Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

 

Summary (from the publisher): You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of your own family. Among them is Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson's wondrous debut. Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, Major Pettigrew is one of the most indelible characters in contemporary fiction, and from the very first page of this remarkable novel he will steal your heart.

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 respective 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 her as the permanent foreigner. Can their relationship survive the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of culture and tradition?

Review: Major Ernest Pettigrew is 68, retired, widowed, and lives a quiet, proper life in Edgecombe St. Mary in the English countryside. He values a proper English lifestyle: honor, duty, a good cup of tea. But after the death of his wife and now his younger brother, he feels at a loss. His son and only child disappoints him with his pursuit of fast fashion and pursuit of his career at the expense of everything else. And he finds himself falling into a quiet friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper in the village. Drawn together over the loss of both of their spouses and their love of literature, the two quickly find their friendship could be something more. But the village looks down on Mrs. Ali as a foreign and disapproves of Major Pettigrew's pursuit of someone so unsuitable that flies in the face of culture and tradition. 

It is only May of this year, and I am creeping up on reading nearly one hundred books so far already. This was the most charming one I have read yet. I was instantly fond of Major Pettigrew and felt very much on his side in the face of his crass sister-in-law, his grasping son, and disapproving village inhabitants. He has such a lovely dry, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor that peppers throughout the book. For instance, upon finding his son in a mess at his home and being told that the cleaning lady comes tomorrow, Roger says, "Does she really,' replied the Major. 'My, how she must look forward to Mondays" (293). And yes, he is old fashioned and proper, but only in his habits and lifestyle and not in the way he treats people or believes others should be treated. 

This book was just so beautifully written with lovely turns of phrase, such as: "As her little blue car pulled away, he had to resist the urge to run after it. He had held the promise of the ride home as if it were a small coal in his hand, to warm him in the dark press of the crowd" (22). Later, the major has a memory of his late mother and thinks, "An image flickered in his mind of the long, green-handled scissors kept on the hallstand and a glimpse of his mother's hand reaching for them. He tried to conjure the rest of her, but she slipped away" (110). 

Early in this book, the major is very concerned with inheriting his brother's shooting gun, which was meant to have been left to his in the event of his brother's death. As the novel progresses, this intense need to possess the full set of the guns slowly dims in importance. And while I don't wish to spoil the ending and the grand conclusion of what happens to his brother's gun, I will say that it felt very fitting. As the novel progresses, the old traditions and old assumptions become less important to the major. He finds himself willing to take a leap and break with tradition. 

I just adored this book and am sad that it was published long ago in 2010 and it has taken me so very long to read it. 

Stars: 5