Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

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This book is filled with dry humor, social satire, and a message of acceptance. Major Pettigrew is a 68- year-old widower. When his brother dies suddenly, he is comforted by Mrs. Ali, a widow, and they become friends. Their friendship blossoms, then is almost derailed by an episode of cultural appropriation and prejudice. Through interactions with friends and family in this small English village, the author sheds light on intolerance in its many forms, such as race, class, sex, age, religion, and ethnicity. I think I threw the turkey out the window,"said Roger. "Or maybe I threw it throught the window. There's a big draft in here." This novel is, essentially, a love story between a 68-year old retired Major Ernest Pettigrew and a 58-year old Pakistani shop keeper Mrs. Ali, brought together by their loneliness and love of literature. Yes, it doesn't sound very exciting, and yet it is an absolutely charming story. Set in modern England, it encompasses many facets of British life - clashes and frictions between generations, social classes, religions, and cultures - all portrayed from the POV of an aging, conservative and very proper man who, because of his late love, finds himself compelled to face many issues he preferred to avoid or overlook in the past. Mrs. Ali is a kind, generous Pakistani widow who owns and runs the small convenience store down the street from Major Pettigrew. As she struggles to maintain her individuality as a worthwhile woman while adhering to the pressures of her fundamentalist Muslim family, she finds a friend and soul mate in the kind, quiet man of Mr. Pettigrew.

Major's son, Roger, a sort of hodge-podge jerk really gets under his skin. He is always too nice, too kind, too proper, too decent. He is compassionate and lovely. When he finally starts to finally stand up for himself, I applauded him quietly. At the end of the tea, the Major noticed George sitting nearby dejectedly. In the distance, a mother berated her son, and George told Mrs. Ali and the Major that the mother had warned her son not to play with George. The Major and Mrs. Ali tried to make George feel better, but he had been in this situation many times before; he told them that kids without fathers were often shunned by the parents of other children. With George asleep on the ride home, the Major took a scenic route to entertain Mrs. Ali. He stopped at a mailbox and Mrs. Ali reluctantly mailed her letter. The Major was stirred out of his reverie by Mrs. Ali, whom he had forgotten to meet at the appointed place. Embarrassed and desperate to recall how he was going to ask her to go for a walk, the Major was relieved when Mrs. Ali suggested it herself. As they walk, they discuss literature further; the Major was surprised to find she has an affinity for Kipling. Kipling brought them perilously close to the subject of the Empire, for which the Major’s father had served in the military but which was a painful reminder of the tense relations of the past for Mrs. Ali. Mrs. Ali recalled how she was raised in a house with a massive library, and teared up at the thought of its brusque disassembling after her father’s passing.

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Much of the novel focuses on the notion of “otherness.” Who is considered an outsider in Edgecombe St. Mary? How are the various village outsiders treated differently?

Major's fascination with proper tea is particularly fun. He needs fine china, just the right about of milk, and NEVER (ever) in a styrofoam cup.

An amazingly intricate and ambitious first novel - ten years in the making - that puts an engrossing new spin on the traditional haunted-house tale. Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand is a story of grieving, family, love and duty. It is charming, funny, honest story with a strong theme of cultural clash. It's Christmas Day and it's already past eight thirty," said the Major. "You must get up and put on the turkey, Roger."

English-Pakistani relationships take a center stage in this novel and are written in a particularly tactful and insightful way, without sugar coating the difficult colonial past of both countries and prejudices that exist up to this day. The author can turn a nice phrase. But, the Major excepted, the characters are terrible. I know so little about Mrs. Ali, which is a shame; she seemed like she must have been a hell of a lady. There were many funny moments in Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, but it also had its share of poignancy as well. Major Pettigrew had been happily married to his wife, Nancy, who died six years earlier. The couple has one son, Roger, who came to them late in life. Nancy sought to spoil Roger while the Major preferred discipline. Roger has grown up to be self-important, self-indulgent, often thoughtless and disrespectful, particularly when it comes to the Major. The Major mulled over the increasingly public nature of his connection to Mrs. Ali as he headed to the club to meet Alec for a round of golf. Just inside, he saw Amina, the young mother of George, attempting to teach the female kitchen staff some traditional dances.Whoever read my Olive Kitteridge rant, probably knows that I am not much into reading books about old people. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, however, proves that any book about any subject matter or any type of characters can become a great experience if written well. The book details the blossoming relationship between the Major and Mrs. Ali despite racial and social prejudice. The story also focuses on how each is affected by the demands of family and society. In the end, the Major makes his last stand and marries Mrs. Ali. Both The Major & Mrs. Ali have recently lost spouses and are finding their way through grief. The book opens with another loss for The Major, his only brother Bernie. To complicate this sense of loss, the brothers held separately a pair of valuable guns inherited from their father. The Major thought these were willed to him, Bernie’s family wants the cash Bernie’s gun would bring. This is almost more unbearable a loss to The Major than that of his brother. When I hear "character-driven novel", I usually roll my eyes. I expect navel-gazing and lots of exploration of self, and it comes a bit too close to self-help for my tastes. But Simonson gets it absolutely right in Major Pettigrew. I think it's in the garden," said Roger. The major heard a faint retching and held the phone away from his ear in disgust.

With courting curmudgeons, wayward sons, religion, race, and real estate in a petty and picturesque English village, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand is surprisingly, wonderfully romantic and fresh . . . the best first novel I’ve read in a long, long time.”—Cathleen Schine, author of The Love LetterThen there is the matter of the two Churchill rifles so dear to the Major's heart. Deathbed promises and famly relationships are at risk. Traditions have to be honored. As Simonson takes us through the will-they-or-won’t-they she also offers a look at contemporary rural England, with old values and new engaging in public and private. With characters that have depth and heart, and a charming, endearing love story, it is easy to care, and thus to become involved, and ultimately, to enjoy. Hopefully Pettigrew’s last stand will not also be Ms. Simonson’s. (It wasn't)