“The test of any good fiction is that you should care something for the characters; the good to succeed, the bad to fail.” ~ Mark Twain

For today’s Sunday Salon I want to introduce you to a character who I think you will enjoy meeting. I’ve just started a new book which I’m finding so delightful all because of the main character, Miss Pettigrew.

We first meet Miss Pettigrew on a cold November day as she’s on her way to a job interview. Jobs are scarce and frankly Miss Pettigrew’s courage is growing thin at the prospect of finding a new job as a governess. Here is the first description of Miss Pettigrew that the author gives us:

“a middle-aged, rather angular lady, of medium height, thin through lack of good food, with a timid, defeated expression and terror quite discernible in her eyes, if any one cared to look. But there was no personal friend or relation in the whole world who knew or cared whether Miss Pettigrew was alive or dead.”

Don’t you just want to rush up to her and give her a hug? Or offer her a cup of tea and a smile?

Her circumstances clear, it is imperative that Miss Pettigrew get this job but when she arrives at Miss LaFosse’s flat she will be in for the time of her life. Miss LaFosse is quite unconventional and without even properly hiring Miss Pettigrew she begins to rely on her to help her get out of some sticky situations. And, it is thusly that Miss Pettigrew begins to live a life like one she’s not known before.

Through rich descriptions we are privy to Miss Pettigrew’s thoughts. Her shock at Miss LaFosse’s situation, the uncertainty of her job standing, and dare we even hope, happiness at having at least spent some moments being someone that mattered? Here’s one example of how the world is transforming for Miss Pettigrew:

“Dazed, Miss Pettigrew went into the bathroom. Dazed, she turned on the water. Dazed, she laid out soap and towels. She hadn’t heard aright. Her ears were playing her tricks. Even if she had heard aright she was putting the wrong construction on it. She stood gazing at the water pouring in. She was quite drunk now. She was drunk with excitement and expectancy and joy. She was drunk with an exhilaration she had never known in her life before.”

You know what’s best? All of this has happened and I’m not even at the halfway point of the novel. I don’t care, I already know that this is one character who has left quite an impression on me.

I hope this Sunday finds you reading a book with some great characters. I plan to spend at least a bit of time with Miss Pettigrew.

Ravenous Reader just tagged me on Eva’s Meme that’s been going around blogland. Such fun questions so here we go:

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews? Harry Potter. I’ve seen the movies and those were fun but now I feel like I know everything so why read the books?

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be? I’d like to have some sleuths over for tea. Maybe I’d end up opening up my own agency after taking notes from Maisie Dobbs, Precious Ramotswe and Miss Marple.

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realise it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave? I’ve seen Moby Dick mentioned quite a bit for this question and I think I’ll go with the same answer too.

Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it? Not anymore but I used to pretend I had read The Scarlet Letter. I mean, everyone has right? I don’t know how I missed reading this one in high school and college.

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realise when you read a review about it/go to ‘reread’ it that you haven’t? Which book? Can’t really think of one.

You’ve been appointed Book Advisor to a VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (if you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead of personalise the VIP) The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama. I read this one when I was going through a very difficult time and found it made me feel more at peace. I think the whole world could use a good dose of happiness.

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with? German absolutely. Hopefully being able to speak it well would come naturally too.

A mischievous fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick? I don’t typically re-read books but I have read Love in the Time of Cholera three times so I’ll stick with it. It seems I still love it after those re-reads.

I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you ‘discovered’ from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)? I don’t think I would have considered reading Young Adult novels if it wasn’t for book bloggers. I’m so glad I have because I’ve discovered some wonderful books – The Book Thief for example.

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favourite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free. I’m not too picky about the type of books. There are some imprints I like, Persephone Books for example, but paperbacks and hardcovers are fine with me. I would like a big room with lots of bookshelves of course. One bookshelf would be for my special books – the ones signed by authors. Another bookshelf would be for artist books and journals either made by others or me. I’d have a comfy couch and chaise lounge and big windows. Finally, I’d like a lot of artwork too but it would only be artwork created by my husband and friends.

Now to tag four others… I’ve seen this one quite a bit so I maybe tagging some who’ve already been tagged but here it goes: Gentle Reader, aka Nik, Jenclair and Kisane – you’re it!