Simonson, Helen. Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand: a Novel. Random House, 2011.
Reason read: August is Friendship month. The relationship that blossoms between Major Pettigrew and Mrs. Ali is beautiful.
Major Pettigrew is all about decorum, politeness, morality, honor, admiration, civility, loyalty, proper behavior. He shies away from anything sordid or not prudent. He has an obligation to society to be an upstanding citizen. So, what does it mean when he starts a relationship with a widow the village of Edgecomb would frown upon? Even moreso, this woman has a nephew who had a child out of wedlock! Talk about inpropiety!
Pettigrew is so uptight he has a thing for feet bare or in damp socks, especially if they happen to be on his floors. As an aside, it is difficult to read about the elderly being bullied about by their snotty offspring.
At the heart of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand is the beauty of friendship, but it is also about moral standards and how being able to bridge differences can be a virtue.
Lines I loved, “A letter unposted ina huge burden” (p 194), “Perhaps home is mroe precious to those who leave” (p 362),
Author fact: Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand is Simonson’s first novel.
Book trivia: my copy of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand included a reader’s guide, a conversation with Helen Simonson, and a reading group list of topics for discussion.
Playlist: “Greensleeves”
Nancy said: Pearl mentioned Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand as an example of who would like another book, one that actually takes place in Poland.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Polish Up Your Polish” (p 182). Because it has nothing to do with Poland I removed it from the master Challenge list.
~*LunaSea*~ 