Comments on: MAJOR PETTIGREW’S LAST STAND by Helen Simonson

By: booklover10

booklover10 — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:54:08 +0000

Dear Poornima:
Thank you for your comment. It’s disconcerting when respected critics rave about a book, you open the novel with sky-high expectations, and you subsequently find flaws that you were not anticipating. Since the beginning of “Major Pettigrew” is so terrific, I was expecting Simonson to maintain the same light satirical touch throughout.

All the best,
Eleanor

By: poornima

poornima — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:26:11 +0000

Hi Eleanor:

I picked up this book after reading a rave review in the New York Times. The review you have written here perfectly captures everything I didn’t quite like about the book. Thank you!

Poornima

By: booklover10

booklover10 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:54:49 +0000

Thanks, Kirstin. I loved 3/4 of this book. The subtlety and satire were wonderful.

When Simonson changed the tone of the story and went down a preachy and melodramatic path, she lost me. I have found that, quite often, authors have an easier time writing good beginnings than satisfying endings.

By: Kirstin

Kirstin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:50:07 +0000

Nice review, Eleanor. Thank you.

I liked Simonson’s debut very much. I agree that the denouement stretches credulity somewhat, and that it perhaps too obviously presented the major with a choice between his longstanding attachment to his guns and Mrs. Ali. However, the staged drama didn’t bother me that much. I thought the couple’s “running away” was also a trifle stagey, but did enjoy it when they were isolated together. The sub-story about the son’s girlfriend very sad, and Pettigrew’s neighbor’s wisdom about the difference between being in love and settling for a comfortable but not passionate relationship played to me. This is one of those deceptively “simple” books that contains many undercurrents.