Did you enjoy Major Pettigrew's droll and dry sense of humor?

[Joy H.]

I'm up to page 132 in this book and am getting a big kick out of Major Pettigrew. He makes me smile. Did you enjoy him too?

[Maryam]

LOVED it :D

[Joy H.]

Hi Bloggylife. Mrs. Ali was an interesting character too. She had such a strong sense of self! I liked her. What's more, I respected her.

[Ellen]

I liked the interaction between the characters-even the Major's son got off a good one when he remarked about his father being speechless, that that would never happen.

I fell in love, though, with the Major himself. He can be as hard on himself as anyone else-and so, so funny. Exactly my kind of humor. Sometimes I would roll his words around in my mind for a while. It slowed down my reading speed but was so worth it! :D

[Joy H.]

Yes, Ellie, the Major made the book worth reading with his dry sense of humor... even though the plot wasn't that strong. The book was more character-oriented.

[Ellen]

Yes, I'm actually more drawn to character- & relationship- driven books, then to plot-driven ones. I'm weak on plot myself :} This book had me laughing literally out loud, which I rarely do. Except for when I choked up, which I hate, & which the Major always conveniently rescued me from with some arch remark!

[Sandra]

Loved the Major...he made me chuckle and smile, especially when reacting to his social climbing son.

[Continualknowledge]

The Major was quite the character. In fact the entire book was much funnier then I imagined it to be. I have to remember that I am a fan of the sarcastic humor.

[Ellen]

I found The Major's sense of humor hilarious. I too appreciate sarcasm (too much, some people might say) and the deadpan delivery-style.

[Cheryl]

The Major was a riot! What a terrific character...

[Grandma]

I loved this book. The story and characters were believable and likable (mostly). Can anyone suggest any other similar books? It is hard to find good writing as well as positive (and not depressing) subject matter.
Grandma Potter

[Joy H.]

Grandma wrote: "I loved this book. The story and characters were believable and likable (mostly). Can anyone suggest any other similar books? It is hard to find good writing as well as positive (and not depressi..."

Have you tried reading books by Jon Hassler? I enjoyed his Simon's Night. My review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Also try Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler. My review is here:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

The books mentioned above are both about older people trying to adjust to retirement.

Right now I'm starting to read Hassler's The New Woman: A Staggerford Novel. They say that Hassler's "Staggerford" stories are very good. Staggerford is a fictional town.

[Grandma]

Thank you very much. I will check them out.

[Becky C.]

You might also enjoy The Coffins of Little Hope by Timothy Schaffert or Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann Ross, first book in a long series of amusing reads. Julie and Romeo by Jeanne Ray is also fun and you might enjoy other books by her as well.

[Lori]

The Major is the sort of character that I would have liked to meet. One of the funniest scenes was when he met Sandy and she said "Glad to meet you, Ernest". I think that scene will stick with me forever! I hope I'll remember it if I ever meet a major and start to address him with his first name!

[Pam]

It was okay--not my favorite.

[Joy H.]

Lori wrote: "The Major is the sort of character that I would have liked to meet. One of the funniest scenes was when he met Sandy and she said "Glad to meet you, Ernest". I think that scene will stick with me f..."

Lori, I wish I could remember that scene.

[Joy H.]

Pam wrote: "It was okay--not my favorite."

Pam, how many stars did you give it?

[Joy H.]

Becky wrote: "You might also enjoy The Coffins of Little Hope by Timothy Schaffert or Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann Ross, first book in a long series of amusing reads. Julie and Romeo by Jeanne Ray is also ..."

Becky, I've made a note of your suggestions. Thank you.

[Lori]

Joy H. wrote: "Lori wrote: "The Major is the sort of character that I would have liked to meet. One of the funniest scenes was when he met Sandy and she said "Glad to meet you, Ernest". I think that scene will st..."

Joy,

It was at the brother's funeral when the girlfriend, Sandy, was introduced to the Major. The way that the Major kind of turns up his nose at that awful American accent, and he just cringed when she said that she was very happy to meet "Ernest". Classic.

[Joy H.]

Thanks, Lori.

[Tilden]

Since there were many things about the Major I didn't like, his dry sense of humor was one of his more redeeming characteristics, which is one reason I kept reading the book.

[Joy H.]

Karen, what was it that you didn't like about the Major?

[Tilden]

Joy - I've met and worked with men like the Major. Old school, resistant to change, a privileged white male. Doesn't trust or use technology and reads only the Western literary canon. He would never read "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" because it was written by a woman, and would not be considered "literary." I get tired of white men constantly defending Western literature, which means books written by privileged white men. (This is a big gripe of mine. I read mostly books written by women.)

That said, I was glad to see the major change a bit toward the end of the book and I did enjoy his sense of humor. Karen

[Joy H.]

Karen, that's an interesting perspective. I'm sure you liked Mrs. Ali!

[Soad]

i liked this book it gives u hope that maybe love does win in the end

[Joy H.]

Soad wrote: "i liked this book it gives u hope that maybe love does win in the end"

"Love never fails."
--The Bible, 1Cor.13

Complete quote at:
http://ramz-thoughts.blogspot.com/200...

[Dee]

I read "Major Pettigrew" some time ago and thought it was a good read. My library's bookclub is using this book in October for our discussion and they are Skyping the author. So we are looking forward to the meeting.

[Joy H.]

That should be interesting, Dee. The skyping with the author is a novel idea.

[Connie]

I loved the Major's dry British wit. He managed to get his point across without being overly hurtful because he used humor and charm.

[Denise]

We read it for our local library bookclub. Then during our discussion we Skyped with the author. She was delightful! As entertaining as her book. I loved the Major's dry wit. The library purchased each of us our own book so we could share it with others.

[Elaine]

I liked the Major very much but thought that his friends and son were every bit as rude as the Americans in the book!!!

[Marguerite]

Lori wrote: "The Major is the sort of character that I would have liked to meet."

I loved the major, but I think if I'd met him I'd have hated him unless I got the chance to know him. Superficially, he's a pratt, and that's one of the things that worked so well for me with this book - I really, really empathised with him, despite the fact that he was really not very empathetic at first.

I picked this up at the library when I couldn't find anything else, and I really loved it. I'm looking forward to more from this author.

[Pat]

I enjoyed this book so much, I could easily imagine the town, people and Mrs Ali who is really the hero in this story in my view. I found the scene with the mad relative towards the end a bit over the top, but then that's fiction I suppose.

[Denise]

I loved the major's sense of humor. I couldn't help but imagine him being "played" by Clive Swift (Richard Bucket on "Keeping Up Apperances.") Same type of humor, I suppose. The book was great and I keep wishing that there was more to read!

[Karen]

Tried to figure out why, from the beginning, I liked the pompous "Major" who always corrected others when they addressed him as "Mr." Maybe I allowed myself to believe that he was aware (at least subconsciously) that he was much too stuffy and was actually making fun of himself. On page 5, when musing on his future with his brother's gun, he imagines a scene when one says " 'Good God, Pettigrew, is that a pair of Churchill's?'... and he would casually look, as if he had forgotten and reply, 'Yes, a matched pair. Rather lovely walnut they used when these were made.' " Surely, his spirited wife would have laughed out loud. With her death, the fun left him and the wit that remained came out as sarcasm. It was humorous to read, but actually portrayed him as a weak man, unable to actually "take a stand" - until the end, of course! If he had grown up a generation later, I could actually see him behaving as his son did!

[Marguerite]

Karen, I think you're spot on about the major. He could have been really annoying, but it was the pathos in him that made me like him almost against my will. And I totally agree, he would have been exactly like his son! I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

[Cathy]

I loved it!! Still looking for other books similar to this one! Open to any recommendations.

[Diane]

I read this for bookclub- it was OK, I was a little bored at times - it seemed a little out of place in time- but perhaps that is what the author meant to do - it sort of fits the Major.

[Pat]

Cathy, you might like "Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English". It is a sweet book, funny and sad. I thought it was lovely.

[Jennifer]

I read this book a year ago and now I'm listening to it on CD. If it's possible, it is even better being read aloud. The writing is beautiful and who wouldn't care about the Major and Mrs. Ali? My favorite part was when he was speaking with Mrs. ALi in her shop, the nephew walked up to intimidate the two of them and the major dropped the remark "neatly as a putt into the hole" thanking them for their concern over his loss.

[Joclyn]

Dry or otherwise, The Major was the only one with a sense of humor in this book. He reminds me of my dad, sometimes it takes a day or two and then it hits you, "hey that was funny"!

[E.P.]

This was one of my favourite books of last year. Absolute delight. Major P. a wonderfully surprising hero - and as for his son, what an excellent stinker. Terrific. Charming. Delightful.

[Molly]

It took me a couple of chapters to accept his sense of humor, but yes, I thoroughly enjoyed his sense of humor!

[Ruth]

Loved this book!

[Maudie]

I adored "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand"! Helen Simonson will remain on my "To Be Watched Author" list in the future!!

[Anne]

I laughed out loud so many times in the book, but then I love the British dry wit. He reminded me somewhat of the character Lionel on the old BBC sitcom As Time Goes By, which is one of my favorite shows.

[Suzanne]

Yes, agree whole-heartedly with Anne!! Loved the Major + Lionel, too! ;-)

[Ute]

I loved the book, although it took me awhile to warm up to the major. He's wonderful. His dry wit made me laugh aloud more than once.

[Grisell]

I really liked the humour here - it is one of the novel's assets. I kept laughing to myself a lot, because both characters are so cute and fill you with hope.