What an enjoyable book this is. It's
the story of a retired English army officer who leads a quiet life
as a proper Englishman, set in his ways, in a small village in the
English countryside. Though Major Pettigrew is a stickler for
convention, he is still likeable. After the unexpected death of his
brother, he becomes friends with Mrs. Ali, a widowed local Pakistani
shopkeeper, when he finds they have much in common. This is a very
unconventional friendship in a society that thrives on thinking of
itself as the privileged locals, and turns up its nose at
'foreigners'.
The whole story charmingly and
humorously details the budding romance of this older couple and tells
how the two deal with the stodgy culture and traditions of the
townsfolk and with the pressures of families who are slow to change
from the way things have always been.
The story equally pokes fun at the
younger generation as well as the older, at the English as well as
the Pakistani, and all in a lighthearted way. I can easily see it as
one of those wonderful British TV series on public television.
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