Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson (Random House\, 2010\, 384 pp.\, pbk.\, $15.00)
In the small village of Edgecombe St. Mary in the English countryside lives Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired)\, the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson’s wondrous debut. Wry\, courtly\, opinionated\, and completely endearing\, the Major leads a quiet life valuing the proper things that Englishmen have lived by for generations\: honor\, duty\, decorum\, and a properly brewed cup of tea. But then his brother’s death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali\, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their shared love of literature and the loss of their spouses\, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more. But village society insists on embracing him as the quintessential local and regarding her as the permanent foreigner. Can their relationship survive the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of culture and tradition?
Helen Simonson was born in England and spent her teenage years in a small village in East Sussex. A graduate of the London School of Economics and former travel advertising executive\, she has lived in America for the last two decades. A longtime resident of Brooklyn\, she now lives with her husband and two sons in the Washington\, D.C.\, area. This is her first novel.
Bound To Be Read Books is proud to help debut the latest book by Collin Kelley\, novelist\, poet\, and editor of Atlanta INtown.
This literary mystery takes readers from America to London and into the dark underworld of the fabled City of Light\, in the spirit of Hemingway and Fitzgerald. Remain in Light is something of a sequel to the first novel\, Conquering Venus\, but with its own absorbing characters and suspense-filled plot.
Kelley is a former Georgia Author of the Year Award winner\, the author of three collections of poetry\, and the organizer of the Poetry Atlanta series at the Georgia Center for the Book and the Atlanta Queer Literary Festival. We'll have copies of his books for sale and signing at this fun event!
This special event will take place at the Georgia Center for the Book at the Decatur Library Auditorium\, which is located at 215 Sycamore St.\, Decatur\, GA 30030. Visit the Georgia Center for the Book for more information.