Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson- Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks; Reprint edition (November 30, 2010)
- ISBN-13: 978-0812981223
Back-of-the-book blurb: In the small village of Edgecombe St. Mary in the English countryside lives Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), an unlikely hero. Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, the Major leads a quiet life valuing the proper things that Englishmen have lived by for generations: honor, duty, decorum, and a properly brewed cup of tea. But then his brother’s death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their shared love of literature and the loss of their spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more. But village society insists on embracing him as the quintessential local and regarding her as the permanent foreigner. Can their relationship survive the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of culture and tradition?
She Is Too Fond of Books’ review: I suppose I should call this more of a “thoughts” post than a “review,” it promises to be rambling, as if we were chatting.
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand was the first pick for the bookshop book club, and I have to say, I got really lucky! This is a great choice for a discussion group – there’s so much more than a love story here. We talked about cultural differences, honoring self vs. family/culture/tradition, stewardship, characteristics of a “typical” (or stereotypical) American and Brit, and religious tolerance (and religious zealotry) among other topics.
Like I said, I got lucky. I hadn’t read the book before I selected it, and I was fortunate that there was so much to talk about. The fact the everyone at the group enjoyed the book was another plus. No, a book doesn’t have to be “good” to generate discussion … but it’s a nice way to start!
We were all taken by Simonson’s writing; this is a debut novel – hands down, we would all read whatever she writes next! Here, Major Pettigrew has just spent some time with Mrs. Ali outside her usual role of shopkeeper; he has an opportunity to think about her as compared to both his late wife (Nancy) and the women of the village:
Mrs. Ali was, he half suspected, an educated woman, a person of culture. Nancy had been such a rare person, too, fond of her books and of little chamber concerts in village churches. But she had left him alone to endure the blunt tweedy concerns of the other women of their acquaintance. Women who talked horses and raffles at the hunt ball and who delighted in clucking over which unreliable young mother from the council cottages has messed up the arrangements for this week’s play group at the Village Hall. Mrs. Ali was more like Nancy. She was a butterfly to their scuttle of pigeons. He acknowledged a notion that he might wish to see Mrs. Ali again outside of the shop, and wondered whether this might be proof that he was not as ossified as his sixty-eight years, and the limited opportunities of village life, might suggest.
One could argue that it is hard to pinpoint the climax, the turning point, of the novel; there are many peaks and a few scenes that have such an extreme of action they seem like a script for a slapstick comedy routine. Some of this is intended, I’m sure, as Simonson pokes gentle fun at the importance the villagers put on the their traditions.
In short, highly recommended, whether as an individual read, or to discuss with a group.
I come back to the word charming time and time again when thinking about this book. There is quite a lot to discuss and the writing was lovely.
We’re reading this one for my book club next month. I’m looking forward to it!
I loved this one. Charming, indeed, and full of wonderful phrases and quirky characters. A definite win!
Yay! I’m so glad the book club loved it! It was a favorite of mine as well! You can’t help but fall for Major & Mrs. Ali!
I have read almost nothing but good reviews for this book, and I am anxious to try it out for myself. I am glad to hear that it was such a good read for you and the club!
This is next up for me to listen to and I’m so looking forward to it. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it.
I really love this book
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Glad you liked Major Pettigrew, too, and had a good book group discussion. One of my book groups is adding it to the list for next year, and I’m so looking forward to it. I made my husband read it, too, so I could have someone to talk about it with until then.
My local indie bookseller is an evangelist for this book, so I gave it to my sister for Christmas. I’m glad to see it’s a winner!
Hope to get to my copy soon. Nice review Dawn.
OK, I’m the weirdo that was less than impressed with this book. It wasn’t bad, but I found myself wishing for it to be over about 2/3 of the way through. Perhaps it was the audio version that didn’t do it justice…
Lovely thoughts. I have this book patiently waiting in line on my Kindle. There are just too many good books out there!
*smiles*
After reading this review yesterday, I downloaded this to my e-reader last night, and I’m already loving it. Great recommendation, Dawn.
I’m so happy that the first bookshop book club meeting went well. I can’t wait for the next one (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, which I adored).
I just finished Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand a little while ago, and I’m so glad I read it. I’m with Beth F about it being charming. The writing is lovely, and I really liked the two main characters, Major Pettigrew and Mrs. Ali. Being in my late 40s, I also appreciated that it’s a love story (and more, so much more) about people who are older.
I still haven’t read this one and have read so may positive reviews. I agree based on what I have read about it that this makes an excellent choice for a book club to discuss.
I’ve heard nice things about this book but I’m not sure this book is a good fit for me. And I keep getting it mixed up with another book that has Pettigrew in the title!
tis title is already on my wishlist and this post has just confirmed it should be, thankyou Dawn
I just bought this one and am really looking forward to reading it.
what other books would you recommend…
loved the guernsey literary….
and the man who loved books too much…
lucia
[...] 5. Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson (she is too fond of books) [...]