Irony of the Book Club
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a highly successful book club on a working-class island during the middle of a Nazi occupation, a set of circumstances that make its success seem unlikely: one would expect that the people of Guernsey would instead just be focused on their survival. Ironically, the book club is incredibly successful because of these circumstances, as the people want something to distract them from war and poverty.
Irony of Charles Lamb
Juliet gets rid of her Charles Lamb book because she doesn't want it anymore - she doesn't care about it. However, the book is what connects her to the people of Guernsey (her friends and eventual husband) and what dramatically improves her life, in spite of the fact that she initially discarded it.
Irony of Juliet's romantic life
Juliet starts out the novel with Mark Reynolds, a handsome, wealthy American businessman. On paper, he is the picture of everything a person could want in a significant other, as he is wealthy, handsome, and part of high society, giving Juliet access to elite parties. However, she doesn't love him, and instead ends up with poorer, quieter Dawsey, in an ironic twist of who she would be expected to love and who she actually does.
Irony of Elizabeth and Christian's relationship
Elizabeth is involved in the resistance on Guernsey and despises the Nazis. However, she falls in love with Christian, a Nazi soldier who disagrees with Hitler and does not want to fight. She feels conflicted about her choice to be with him, because even if he is not the worst of the soldiers, he is a part of the army doing terrible things to her home.
Irony of Elizabeth's Temper
Elizabeth's temper protected the children being evacuated from Guernsey before the occupation: she got angry at Adelaide, who was scaring them by talking about German bombs, and slapped her to get her to stop talking. However, while that temper was at times helpful, it ends up leading to her death, as she tries to stop a woman being beaten in Ravensbruck concentration camp and is executed for it.
