Major Ernest Pettigrew is an English widowed veteran who clings the to the standards of honor and decorum of an earlier age. His facade of self-control slips one day soon after he hears that his only brother has died. To his surprise he receives unlooked for compassion from Mrs Ali, a Pakistani woman, also widowed, who is the owner of the village convenience store. The encounter begins a tentative friendship that gradually blossoms into something more. The small town where the two live is scandalized by their growing friendship, and the Major begins to see his earlier self in their reactions. Mrs. Ali is also struggling with restrictions from her own traditional family culture. Can the Major step up, one more time, and become the hero Mrs. Ali needs?
This book was recommended to me by one of my co-workers and it is a new favorite. It has the charm of my favorite movie, Shadowlands, without anyone dying in the end. The Major is so charming, but his struggles with balancing his own sense of propriety and his attration to Mrs Ali are believable. The Major's son's relationship with his girlfriend, built as it is on the hope of mutual financial benefit, it the perfect foil for the pure, selfless relationship his father has. I love how this book addresses cultural clashes and prejudice, but with a light touch that enhanses rather than sours the beauty of the mature romance. (2010, 358 p)
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