no longer live with the guilt, went to police, confessed and Archer was charged with perjury, sent to jail and made to repay the monies awarded him. While in jail he wrote a couple of stinkers but I have to say that his latest is a dandy.

I am not a fiction lover but this book is based on a true story. Archer’s “Paths of Glory” is his version of the 1922 and 1924 attempts by George Mallory to climb Mt. Everest.
It was really a great read. In those days the climbing equipment was vastly different than it is today. Oxygen was frowned on by most, climbers clothes’ were heavy, goggles and boots were problems and inadequate. Climbers went through hell.

No-one knew or even to-day knows, whether Mallory and his climbing partner made it to the top, as so many, including Mallory, were killed.

Mallory’s frozen body was found in 1999 and evidence of his reaching the top is hazy & equivocal. Mallory left a wife and 3 children, whose children and grandchildren are now back climbing Everest.

The book retains the interest of the reader from the 1st page to the last. Characters in the book are brilliantly described. Each climber had his own idiosyncrasies and his own beliefs of how best to reach the top and which route would be the safest and easiest. Many have died since Mallory’s attempt and even more since Sir Edmund Hillary achieved the summit in 1954.
The other book we read was “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society”.

It is the story of everyday life in Guernsey during the German take over from 1940 to 1945. There were many enjoyable times and a great number of humorous (some sad) episodes and experiences.

All the old Guernsey residents meet secretly to discuss their captors and to take their minds off their desperation during the 3 to 5 years. The strange name of the organization was arrived at in order that the Germans might think it to be an innocent cooking and reading group.

It is a fun book really, in that the whole story is a series of personal letters written by several folks to each other.The author Mary Ann Staffer died before the book was finished and her niece wrote the final portion. I couldn’t help wondering if the ending would have been different if the original author had completed the book.

Several subplots, all easy to follow are involved. There is an on again – off again love story, a little collaborating with the enemy, a longed for adoption, and sappy bunch of old time but dear locals. All of them are so well depicted that one can easily picture their physical appearance.

I had never really thought of the Guernsey area but the German army very early on during the war “conquered” the little area and the residents did without provisions and shipments of every kind from Britain and elsewhere. They were actually out of food for years. Hardships were everywhere but they did have a bird’s eye view of the war including of course the bombers traveling from England to Germany and vice versa.

I enjoyed this whimsical and unique story, and out of 10, I gave it an 8.5.

Annemarie’s Turn

Reading is definitely a big part of our lives, and as with any family it is diversified…Glenn loves to read non-fiction, stories of  WW11 and true murders….I like mysteries, real adventure stories and anything my daughters tell me to read.

This year one of the top books was “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society”. While set in 1946, the story encompasses the invasion of Guernsey and the Channel Islands by the Nazis during World War II. It consists of a magnificent series of letters to a young English author, the dreadful events that take place among the islanders and their amazing ability to care and help one and other throughout the occupation. The book’s title is arrived at by a number of islanders getting drunk, breaking curfew and being caught out by the Nazi’s. Quick thinking convinced the oppressors that this was a “Literary or book club society” meeting.

Each character’s complexities, both invader and islander become more extraordinary as they expose their joys and sorrows to the young British author Juliet through a wonderful series of letters. She journeys to Guernsey to meet the Potato Peel Pie Society and is immediately drawn into the Islanders lives. Just a joyous read, the book renews hope no matter how man treats man. Our book club was totally enthralled with the choice of this book, written by Mary Anne Shaffer and her niece Annie Barrows.

It is sad the Shaffer’s fame came too late for her to appreciate it and for readers to be limited to this one gem of a book.

“Paths of Glory” by Jeffery Archer, sees the author producing a rich and enjoyable book after a somewhat unsuccessful past decade. Based on the true story of George Mallory, a beloved hero of the English, who in the early 1920’s made three attempts to conquer the glorious Mt. Everest. Mallory was the gentleman who when asked why he wanted to climb Everest responded “because it is there”…became the cry of mountaineers. Archer begins in May, 1999, with a mountaineer finding a body frozen in time at 27,000 feet on the mountain. The story then backtracks to 1892, and the history of one George Mallory.

Born to climb…the book combines both fact and fiction of Mallory’s life including his love of family, his climbing achievements and at last the permission to form a group to climb the world’s highest peak. We are all now aware that many men and woman have met the challenge of this mountain, but imagine setting out in woolen socks, leather shoes, woolen mittens, corduroy jackets, etc to challenge a mountain 29,000 feet high, without oxygen and the amenities that modern climbers have at their disposal. Mallory and his team attempt the climb three times. 1922, 1923 and the fateful ascent in 1924.

Through out this book, Archer is precise regarding the hardships of these early climbers. Great story, and a great mystery, with the ending still unknown.

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