Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

I've just finished reading this New York Times best seller and loved it. It's written with such spark and intelligence. I found myself laughing quite a few times at the dry wit of Major Pettigrew and shaking my head over vagaries of a small English village. Helen Simonson captures the romance and local dramas so beautifully.

My overall feeling is that this is a book to be read in a sunny nook, with a steaming cup of tea and some sort of accompanying yum - aka biscuit or chocolate or cake or anything else that takes your fancy.

This is Helen's overview of the book from her website.

When Major Pettigrew, a retired British army major in a small English village, embarks on an unexpected friendship with the widowed Mrs. Ali, who runs the local shop, trouble erupts to disturb the bucolic serenity of the village and of the Major’s carefully regimented life.

As the Major and Mrs. Ali discover just how much they have in common, including an educated background and a shared love of books, they must struggle to understand what it means to belong and how far the obligations of family and tradition can be set aside for personal freedom. Meanwhile, the village itself, lost in its petty prejudices and traditions, may not see its own destruction coming.