Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

I really enjoyed this debut novel from Helen Simonson. I recently saw The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and this novel reminded me of that movie in a few ways.

Major Pettigrew is a very proper English gentlemen living in a small village in Sussex, where he's lived all his life. When his brother dies, the Major goes through a rough patch and develops a friendship with Mrs. Ali, the widow who owns the village shop, who is of Pakistani descent. The novel explores the ideas of Englishness and otherness, and of what it really means to be "proper." It's also a really enjoyable read.

The Major is a really likeable character, proper but not uptight, with a biting sense of humor and a great deal of humanity. The townspeople are straight out of central casting, and I have some great ideas for who might play them in the movie. But maybe most importantly the story is a warmhearted and humorous love story about people of a "certain age," of a type that we don't see very much of these days.


Major Pettigrew's Last Stand