|
Loading... Major Pettigrew's Last Standby Helen Simonson
Rather too overpoweringly sweet and predictable for my taste. (  ) lxydis | May 11, 2013 |  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. (  ) squirrelontherun | Apr 13, 2013 | I wasn't prepared to like this book as much as I did! Very interesting characters and also social issues to consider. (  ) bibliofile55 | Apr 9, 2013 | A wonderful novel that is filled to the brim with dry and understated humor, a la Jane Austen, this is the story of the romance between 60-something widower Major Ernest Pettigrew, and the widowed local shopkeeper, Mrs. Ali. Simonson's ability to subtly and humorously show our prejudices and the general messiness of our relationships sets her apart, and I can't wait to see more from her. ( ) KimJD | Apr 8, 2013 | When you need to roll up a pile of yarn, it seems to take forever for the ball to actually resemble anything substantial. Your efforts seem futile, but then the collection of yarn really does look as you want it to and it quickly gets bigger and bigger. This book starts off very slowly, and I really wondered if it was going to go anywhere. Fortunately two librarians raved about the book, which encouraged me to stick with it. It does pick up steam and turns into a delightful little book. The unique descriptions and similes and the wit of the Major make this book entertaining. The son, Roger, is insufferable, but perhaps we're just meant to laugh at him, because every other significant character in the book has some depth -- even the American girlfriend! There's a moment towards the end that reminds me of the [a:Victoria Holt|25092|Victoria Holt|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1232146525p2/25092.jpg] books I used to love so much, but I'm not sure what to make of that. Perhaps this is just a modern version (minus the murders) of those books. One final note: if you're not a tea drinker by the end of this book...well, I don't know what's to be done with you. (  ) LDVoorberg | Apr 7, 2013 |
 Simonson .. is having a great time with her first novel. She is unsparing in her willingness to send up her characters and their little village, and she is often downright funny – that intelligent kind of funny that catches readers by surprise and makes them re-read a sentence several times to figure out how the author managed to make them laugh out loud so unexpectedly.The book is almost always pitch-perfect in its demonstration of how ridiculous our small ignorances can be – and how magnificent we are when we rise above them. This thoroughly charming novel wraps Old World sensibility around a story of multicultural conflict involving two widowed people who assume they're done with love. The result is a smart romantic comedy about decency and good manners in a world threatened by men's hair gel, herbal tea and latent racism..When depicted by the right storyteller, the thrill of falling in love is funnier and sweeter at 60 than at 16. The stakes are higher, after all, and the lovers have stored up decades of peculiarities and anxieties As with the polished work of Alexander McCall Smith, there is never a dull moment but never a discordant note either. Still, this book feels fresh despite its conventional blueprint. Its main characters are especially well drawn, and Ms. Simonson makes them as admirable as they are entertaining. They are traditionally built, and that’s not just Mr. McCall Smith’s euphemism. It’s about intelligence, heart, dignity and backbone. “Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand” has them all.
References to this work on external resources.
|
 Google Books — Loading...
Popular coversRatingAverage: (4.01)
 LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumnMajor Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson was made available through LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Sign up to possibly get pre-publication copies of books. Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
36
4
Wikipedia in English
2