Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

Engaging. A story of an elderly widowed British major who falls in love with the charming widowed Pakistani shopkeeper. A lovely story interspersed with contemporary racism, intergenerational tension, and a little humor. It all works and falls together neatly at the end. SRH ( )

Engaging. A story of an elderly widowed British major who falls in love with the charming widowed Pakistani shopkeeper. A lovely story interspersed with contemporary racism, intergenerational tension, and a little humor. It all works and falls together neatly at the end. ( )

"As he left his guest and proceeded down to the kitchen he felt in his bones the exhaustion of such a strange turn of events. And yet he could not help but register a certain sense of exhilaration at having thrust himself into the heart of Mrs. Ali's life in such an extraordinary manner. He had acted spontaneously. He had asserted his own wishes. He was tempted to celebrate his own boldness with a large glass of Scotch, but as he reached the kitchen he decided that a large glass of sodium bicarbonate would be more prudent."

If I had to describe this novel or the main characters in it in one word it would be "endearing." Major Pettigrew is a rock hard stoic Englishman with a soft center who has a highly evolved since of decorum. Mrs. Ali is the Pakistani shopkeeper in the village. There's a mutual attraction and respect between the two from the get-go but there is a deep chasm of culture between them they have to navigate. That's the fun of the book. The road the two take to end up with each other is complicated by family problems on both sides, prejudices, and life circumstances - just like real life. What I liked about this particular story was that the issues of differences of culture and prejudice were confronted slowly and naturally over time. The romance between Major Pettigrew and Mrs. Ali also grows slowly. This is also a witty novel and I'm a sucker for dry English humor. I especially loved the times when Major Pettigrew would put people in their place and/or insult them with a little subtle barbed retort - so subtle that it made you wonder if the sting even registered with the intended target. Also, there are a few subplots going on here too which makes the story interesting. It is a romance, but it's not saccharinely sweet. The characters here all seemed very genuine and genuinely flawed. The end is not tied together in a nice, neat little Hallmark-y bow which made me like this story even more.

Maybe not everybody's cuppa, but I liked it and I stayed up past my bedtime last night to get to the end. Witty, sweet and fun, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand is a grown-up romance for grown-up people. ( )

Rather too overpoweringly sweet and predictable for my taste. ( )

I had a hard time getting into this book, and I thought the first half was pretty slow. The second half picked up nicely, and the ending was satisfying. ( )