Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

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No one understood this better than the late, great E.F. Benson, author of the “Lucia” series published in the 1920s and 1930s. These delightful novels were set, like Helen Simonson’s “Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand,” in a village in Sussex. There are only six, and they have been mined for television and radio and collected between covers and read and reread. It is safe to say that Simonson has inherited the mantle. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that the plot also involves the political and economic issues related to future land use and development. Fortunately, the writing contains just enough wry humor to keep a smile on the reader’s face. The story ends with enough excitement to make it worth reading all the way to the end.

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? This is the best novel I’ve read this year and may be destined to make my top ten list. The well designed plot is pulled together with carefully crafted writing. I’m embarrassed to be so enthusiastic about it because it is actually a romance novel which is a genre I usually steer clear of. After lunch, Abdul Wahid engaged Sandy and Roger in a discussion of religion, despite the concerned Major’s efforts to change the subject to safer topics. When the notion of marriage came up, the Major asked Sandy and Roger if they had set a date for the wedding. Roger revealed that he no immediate intentions of getting married; the engagement was merely to provide Sandy with an extension on her visa. Roger mentioned that marriage would look bad at his firm and might curtail his career. Sandy remained silent during most of this talk and the Major sensed she was not in complete agreement with Roger. She also had admitted to having many acquaintances but few friends; that, coupled with her wry sense of humor, had begun to endear Sandy to the Major in spite of himself. Mrs. Ali left, and the Major wasn’t able to say goodbye to her. Right after the disastrous party, the Major caught a cold that laid him up in bed. Meanwhile, the Christmas holidays were approaching and the village was gearing up for them with lots of decorations. When the Major finally mustered up the courage to stop by the village shop, he was greeted by another one of Abdul Wahid’s aunts, who was surly and unfriendly. When Abdul Wahid himself finally appeared, the Major was surprised and hurt by the level of formality in Abdul Wahid’s voice. The Major could not comprehend why the young man wanted to keep him at such a distance. Although Abdul Wahid expressed gratitude again for the Major’s hospitality, he also made it clear that they would not be friends.

There’s more than a bit of “Romeo and Juliet” here -- Mrs. Ali is Pakistani, and while some villagers pretend to have jettisoned class and ethnic snobbery, it is hopelessly woven into the fabric of their lives. When Maj. Pettigrew and Mrs. Ali begin their Sunday walks and regular afternoons reading Kipling, the neighbors take note. Jasmina is an independent spirit, a reader, a Pakistani woman before her time. Her nephew, Abdul Wahli is working in the shop but Jasmina feels more than capable of running her husband’s business. Tradition dictates her place and she must consider allowing Abdul to take over but she won’t go out without a fight.

As a Pakistani myself, there were few cultural discrepancies, it's almost impossible to write a story with perfect cultural awareness. When side characters 'assume" things about Mrs. Ali or her more religious nephew, it was distracting. But, simply a matter of writing a book about another culture, never an easy task. I don't believe the greatest views in the world are great because they are vast or exotic," she(Jamina) said. "I think their power comes from the knowledge that they do not change. You look at them and you know they have been the same for a thousand years." When Major Pettigrew meets Mrs. Ali, the earth does not move, or stop, for that matter. She's just that woman from the village shop. No biggie. They share many, many cups of tea, take walks together, meet to (be still my heart!) discuss books, and help solve crises involving others' matters of the heart. A comforting and intelligent debut, a modern-day story of love that takes everyone—grown children, villagers, and the main participants—by surprise, as real love stories tend to do.”—Elizabeth Strout, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Olive Kitteridge Mrs. Ali is a kind, generous Pakistani widow who owns and runs the small convenience store down the street from Major Pettigrew. As she struggles to maintain her individuality as a worthwhile woman while adhering to the pressures of her fundamentalist Muslim family, she finds a friend and soul mate in the kind, quiet man of Mr. Pettigrew.Both The Major & Mrs. Ali have recently lost spouses and are finding their way through grief. The book opens with another loss for The Major, his only brother Bernie. To complicate this sense of loss, the brothers held separately a pair of valuable guns inherited from their father. The Major thought these were willed to him, Bernie’s family wants the cash Bernie’s gun would bring. This is almost more unbearable a loss to The Major than that of his brother. This book is filled with dry humor, social satire, and a message of acceptance. Major Pettigrew is a 68- year-old widower. When his brother dies suddenly, he is comforted by Mrs. Ali, a widow, and they become friends. Their friendship blossoms, then is almost derailed by an episode of cultural appropriation and prejudice. Through interactions with friends and family in this small English village, the author sheds light on intolerance in its many forms, such as race, class, sex, age, religion, and ethnicity.

At the end of the tea, the Major noticed George sitting nearby dejectedly. In the distance, a mother berated her son, and George told Mrs. Ali and the Major that the mother had warned her son not to play with George. The Major and Mrs. Ali tried to make George feel better, but he had been in this situation many times before; he told them that kids without fathers were often shunned by the parents of other children. With George asleep on the ride home, the Major took a scenic route to entertain Mrs. Ali. He stopped at a mailbox and Mrs. Ali reluctantly mailed her letter.

Helen Simonson

Plans are, or at least were, afoot for a television production of the novel, but at present, it listed in IMDB.COM only as "in development." But as of now (March 2021) it is still a nogo, which is terribly sad. I had been very much looking forward to seeing Bill Nighy in the title role. It’s one form of colonization: Some British authors have inherited their forebears’ ability to make a reader long for simple village life. No matter how small, how petty, how isolated, they manage to whip up nostalgia for something the reader never even had. The Major was out in his yard the next morning when he observed his hippie neighbor, Alice, crouched behind some bushes spying at workers who seemed to be surveying the land. Alice insisted they were surveying for a development project, and when she mentioned a possible American connection, the Major thought of Ferguson and decided to interrogate the workers. By pretending he already knew about the project, the Major found out that Lord Dagenham was indeed having his lands surveyed for a major development project. Disheartened, the Major returned to his yard and declined Alice’s offer to get involved in guerrilla tactics to drive away the surveyors. Alice displayed an unexpected tenderness towards the Major, noting his attachment to the village and his family’s history there. Playful yet affecting . . . If you miss the Jeeves novels of P. G. Wodehouse—and don’t mind having your emotional buttons pushed—Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand is the book for you.”— Buffalo News

With courting curmudgeons, wayward sons, religion, race, and real estate in a petty and picturesque English village, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand is surprisingly, wonderfully romantic and fresh . . . the best first novel I’ve read in a long, long time.”—Cathleen Schine, author of The Love Letter I think it's in the garden," said Roger. The major heard a faint retching and held the phone away from his ear in disgust. There were many funny moments in Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, but it also had its share of poignancy as well.I think I threw the turkey out the window,"said Roger. "Or maybe I threw it throught the window. There's a big draft in here." I am positive that my enjoyment of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand is largely due to the fine narration of the audiobook by Peter Altschuler. He gives Major Pettigrew just the right tone of proper brusqueness without diminishing the importance of the other characters. His ability to distinguish each allowing his/her own voice is proof of his expertise.