'Major Pettigrew's Last Stand' by Helen Simonson

You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of your own family. Among them is Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson's wondrous debut. Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, Major Pettigrew is one of the most indelible characters in contemporary fiction, and from the very first page of this remarkable novel he will steal your heart.

MY THOUGHTS:

This is a multicultural, yet very British read, with a likable hero.

Major Ernest Pettigrew is a widower, retired army major and school teacher aged 68. He's a gentleman and pacifist at heart, whose parents raised him to believe in politeness above all, but now lives in a far more entitled generation where people are taught to demand their rights and face perceived slights or insults with hackles raised. Major Pettigrew faces the world with a sort of bemused humour, ever ready to take a joke, or face an awkward truth about his own attitude. 

He's attracted to Mrs Jasmina Ali, a charming widow of Pakistani heritage who runs the local mini-mart with her nephew. Although she has never left British shores, Jasmina is used to being treated like a foreigner. She considers her shop to be a tiny, free space in a world with many limits. On the whole, the novel is a sort of second chance romance between a pair of like minds who initially bond over books. But it's also about the astonishing twists of public perception, pride and prejudice. I've seen its style likened to a modern Jane Austen, and indeed Major Pettigrew could well be an older, male version of someone like Lizzy Bennett or Elinor Dashwood, since we're seeing culture through his wry, perceptive eyes. 

Some of his observations might make readers wish to debate. 'The age of great men, when a single mind of intelligence and vision might change the destiny of the world, was long gone. He had been born into a much smaller age, and no amount of daydreaming would change the facts.' Is this totally true, or are there geniuses in our digital age who can also be great folk? And there are some matters of taste, the Major just won't budge on. 'The current fashion of bandying about stories and jokes about the Royal family, as if they were the cast of a TV soap opera, was deeply distasteful to him.' 

His interactions with the younger generation amused me most. The major's son Roger is determined to achieve success through social climbing, although he would never express it that way. Roger works super hard at refining his name dropping, show pony skills. ('You have no idea how expensive it is to be a success in the city.') And Mrs Ali's nephew Abdul Wahid is a devout young thinker who radiates angry young man vibes wherever he goes, until people really get to know him. ('I do not wish to be one of those men who bends and shapes the rules of his religion like a cheap basket to justify his comfortable life and satisfy every bodily desire.') I found myself really interested to know what would become of these two. 

It took a few chapters to get into before it gained my interest. Then I would've liked to see more of the major's sister-in-law and niece, but after building up their larger-than-life characters, they fade from the picture. The same applies to Mortimer, the family lawyer. And perhaps potential readers should know that although this novel is often seen classified as a romance, it's not the sort we may typically think of, involving a dawning magnetism. The attraction between Ernest and Jasmina is already set from page 1. The story is as much about social commentary and family ties. 

It highlights the fact that there are so many different ways of looking at things, it's no wonder people take offence as readily as they do. It even shows how unfortunately easy it is for white, middle class westerners to make crass social gaffes in our 21st century culture without ever intending to. Perhaps that's why my favourite line comes from Mrs Ali. 'The world is full of small ignorances. We must all do our best to ignore them, and thereby keep them small, don't you think?' 

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