Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
Simonson, HelenVillage politics, family disputes, property developers, religious conflict, hunting, a golf club and a good dollop of snobbery, the quintessential English village of Edgecombe St Mary has it all. At the heart of the story is retired widower Major Pettigrew and his developing relationship with Mrs Ali, the Pakistani village shopkeeper. A light hearted and entertaining story with colourful characters and an underlying examination of stereotypes and cultural expectations.
Comments from Groups
Everyone enjoyed this book, a rollicking good story with a diverse range of characters. Challenging themes set in a meaningful context. Morrinsville 001 Enjoyed the humour and good use of language. Otautau 001 Humorous, but with a serious message about racism and non-acceptance of newcomers. Those who grew up in rural England felt it was true of the England we knew. Mangonui 001 Laugh out loud funny in some places. Lower Hutt 004 Quite twee but enjoyable nonetheless. Nelson 17 A sweet take with undertones of racism and snobbery. Characters well developed. Auckland 050 The way social problems and clashes of cultures are presented here, shows the author is a wise woman. Some traditional values make our lives richer, others need to be changed when they no longer are true to our human development. Hamilton 034 We all enjoyed reading of Major Pettigrew. A gentle story of ageing, misunderstandings, long established traditions, family dictates, petty prejudices and communal life in a small village. The character of the Major was well drawn, and we loved his ascerbic dry wit. And we all love a happy ending. Whitianga 002 As anticipated, the group enjoyed this as a great holiday read. While the characters were caricatures and stock figures to an extent, the inherent humanity and gentle humour fleshed them out. The only jarring note we felt was the "heroic" rescue on the cliff at the end. Te Horo 002 Some of us thought that this book was wonderful; funny, clever dialogue, original similes and metaphors and a satisfying ending. Others considered it contrived, 'obviously' a first novel, boring and difficult to finish. The diversity of opinion was unusual and very marked. Possibly it is a novel that would appeal more to women than to our group, which is all men. wanganui 011 Thoroughly enjoyable - a laugh out loud experience! Well written with great characters. Christchurch 238 Beautiful book that everyone loved - highly recommended. If we had to mark every page that a gem was found, every page would be marked. Otorohanga 003 Three(female) members of the group thoroughly enjoyed the pace and themes of the book, while others felt that Helen Simonson had been away from England too long, and the kind of East Sussex village she depicts doesn't exist anymore... The characters and the situations did not feel real or particularly engrossing, but a couple of members pointed out how nicely the moments of falling in love were described, with weather effects to match... Auckland 376 Wonderful. A superbly written social satire, told with humour and evidencing a deep understanding of human foibles. Entrenched racism, a study of English manners and gentility, a love story and a questioning of modernity and mores of the younger generation all combine to provide an entertaining yet provocative read. Highly recommended. Otaki 001
Pages
457
457
Year
2010
2010
Reviews
05-07-2023
A good light read with serious themes. Some of us felt the Major's attitudes were more suited to a novel set in the 1950s.
08-11-2022
Varied opinions on this book. Some loved the 'Englishness' of the characters portrayed, while others felt it was a bit far-fetched. Overall we enjoyed a light-hearted read.
29-05-2020
Everyone loved this read, fairly light, humorous, but with great depth of meaning. Characters were almost plausible within the setting, and there were lots of little twists and turns in the plot. We had really good discussion expecially around class and race within society.
11-10-2019
An absolutely delightful book. All members quite happy about this easy to read book.
19-06-2019
Everybody enjoyed the book. Quite a discussion took place about the huge changes that have taken place in society. Noted how the Major wanted to hand on the guns through the generations but the young ones wanted them sold so they could get the money.
09-04-2019
The group were split between 'an ok read' and a less favourable opinion. Major Pettigrew became a more relatable character as the book progressed, and Grace was perhaps the most appealing of the characters. The ending was appreciated, whilst the golf club do seemed a little forced.
26-11-2018
A pleasant read but it didn't appear to be very deep or meaningful!
26-11-2018
Half the group found the book an ok light read. The other half thought the main character was implausible and "fake". We agreed that her descriptions of minor characters were great.
26-11-2018
We loved this book! Major Pettigrew was a likeable character who we willed to a happy ending. The residents of Edgecombe St Mary came alive as we turned the pages. An easy, sweet read.
26-11-2018
Everyone enjoyed the book. Well-written and humorous. VERY English - possibly of a bygone era - but nonetheless entertaining, and raising generational issues of changing values and priorities. A lovely love story too.
26-11-2018
Nice to see a story about older lovers. We liked the characters of Major Pettigrew and Mrs Ali, also Grace, and we thought Roger and Abdul were amazing. The descriptions of the garden, Rose cottage and Roger's cottage were easy to imagine/picture.
29-10-2018
Most people found this a light, enjoyable read with several commenting they enjoyed the writing style more than the story. We felt there were a number of underlying themes and some considered the bigotry of the small village and golf club are still likely to be found in small villages today. Our one male member described it as a woman's book about a man and as such had superficial characterisation, although he came to enjoy the story.
07-07-2018
LIght-hearted, amusing and enjoyed by all members. A minor criticism was that Major Pettigrew was only 68, the approximate age of several group members, but he was portayed as being nearer to 85! Good discussion focussed on racial prejudices in UK.