Overcoming individual and collective trauma: the novel by M.A. Schaffer and A. Barrows The Guernsey literary and potato peel pie society

Statement of the problem. The theme of the World War II becomes central in the work that is the focus of the article under consideration. This study is devoted to the epistolary novel by American writers M. A. Schaffer and A. Barrows The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2008). The purpose of the study is to examine the mechanisms of overcoming individual and collective trauma experienced by the main character and other characters of the novel. Methodology (materials and methods). The work employs cultural-historical and comparative research methods. Research results. The protagonist enters into correspondence and meets members of the Guernsey literary community, whose stories inspire her to create her own book about Guernsey and its inhabitants. The analyzed narrative allows for simultaneous discussion of both individual and collective psychological trauma, which the bearers of traumatic experiences are trying to cope with. The outcome of the analysis is the consideration of ways to overcome trauma by the characters of the novel: through letters, conversations about the war years, and finally, reading and discussing books. This is a poignant story about how books bring people together in difficult times and help them overcome the trauma of war, as well as a remarkable example of how books can become a means of preserving culture and national identity.