After weeks of reading true crime books I was ready for something a little lighter. And I found it in Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. The book is a light, almost gentle read. Simonson, a first time author, has a nice touch.
More than just a love story the book is about a widowed retired British Army Major who lives in a small village in the south of England. He strikes up a friendship with Mrs. Ali the owner of the local convenience store who is a widow. She is of Pakistani descent and here in lies the rub. Mrs. Ali's family would like her to retire, leave her store to her nephew and help take care of the other relatives. She is not happy with this idea. When her nephew arrives in town to help her he brings enough of his own baggage along unnecessarily complicating Mrs. Ali's life.
The Major's son, a social climbing, money hungry young man also arrives and decides he will "help" his father. Meanwhile the Major is grieving over his brother's recent death.
The story moves along, with all the characters effecting each other's lives in ways they never imagined. The book comes to a rather nice conclusion, even if everything doesn't end well for everyone. The story works on several levels. It is a nice, gentle read. It is a love story and it is a story about being true to yourself.
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
Simonson, Helen
2010-03 - Random House
9781400068937 Check Our Catalog
More than just a love story the book is about a widowed retired British Army Major who lives in a small village in the south of England. He strikes up a friendship with Mrs. Ali the owner of the local convenience store who is a widow. She is of Pakistani descent and here in lies the rub. Mrs. Ali's family would like her to retire, leave her store to her nephew and help take care of the other relatives. She is not happy with this idea. When her nephew arrives in town to help her he brings enough of his own baggage along unnecessarily complicating Mrs. Ali's life.
The Major's son, a social climbing, money hungry young man also arrives and decides he will "help" his father. Meanwhile the Major is grieving over his brother's recent death.
The story moves along, with all the characters effecting each other's lives in ways they never imagined. The book comes to a rather nice conclusion, even if everything doesn't end well for everyone. The story works on several levels. It is a nice, gentle read. It is a love story and it is a story about being true to yourself.
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
Simonson, Helen
2010-03 - Random House
9781400068937 Check Our Catalog
BookPage Notable Title
Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside is filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and contains a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of readers' own families. Their interactions are both hilarious and heartbreaking. …More
What I absolutely love about this story is that the author takes a stereotypical character (the restrained British military man), keeps all the stereotypical characteristics, and yet turns them into assets rather than the negatives. His reserve, his hidebound traditional nature, his stiff upper lip are all in place, but presented as assets -- as means of showing courtesy to others, living with decorum, remaining true to oneself. Major Pettigrew is a delight ... as a character and as a novel. And Jasmina Ali, don't you wish you had a friend (or an auntie) just like her?
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