When I requested this book from the library, I was hoping for a light-hearted, charming, quintessentially British book that would be a delightful use of some of my reading energies and time this summer. I am happy to report it was just that. This impressive first novel by is hilarious and touching in equal parts. [b:Major Pettigrew's Last Stand|6643090|Major Pettigrew's Last Stand|Helen Simonson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1291166340s/6643090.jpg|6837577] escapes the overly sentimental pitfalls a novel about an unconventional romance between two elderly people could so easily slip into. The Major is utterly relatable and believable; his bullheaded clinging to ebbing traditions is sympathetic instead of frustrating. I generally don’t read books with older main characters and Simonson is adept at writing her protagonists as human beings instead of elderly human beings.

My only quibble with this book is that I found her depictions of English reaction towards Pakistani immigrants to be rather…hollow. That said, I am an American used to dealing American (veiled and not) reactions towards immigrants and racial differences and it is entirely possible that I am thinking too much of the American experience.