Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

355 pages

"Sometimes love does conquer all.

You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and 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 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?" -Dust Jacket

I've wanted to read this book for a long time and just kept waiting for the right used-book price on Amazon. It didn't disappoint, although for some reason it felt like a story that would have taken place more in the 1950's or 60's for some reason. Maybe that's because the Major is so old-fashioned and traditional, or maybe it's because he lives in a small village that is set in its ways and cultural biases. Either way, it took me about half the book to reconcile the story with the time period. It didn't detract from the story however.

Major Pettigrew is very endearing. He has some great one-liners and the conversations between him and Mrs. Ali are flirty, intelligent and amusing. There are some other quirky characters in this book. The ladies in the village are gossipy--think the type of women in The Music Man. That's what they reminded me of. The annual gathering/dance was hilarious, right up until the point where it creates conflict for the Major and Mrs. Ali. That's the catalyst for forcing the Major to confront his feelings for Mrs. Ali.

This was an entertaining and heart-warming story of finding love a second time and of overcoming cultural diversity to do it. I liked the Major's internal dialogue of not being a young man anymore as he pursues Mrs. Ali and his finally being brave enough to say how he feels as he rescues Mrs. Ali from her overbearing family. She in turn, is quite forward, especially toward the end of the book. They're a cute couple and the story ends in the perfect place.