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Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
Author: Helen Simonson
Written with a delightfully dry sense of humour and the wisdom of a born storyteller, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand explores the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of family obligation and tradition. When retired Major Pettigrew strikes up an unlikely friendship with Mrs. Ali, the Pakistani village shopkeeper...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780812981223
ISBN-10: 0812981227
Publication Date: 2/8/2011
Pages: 384
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 221

4 stars, based on 221 ratings
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed Major Pettigrew's Last Stand on + 1152 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 11
It takes great writing to get me, a 36 year old peace loving, American mother of two, to feel completely connected and sympathetic towards a 60 something retired military British man in a small village. This book has that writing! I loved that we were given the Major's unspoken thoughts along with what was allowed past the filter of his stiff upper lip. I expected a charming story and was rewarded with that as well as a healthy dose of truth and inspiration.
CairnMom avatar reviewed Major Pettigrew's Last Stand on + 12 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 9
This is such a well-written and enjoyable book. With dry and witty humor, it gives us a very true-to-life view of prim and proper British society. And on top of that, it's simply a great story. I loved it!
reviewed Major Pettigrew's Last Stand on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
This was a sweet book. I found it spoke to the small mindeness of the "posh" communities and the rational thinking of only one or two people in this town. What a village this must be.
c-squared avatar reviewed Major Pettigrew's Last Stand on + 181 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand reminded me a bit of the British comedies on PBS and a bit of the Miss Julia books by Ann B. Ross, but with a fantastically sarcastic British "curmudgeon" in place of the often clueless Southern church lady. I know that the Miss Julia books are a bit of a guilty pleasure, and I mean no disrespect in this comparison. Both have colorful settings and casts of characters that sucked me in and slightly preposterous plots that snowball to fantastic conclusions.

Major Pettigrew is living a quiet retirement in the English countryside until his developing relationship with a local Pakistani widow, the town busybodies planning the local golf club's annual to-do, his only son's ruthless drive to succeed, and a dispute with his recently deceased brother's widow over a family heirloom, all converge to make his life more complicated.

Helen Simonson has written a terrific first novel and I look forward to seeing what she writes next, whether it features Major Pettigrew or not.
mywoodybird avatar reviewed Major Pettigrew's Last Stand on + 28 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
This is a very humorous book about a romance between an elderly retired Army British colonel and a widowed Pakistani shopkeeper. Well written and good humor.
Read All 53 Book Reviews of "Major Pettigrews Last Stand"


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