Don't you just love those stories that make you laugh out loud just moments after making you cry, with characters so thoughtfully written your imagination has no problem conjuring them up? Well, Major Pettigrew is just such a character, and his Last Stand is just such a story.
(the above is not my cover, but I wish it were...the brits always seem to get the coolest book jackets!)
In more than one way, this comedy of manners reminded me of the estimable Jane Austen's works, with its mixture of biting wit and tenderness, its small but brilliantly described scope, even its parade of societal mishaps and cultural misunderstandings. In Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, the title character--an endearing but rather stuffy septuagenarian--meets Mrs. Ali, an enchanting widow whose sudden appearance in the Major's life encourages him to look beyond his well-manicured box hedges and become a part of the dazzling, bittersweet complexities taking place all around him. This book teaches us that it is never too late to fall in love....or become a better person.
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