CHARLOTTE LIBRARY



RECENT ACQUISITIONS

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Updated August 2,  2010
 

DVDs

Avatar with Sam Worthington

The Book of Eli, Denzel Washington

Chloe, with Julian Moore

An Education with Carey Mulligan

Extraordinary Measures with Harrison Ford

Five Minutes of Heaven with Liam Neeson

Invictus with Morgan Freeman

The Messenger with Woody Harrelson

Remember Me, Robert Pattinson

A Single Man with Colin Firth

Unthinkable with Samuel L. Jackson

 

Fiction

Alone with You: Stories, Marisa Silver

Angelology, Danielle Trussoni

Captive Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Alison Weir

Faithful Place, Tana French

Father of the Rain, Lily King

Hangman: A Decker/Lazarus Novel, Faye Kellerman

The Lake Shore Limited, Sue Miller

The Lovers, Vendela Vida

Lotus Eaters, Tatjana Soli

Red Hook Road, Ayelet Waldman

Red Queen, Philippa Gregory

Rich Boy, Sharon Pomerantz
Scarlet Contessa: A Novel of the Italian Renaissance, Jeanne Kalogridis


Nonfiction
Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me, Bruce Feiler

Heart Mender: A Story of Second Chances, Andy Andrews

Life Would Be Perfect If I Lived in That House, Meghan Daum

Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures, Robert K. Wittman

Someone Will Be with You Shortly: One Woman’s Search for Love, Romance, and a Decent Pair of Bone-Colored Espadrilles, Lisa Kogan



Book Reviews by Georgia Edwards, Circulation Librarian

Major Petttigrew’s Last Stand
by Helen Simonson

Discovering this debut novel from British author Helen Simonson was like finding the pearl in an oyster.  It is a charming gem of a story that takes place in the small English village of Edgecombe, St. Mary, Sussex.

Major Ernst Pettigrew is a courtly and proper yet likeable 68 year old retired army officer and widower.  He develops a warm friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, a 50ish Pakistani widow who owns the small village market.  This improbable couple share the loss of their spouses, a love of books and an a wry tolerance for the world in which they live.  What follows is a warm and funny comedy of manners and an unlikely romance.  There is a serious side to their story. The Major and Mrs. Ali’s relationship raises issues of prejudice, cultural differences and family strain.

This book was a wonderful surprise and delightful page turner, one that I could not put down.  It is filled with a colorful cast of characters and several laugh out loud moments.  It poignantly addresses societal and emotional acceptance.

Books like this are rare in today’s literature.  The reader will should savor this one with tea and scones.

  

 

Interested in reading more book reviews?  Click here for a link to our Book Review Archives.


 

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