Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by, Helen Simonson ~~Review

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by, Helen Simonson
Description:Major Ernest Pettigrew, retired, of Edgecombe St. Mary, England, is more than a little dismayed by the sloppy manners, narcissism, and materialism of modern society. The decline of gentility is evident everywhere, from tea bags, to designer sweaters, to racism masquerading as tolerance.
Mutual grief allies him with Mrs. Ali, a widowed local shopkeeper of Pakistani descent who has also resigned herself to dignified, if solitary, last years. The carefully suppressed passion between these two spawns twitters of disapproval in their provincial village, but Pettigrew hasn't time for such silliness: real estate developers are plotting to carpet the fields outside his back door with mansionettes and his sister-in-law plans to auction off a prized family firearm. Meanwhile, Mrs. Ali's late husband's Muslim family expects her to hand over her hard-won business to her sullen, fundamentalist nephew, a notion she finds repellant and chauvinistic.

It's a testament to Simonson that in this delightful novel, Pettigrew
must navigate the tragic, the absurd, and the transcendentally joyful aspects of a familiar life turned upside down by an unfamiliar and unexpected late-life love affair. That two people from opposing and mutually distrusting worlds are able to bridge every gap with unerring respect and decorum serves as a quiet suggestion that larger conflicts might be avoided or resolved in much the same way. Finally, a way forward that Major Pettigrew would approve.



My Review:

This was a delightful story, the Major is such a charming gentleman trying to come to terms with getting older and ending some of the “proper” things he is used to. I really enjoyed the blossoming relationship with Mrs. Ali who is a Pakistani shop keeper although she was born and raised in England the people of the town don’t see her that way as the major soon finds out.

This was almost like a coming of age story but in an older very British man. This was such an interesting love story and for the Major to “see” his peers and friends in a whole new light and in turn seeing himself too. The Major’s son Roger had me mad a few times he’s a pompous git.

I just found this a great story it is all about the characters there’s no murder, no fantasy, just a wonderful group of characters beautifully written.

I think if you liked The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society give this one a try!

4 ½ Stars