I am positive that my enjoyment of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand is largely due to the fine narration of the audiobook by Peter Altschuler. He gives Major Pettigrew just the right tone of proper brusqueness without diminishing the importance of the other characters. His ability to distinguish each allowing his/her own voice is proof of his expertise. 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.

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. So, I enjoyed this tale of old farts in love. It was indeed the right book at the right time. And next time I read about two foolish kids whose eyes meet across a crowded dance floor, and they just KNOW that it was meant to be... One of the more frustrating books I have ever read. Some good writing, but with terrible characters and dodgy plotting--an infuriating combination.There were many funny moments in Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, but it also had its share of poignancy as well. The writing style was very elegant and effortless, allowing for easy reading while still delivering an insightful message. It’s one form of colonization: Some British authors have inherited their forebears’ ability to make a reader long for simple village life. No matter how small, how petty, how isolated, they manage to whip up nostalgia for something the reader never even had.

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. I thoroughly enjoyed this, stiff-upper lip, English countryside, slow burn love story of two widowed people. Major Pettigrew (called Major throughout the book) in his mid 60's has just lost his brother and Jasmina Ali, a shop owner gives him a ride to the funeral. From there, they slowly form a bond over their shared loss of spouses as well as books. There were similar problems with the plot: There were several scenes where I thought, "Oh, BS. The author has no idea about this." A lot of the gun stuff, specifically, and people's behavior at a hunt, was simply not credible. After lunch, Abdul Wahid engaged Sandy and Roger in a discussion of religion, despite the concerned Major’s efforts to change the subject to safer topics. When the notion of marriage came up, the Major asked Sandy and Roger if they had set a date for the wedding. Roger revealed that he no immediate intentions of getting married; the engagement was merely to provide Sandy with an extension on her visa. Roger mentioned that marriage would look bad at his firm and might curtail his career. Sandy remained silent during most of this talk and the Major sensed she was not in complete agreement with Roger. She also had admitted to having many acquaintances but few friends; that, coupled with her wry sense of humor, had begun to endear Sandy to the Major in spite of himself.Major Pettigrew's Last Stand: A Novel" by Helen Simonson is a work of fiction and the author's debut novel. The story details the life of Major Ernest Pettigrew, a 68 year old widower living in Edgecomb St. Mary, a rural village located in Sussex, England. 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. Set-in-his-ways retired British officer tentatively courts charming local widow of Pakistani descent.

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? A comforting and intelligent debut, a modern-day story of love that takes everyone—grown children, villagers, and the main participants—by surprise, as real love stories tend to do.”—Elizabeth Strout, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Olive KitteridgeFirst impressions in Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand can be deceiving. Discuss the progressions of the characters you feel changed the most from the beginning of the book to the end. Plans are, or at least were, afoot for a television production of the novel, but at present, it listed in IMDB.COM only as "in development." But as of now (March 2021) it is still a nogo, which is terribly sad. I had been very much looking forward to seeing Bill Nighy in the title role. The world is full of small ignorances. We must all do our best to ignore them and thereby keep them small.. So go and fecth it," said the Major.Needless to say, this was a delightful, entertaining, wonderful read. There’s more than a bit of Romeo and Juliet here . . . Major Pettigrew and Mrs. Ali are worthy of our respect, and it is a great pleasure to spend time with them.”— Los Angeles Times

For Major Pettigrew, the Churchills represent societal standing and achievement, as well as an important part of his family's history. However, as events unfold, the Major begins to question whether loyalty and honor are more important than material objects and social status. Discuss the evolving importance of the guns to the Major, as well as the challenge of passing down important objects, and values, to younger generations.

Beyond the Book

Mrs. Ali, English, born and bred, an obvious outsider has a lot to deal with in the village. How is she acting, how is she talking, and most importantly, who is she talking to? She's a woman that lives by the values closely aligned to her culture, yet Major and her grow fond of one another in an organic way, worthy of exploring. This is the best novel I’ve read this year and may be destined to make my top ten list. The well designed plot is pulled together with carefully crafted writing. I’m embarrassed to be so enthusiastic about it because it is actually a romance novel which is a genre I usually steer clear of.