Major Pettigrew's last stand : a novel

Title:

Author:

Simonson, Helen, author.

Personal Author:

Simonson, Helen, author.

ISBN:

9780812981223

Edition:

Random House Trade pbk. ed.

Physical Description:

368 pages ; 21 cm

Series:

Random House reader's circle

Reader's circle (Random House (Firm))

General Note:

Includes A reader's guide: A conversation with Helen Simonson ; Reading group question and topics for discussion.

Originally published in 2010.

Abstract:

Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired) leads a quiet life in the village of St. Mary, England, until his brother's death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their shared love of literature and the loss of their respective spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more. But will their relationship survive in a society that considers Ali a foreigner?

Subject Term:

Country life -- England -- Fiction.

Interracial friendship -- Fiction.

Pakistanis -- England -- Fiction.

Genre:

Summary:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... East End	Book	FICTION SIMONSO	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Main Library	Book	FICTION SIMONSO	Searching... Unknown
Searching... North Avenue	Book	FICTION SIMONSO	Searching... Unknown
Searching... West End	Book	FICTION SIMONSO	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

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, he is drawn out of his regimented world and forced to confront the realities of life in the twenty-first century. Brought together by a shared love of literature and the loss of their respective spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship on the cusp of blossoming into something more. But although the Major was actually born in Lahore, and Mrs. Ali was born in Cambridge, village society insists on embracing him as the quintessential local and her as a permanent foreigner. The Major has always taken special pride in the village, but will he be forced to choose between the place he calls home and a future with Mrs. Ali?