"Major Pettigrew's Last Stand"

"Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" (Random House, 2010). Isn't that a great title? I know that I often post negative or mixed "reviews" of novels here, but today I wholeheartedly recommend this novel by Helen Simonson. The setting is a small town in England: Edgecombe St. Mary (another of those great British names), in the present. The main characters are Major Pettigrew and Mrs. Ali, the neighbor with whom - despite obstacles - the Major develops a friendship and then a romance. These two characters are very likable and complex; they, along with the other characters, are beautifully drawn. The plot is interesting and well-constructed; it, along with the characters, kept me eagerly reading. Village England, besides being the setting, is practically another character in this novel. Although it has many of the characteristics we Anglophiles are so familiar with, in fiction if not in actual close-up knowledge, it is more complicated than its usual portrayal. The author is not afraid to show not only the good points about England and about village life today, but also the defects, such as prejudices, materialism, and lack of respect for the past. Although in some ways the novel has a strong flavor of the past, it also acknowledges how England is changing and becoming more multicultural; this acknowledgment is, happily, more than lip service. But the major (so to speak!) drama and draw of this novel are the internal struggles and changes that the noble but very human Major Pettigrew goes through during the course of the narrative. Please find and read this wonderful novel!