Tag: Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand


Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson

November 12th, 2011 — 9:42pm

Major Pettigrew's Last StandWhen you are part of book discussion group, you often find yourself reading books that you might not have chosen on your own. A book about a stuffy British retired Major would not normally be my cup of tea and I felt that way for the first few chapters of the book. However the issues, which the characters were dealing with, began to stimulate my thinking. The  Major was obsessed  whether he would get the other half of a pair of old shooting pistols with a meaningful family history that had been in the possession of his recently deceased brother since he always felt that they both should have bequeathed to himself by their father. I could not help but think of all the stories I have heard about hurt feelings that have revolved around inheritances and the life long bitterness that sometimes follows such circumstances. Also quite thought provoking was  the main theme of this novel which  was romance that the Major and a similarly “older” Pakistanian women were developing. .It confronted the issue of how family, friends so often try to define what the boundaries of a relationship should be , especially when there might be differences of  race, religion and culture. The author really looks at what the obstacles could be to joining a country club as well as the obstacles  for two good people joining together in a relationship. While a story of  love occurring at the tail end of the age spectrum will not come as a surprise to senior citizens, their children’s generation  can find it hard to believe This was one of the reasons why  the way the main character  had to consider had to be thoughtful of how he was now viewing his own son. In the end I decided that I did like this British cup of tea and suggest it can be savored for some good reading.

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