Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, by Helen Simonson, is an excellent first novel, but felt as though two writers were struggling to work together and bind the simplicity of the first chapters to the romantic and dramatic events of the last. I believed the characters wholeheartedly and thoroughly enjoyed their quirks, humanity, and genuine emotion--except for the events following the knitting-needle fiasco. At that point, the reader is led through a series of action scenes incongrous from the rest of the book. However, Simonson recovers her tone and her story for the epilogue.
Despite the few scenes that make you wonder if you accidentally switched the channel from As Time Goes By to a movie adaptation of Ethan Frome, the book is both charming and sad: a portrayal of life in change that at reaches a surprising and resounding poignance. There is a persistent heartache as you read about the Major's disappointed expectations, which contrasts nicely with the Major's conservatism and elitism. He isn't a character you believe to always be right--and indeed, some of the most believable passages show the Major's understanding of his own prejudices, often pointed out to him by the women he loves--but he is a character that you want to win.
Perhaps the saddest, and at the same time, the most lovely and true writing occurs when the Major has flashbacks contrasting with his present reality. It is so easy to relate to his emotions and experiences during these times; remembering fondly a time his wife told him what was what, regretting a moment that he did not fully appreciate, and so on. These flashbacks--in tandom with his lively, sensual, tangible relationship with Mrs. Ali--make the book successful.
Mrs. Ali and her family are similarly endearing, and though the book is written solely from the perspective of the Major, the reader feels keenly for this character who is forced to experience both the prejudice of her town--the members of which appear especially daft as they persistently address her as a foreigner, though she points out she grew up in Cambridge--and the conservatism of her family, which denies her the independence she enjoys during her marriage and later ownership of the village shop. Mrs. Ali truly drives the novel, either by her keen perception and bold action, or by her ability to inspire action in others.
The true winners of this novel are the women, and for every Gertrude, Amina, and Mrs. Rasool that exists in the world, one hopes there is also a Grace, whose eventual realization of her own natural beauty, personality, strength, and self-worth is not only the spark that sets the novel on the path to a happy ending, but also the least one could wish for every woman.
Also, because I am that person, I have to point out that the novel successfully navigates a breadth of relationships--from the obvious multicultural and multiracial, to the more subtle differences of individuals who are presumed by the masses to share the same heritage and race, yet see the world from a unique and valuable perspective.
If you like this book, try:
As Time Goes By (TV show)
A Month in the Country, by J. L. Carr
The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan
