Our January book is "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" by Helen Simonson.
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Book synopsis:
You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of your own family. Among them is Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson's wondrous debut. Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, Major Pettigrew is one of the most indelible characters in contemporary fiction, and from the very first page of this remarkable novel he will steal your heart.
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 respective 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 her as the permanent foreigner. Can their relationship survive the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of culture and tradition?
View my sources: (Warning: There are some spoilers)
Summary from Goodreads(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6643090)
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Announcements: This month, keep an eye out for an email with the poll. Please search for: [[email protected](http://[email protected])](mailto:[email protected](http://mailto:[email protected])), as the emails from MeetUp may land in your SPAM or SOCIAL mailbox.
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Donations: If you would like to make a small contribution to support our costs, please email Michelle at [email protected](http://[email protected]*) for donation information.
We are all Volunteers: Note that no one makes a profit; donations are strictly used to cover our costs.
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Join us at this IN-PERSON event.
The restaurant details are typically located in the right-hand corner of your screen on this meetup event page.
If you can't attend, consider joining us to discuss the same book at the online meetup we call "Book Discussion 2". We also encourage you to join both Book Discussion 1 (in-person) & Book Discussion 2 (virtual) and treat yourself to the full experience of ideas and discussion. Details are in a separate meetup event.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Palermo Italian Restaurant, 791 Auzerais Ave, San Jose, us
