Let's Talk About... Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

Want to relax amid the bustle of preparing for the holidays?  Join us for a discussion of Helen Simonson's Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, the sweet, romantic story of an old widower living in a small village in the English countryside. This last book club meeting of 2013 will be on Thursday, December 5 from 10:30-11:30 a.m. in the Junior Home room at Tiffin-Seneca Public Library. Light refreshments will be provided.

Major Pettigrew is a proper English gentleman who strikes up a friendship with the lovely Pakistani shopkeeper, Mrs. Ali, from down the road. They bond over the loss of their spouses and eventually their friendship begins to turn to romance. However, their blossoming love hits a snag when the others in the village find out and disapprove of the romance between a local and a foreigner.

Though I do not normally read romances, I enjoyed this novel for a lighter look at some deeper themes such as racism, dealing with adult children, and love after the death of a spouse. The characters also turned out to be deeper than I had initially assumed, and the Major especially grows over the course of the novel. In addition, the slow-burning romance between Mrs. Ali and the Major is heart-warming to observe as they bond over their losses and love of reading.

Here are some things to think about to get your brain working before the book club meeting:

• Major Pettigrew and Mrs. Ali have known one another for a time. What is it about this one moment, when he opens the door to her at the story's onset, that makes him fall in love with her?*
• How are outsiders treated in this village...and who are considered outsiders?*

Please join us to discuss this sweet English romance. We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Shannon Wood, Adult Services Librarian

*Discussion questions courtesy of Litlovers.com.

The Night Guest

My love for debut novels can be a blessing and a curse.  I recently had someone ask if I tend to read the follow-up to an author's debut.  When I responded with a "pfft", I realized I may have a problem.  However, it can certainly be a great thing when I find one of those under-the-radar titles that winds up being amazing.  Fiona McFarlane's debut, The Night Guest, is one of those titles that reminds me why I love reading debuts.

Ruth is a widow living in a beach house on the coast of Australia.  Her husband, Harry, passed away a year ago and, while Ruth gets along fine for the most part, something is certainly missing from her life now.  Enter Frida, a guest who arrives one night claiming to be a helper from the government.  She cleans, cooks, and even makes conversation with Ruth, getting to know her.  But where did Frida really come from?  And is she a good influence upon Ruth's life or is she too much of an influence?  As Ruth begins piecing together Frida's past, she finds herself wondering about her guest's intentions.

I love books that I have trouble classifying.  This is certainly one of them.  Mystery?  Literary Fiction?  Suspense?  Romance?  Psychological Fiction? All of the above applies here.  The writing style is magnificent and very lyrical.  If that doesn't pique your interest, did I mention the tiger Ruth occasionally hears in her home at night? 

Chris May- Adult Services Manager

Confessions of a Latter-Day Virgin by Nicole Hardy

I usually don't read memoirs (or much nonfiction), but a friend recommended this to me and I thought it looked interesting. It turned out to be a touching and evocative account of a life lived out of sync with what her community expects. Confessions of a Latter-day Virgin: a Memoir by Nicole Hardy is a memoir of a young, single Mormon woman struggling with the clash between what her church expects of her and what she wants out of life. The church wants her to practice abstinence, marry early, and give up her career for motherhood. Nicole is fiercely independent and wants to become a writer, travel the world, and not have children.

The memoir explores the loneliness and isolation of not being able to connect with the opposite sex inside or outside her church. Mormon men think she is too independent and those outside the church are confused by her faith and subsequent virginity. Hardy tells of her struggle between her own sexuality and her commitment to celibacy with poetic prose. She touches on universal doubts and troubles that I think we all share, such as the search for identity and the need to please one's parents. Check out Hardy's memoir for an inside look at the Mormon faith, or for a young woman's struggle to be true to who she is.

Shannon Wood, Adult Services Librarian

Joyce Carol Oates Does It Again

Joyce Carol Oates, esteemed writer of terrific fiction like Blonde and What I Lived For, is one of those timeless authors you must pay attention to.  Her fiction has won many awards, such as the O.Henry Award, National Book Award, and the National Humanities Medal.  She has also been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.  Not a bad career!

Her latest, Evil Eye, is a collection of four novellas about the dangers of love.  In the first work, we meet Mariana, who is the fourth wife to an esteemed college professor.  The first wife, with whom the husband has a polite friendship, comes to visit and Mariana learns a secret through this encounter that rocks the foundation of her marriage.  A shy, awkward teenager meets a young man who shows an immediate interest in her in the second work.  She soon learns that his interest in her goes beyond typical teenage love, towards something far more sinister.  The third work, The Execution, follows young Bart Hansen through a vicious and unthinkable crime.  The results, thanks to the love of his mother, is not what the reader will be expecting.  Finally, the last work follows Cecelia as she tries to deal with the horrible events of her childhood that threaten to ruin her first true love.

Oates creates such atmospheric pieces in these short works of fiction.  The dread and inner turmoil each character deals with through his or her journey comes right off the page, creating a believable look at love gone wrong.  It really is nothing short of amazing.

Chris May- Adult Services Manager