BOOK: Major Pettigrews’s Last Stand
Author: Helene Simonson
Discuss:
1 - Lets talk about the portrayal of characters in this book. How are people sterotypical to they’re ethnicity? Does the book help break some of these stereotypes? Are these fair depictions?
2- What did you like about the book? The characters? The plot? The ending?
3 - Who was your favorite character.
re: GSBC Discuss: Major Pettigrew's Last stand
~MuNiYa~ - Feb 11th, 2014 09:12 AM
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1- I thought the portrayal of the characters was very clever. Helene starts out presenting everyone very typical.
The desi shop keepers, the retired grumpy major, the self centered Rogers, the brooding Jihadi. But before the book ends we all tend see the same characters in such a different light. I loved the wedding scene. I'm so happy that they did that. Symbolically it shows every caste creed in one room harmoniously. I loved that. I'm a sucker for happy endings.
The bhudda love making was over the top. I had a hard time with that... I giggled and ew'd at the same time.
2 - I think the strength of the book was definately its characters followed shortly by British dry humor. I'm not one for slap stick comedy and found myself chuckling out loud white reading this book. I loved the close knit relationships and the strength of character in everyone. I loved that the leads were older; and still stumbling with problems rather then being wise. They were wise but also human.
Over all - I enjoyed the book. One of the better books I've read in the past year or so.
re: GSBC Discuss: Major Pettigrew's Last stand
aahmed - Feb 11th, 2014 09:27 AM
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Is this a good buy book or is it all girly?
re: GSBC Discuss: Major Pettigrew's Last stand
WendyDarling - Feb 11th, 2014 09:43 AM
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Ok I'm almost done with this book. Will join in tomorrow.
A I wouldn't call it girly. I'm sure you'll enjoy it too.
re: GSBC Discuss: Major Pettigrew's Last stand
WendyDarling - Feb 11th, 2014 10:24 AM
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Muniya, I've been passing out at 9pm sharp these days lol. Haven't been reading for hours before bed like I used to and miss so much
I wrote down some quotes as I was reading. This one really stood out. I believe it's in the first chapters.
"You are lucky,” said Mrs. Ali. “You Anglo-Saxons have largely broken away from
such dependence on family. Each generation feels perfectly free to act alone and you
are not afraid.”
What do guys think about this? Good thing/bad thing?
re: GSBC Discuss: Major Pettigrew's Last stand
muzna:
Spoiler Alert - Don't read if you haven't finished the book.
I hate Roger. I started out pitying him because I thought he might have just fallen prey to the predominant societal pressure but I ended up really hating him and I loved it when his fiancee up and left. I enjoyed it when he was miserable and confirmed my hatred when in a matter of hours he was running after the other one...kya naam tha uska? I chuckled when she too made her choice.
Author did a great job of character portrayal. She managed to present them in one light and then let you see the other so you could form your own opinion. I'm sure that this was a tough job considering there were so many of them. (I did find it getting a bit convoluted at times but that might just have been my own lack of focus and the fact that I took too long to read the whole book.) Surprisingly there weren't any characters introduced that I felt incomplete.
In the beginning I thought that I was soon going to tire of the Major chasing after those guns as a symbol of the glorious past that he was hoping to cling to but was slipping through his fingers but they turned out to mean so much more. Losing one of the guns in the end was such a suitable end to that drama. Very apt indeed. Clever almost.
It was definitely a book about characters.......not a plot. Enjoyable read overall. There were a few quotations that I wanted to bring here. Will need to find them again.
As for Wendy's question.....I'm not sure how common this is.....perhaps in some cases but generally I do think that goray or not, people are still influenced by precedents set by their ancestors and to a large degree I think that some of those precedents keep society civil.
re: GSBC Discuss: Major Pettigrew's Last stand
Quote Originally Posted by WendyDarling
[QUOTE]
I wrote down some quotes as I was reading. This one really stood out. I believe it's in the first chapters.
"You are lucky,” said Mrs. Ali. “You Anglo-Saxons have largely broken away from
such dependence on family. Each generation feels perfectly free to act alone and you
are not afraid.”
What do guys think about this? Good thing/bad thing?
[/QUOTE]
I should've marked more of the insightful quotations I found. TO me this stood out because it suggests that everyone has these assumptions about other people/cultures. But it's not really true. The major is not broken away. Maybe Roger is.