Friends of WB Library Review "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand"

As the
December selection of the 2012-2013 Book Review Series, the Friends of the West
Bloomfield Twp Public Library are reviewing “Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand” by
Helen Simonson on Wednesday, December 12 at 7 p.m. and again on Friday,
December 14 at 10 a.m. in the Meeting Room of the West Bloomfield Twp Public
Library Main Library, Main Branch, 4600
  Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield,
MI.

The reviewer
for the selection is Dr. Steve Berman.

In her charming debut novel, Simonson tells the tale of Maj.
Ernest Pettigrew, an honor-bound Englishman and widower, and the very
embodiment of duty and pride. As the novel opens, the major is mourning the
loss of his younger brother, Bertie, and attempting to get his hands on
Bertie's antique Churchill shotgun—part of a set that the boys' father split
between them, but which Bertie's widow doesn't want to hand over. While the
major is eager to reunite the pair for tradition's sake, his son, Roger, has
plans to sell the heirloom set to a collector for a tidy sum. As he frets over
the guns, the major's friendship with Jasmina Ali—the Pakistani widow of the
local food shop owner—takes a turn unexpected by the major (but not by
readers). The author's dense, descriptive prose wraps around the reader like a
comforting cloak, eventually taking on true page-turner urgency as Simonson
nudges the major and Jasmina further along and dangles possibilities about the
fate of the major's beloved firearms. This is a vastly enjoyable traipse
through the English countryside and the long-held traditions of the British
aristocracy. Publishers Weekly

There is no
charge to attend either program.

For further information about the event at the West
Bloomfield Twp Public Library, visit the Library website at www.wblib.org.
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