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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: A Novel
Unavailable
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: A Novel
Unavailable
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: A Novel
Audiobook11 hours

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: A Novel

Written by Deborah Moggach

Narrated by Juliet Mills

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

Now a major motion picture starring Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Billy Nighy, and Dev Patel

When Ravi Kapoor, an overworked London doctor, reaches the breaking point with his difficult father-in-law, he asks his wife: "Can't we just send him away somewhere? Somewhere far, far away." His prayer is seemingly answered when Ravi's entrepreneurial cousin sets up a retirement home in India, hoping to re-create in Bangalore an elegant lost corner of England. Several retirees are enticed by the promise of indulgent living at a bargain price, but upon arriving, they are dismayed to find that restoration of the once sophisticated hotel has stalled, and that such amenities as water and electricity are . . . infrequent. But what their new life lacks in luxury, they come to find, it's plentiful in adventure, stunning beauty, and unexpected love.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 13, 2012
ISBN9780449010969
Unavailable
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: A Novel
Author

Deborah Moggach

DEBORAH MOGGACH is a British writer who has written fifteen previous novels, some of which have been published in the US (Tulip Fever and, most recently, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel—originally published as These Foolish Things). She has adapted many of her novels as TV dramas and has also written several film scripts, including the BAFTA-nominated screenplay for Pride & Prejudice. She has also written two collections of short stories and a stage play. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a former Chair of the Society of Authors and has served on the executive committee of PEN.

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Reviews for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Rating: 3.4209560080882357 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

272 ratings37 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    OK, I'll say it. I liked the movie more.
    Such awesome actors. And the trimmed, re-arranged story lines worked well.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A fun book. The movie takes the general theme, but differs a fair amount from the book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Enormously entertaining.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Much better than the film of the same name
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Excellent bitter-sweet story which ends just as it's getting interesting. I think I may have to see the movie version of this one!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I purchased this book, not because of the hype surrounding the film (which I still haven't seen), but after it was recommended to me by a number of different people as being laugh out loud. It certainly is that. A lovely read which quite cleverly and subtly describe the barriers, misunderstandings and love between the generations, and which cross any cultural divide. The author successfully handles the various plots which make up and drive the story.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Interesting storyline and endearing characters. Also a smattering of local sights and sounds that bring a reader into the story.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Wonderful funny characters. There may have been too many characters for such a short book. I would have liked to have seen the characters develop more fully. Dororthy was funny with her serious retired careeer woman demeanor, Muriel with her unabashed bigotry, and Evelyn a sweet wish-she-was-my mother type were my favorites. There was the over sexed gentleman who meets his end with a transvestite, and the couple with the "perfect/not-so perfect life ( gay/closetted son). Can't wait for the movie!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Disappointing given that the film was so good. it was very different.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Like several other reviewers, I saw the movie and loved it and then decided I needed to read the book. This is a story that was changed IMMENSELY from the book, unfortunately. I thought the movie was wonderful, but could barely recognize most of the characters when I read the novel. Perhaps I might have enjoyed it more if I hadn't seen the movie, but that spoiled it for me. The writing was fine, so I gave it 3 stars anyway.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I struggled to decide what I finally thought of this book. Initially I didn't like it very much at all: the characters seemed stereotypes and their situations didn't seem altogether believable, and at the beginning the book jumped around introducing one character after another at some depth so that I seemed to lose track of the earlier ones. However, it did grow on me halfway through. I listened to this as an audiobook and I think it would have been better read: I'd have probably read it more quickly and enjoyed it more.Ravi's father-in-law Norman is the bane of his life: blacklisted at all the local care homes for his lecherous attention to the female staff, he is once more living with Ravi and his wife Pauline in London. After he accidentally sets fire to their kitchen, Ravi pours out his troubles to his cousin Suni, a businessman on a visit from his home in India, who comes up with a solution to Ravi's problem and a idea for a new money spinning venture at the same time. Why not outsource the old people of England to India: Indian prices would be so much cheaper that their retirement savings would pay for a much better standard of living. The perfect venue is found: The Exotic Marigold Hotel, a slightly run- down establishment which is reminiscent of the last days of the British Raj. The old people are collected: Norman himself; Evelyn a self-effacing woman lost in the modern world without her husband; Dorothy, an ex BBC producer who was respected but not much liked in her profession life; Muriel, a working class woman from Peckham who lives for her son Keith; and several more. All are transplanted to India, where as seems usual in this sort of book about India, they undergo various transformations as they find their true selves in the community of the hotel. And that's one of the reasons that the book falls down for me: I'm not a great believer in a change of country being a huge life-transforming experience - the people themselves are still the same. Those who make a success of retiring abroad always seem the ones who were reasonably happy in the UK anyway - unhappy people generally take their unhappiness with them. Certainly with the film of the same name I get the impression that you were supposed to come away with a lovely fuzzy warm feeling, which I didn't get from the book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I don't go to many movies- we might watch one movie a month at home, but generally only grace the local theater once a year. Judi Dench and Maggie Smith together were enough of a draw for us to attend the afternoon matinee last week to see "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" - a marvelous, well-acted, uproariously funny movie that showed us the best and the worst of aging. It was so well done, and so enjoyable that I immediately went on the hunt for Deborah Maggoch's original novel that was the basis for the screenplay. It was not easy to find, but I did locate it for my Kindle, and had an even more enjoyable experience reading the novel.The story basically portrays the lives and losses of a group of English elders: widows and widowers, divorcees, singles, and a well-traveled couple. For various reasons, most of them economic, these folk have decided (or their less than caring off-spring decided for them) that they can no longer afford to stay in Merry Old England, and accept the offer to move to a new retirement community in India (well after all, they speak English there!) billed as the Best EXOTIC Marigold Hotel.The Marigold can best be described as a dowager empress....good bone structure, but the skin is sagging, and the bones are creaking. Each of the emigres brings a unique set of expectations, and is dealing with singular losses. How they handle the enormous changes and adapt themselves to a new culture, new food, lack of the plumbing, transportation, and energy standards to which they were accustomed at home, is portrayed with empathy, gentleness and wonderful respect for aging human beings. They eventually form a family unit as they muddle their way through their unexpected difficulties, and expand that family to include new friends from the Indian community.It's a lovely book, an affirming story that helps us realize that "we're not getting older, we're getting better" and that the model of a society where all the generations live together and the elderly are esteemed and cared for is one much to be coveted.Do go see the movie if you have a chance, and read the book too. They're different enough that one doesn't impinge on the other. They are distinct and delightful.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wonderful book. So insightful about relationships, the things we do say, the things we should say and the things we don't say. She captures the British psyche so honestly.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Recently filmed under the title "The Best Exotic marigold Hotel" this utterly charming novel tells of the experience of a group of British pensioners who chose to move to a retirement home in Bangalore, lured by the promise of warmer weather and an economy in which their dwindling pensions would go much further than was happening back in Britain.The characters are all marvellously drawn, especially the rakish Norman Purse, and their adventures (or misadventures) are most entertaining.I am now looking forward to seeing the film.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent humour. English old peoples home in Bangalore
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    An excellent examination of the business of growing old this highly original tale centres around a retirement home set up in Bangalore with the intention of attracting British pensioners We are introduced to a variety of characters, from the Indian operators of the home to the incoming residents and their offspring - ranging from the unscrupulous to the exasperated - who are prepared to export their ageing parents halfway across the globeAs the new arrivals touch down on Indian soil the plot takes a breather. At that point I fet there was no plot hook, nothing specific to force the reader to read on, beyond an interest in the characters and the way they are likely to react to eachother and their new environment.Fortunately this is what Deborah Moggach does best - the development of fascinating characters through sharp and witty observation ('Look at that Mrs Greenslade, a vision in beige, so well mannered she hardly existed any more....'). There are so many of them clamouring for our attention; if anything the book was too short to accommodate them all - expand it a bit and we would have had more time to enjoy the individual stories branching off the main 'trunk' of the story. This said, everything was resolved with the help of some hectic head-hopping as the book headed for its conclusionA jolly good read, as always from Deborah Moggach. She writes the sort of lively character-based fiction that Kate Atkinson writes with such commercial success, and she has been doing it for years and years.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Charming and amusing read. Quirky British seniors from all walks of life, retire to a hotel in Bangalore, India. Each character is given a life before their current one at the "Dun Roamin" hotel (pun itended). They bring their frightening, silly , and down-right nervy "baggage" with them to their new "home" with each other. The interactions are quite funny and sometimes quite sad. I look forward to seeing the upcoming movie based on this novel, "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", with Judi Dench. I hope the character she plays is Evelyn Greenslade.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    “Everything will be alright in the end, so if it is not alright it is not the end.”This is one of those rare occasions where I preferred the film, although the film is only loosely based on the book. This book is very racist and reeks of colonisation. The British characters were either outright, unapologetically racist, or pretended not to be racist, whilst looking down on the Indian characters. So why did they move to India if they had such negative views of the country and its people? To stretch out their meagre pensions of course! Not too dissimilar to the ex-pat Brits who voted to leave the EU yet demanded the right to live in their European villas claiming the best of both worlds. I get that this was meant to be comical, 'carry-on' comical perhaps. I also see this very negative nature reflected in many elderly people around me in the UK, so I get that it is a reflection of the real world, but that doesn't make it ok or acceptable. It left a bad taste in my mouth.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book is the rare case where I like the movie better than the book! The book is very convoluted and I can see why intense editing was necessary to turn it into a movie.... it would have been R-rated otherwise.I listened to the audiobook and the narration by Juliet Mills was the highlight of this production!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I actually enjoyed the movie more. Almost half of the book is taken up introducing the many characters before they move to India, and that makes it move slowly. The second half is better, with action taking place, but the stories do not feel as developed as I expected. There are probably too many different threads going on for any of them to get very deep. Still, this was a fine book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Much different then the film which I had seen before reading the book. The beginning of the novel is dark with characters who generate little sympathy. However, when they get to India, things liven up and most of them open their minds and learn to take advantage of what their new circumstances give them.The book has more characters than the film and an important one from the film is not in the book. Still a pleasant read once the plot moves to India.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    The idea of an old folks' home in Bangalore is interesting and has great comedic potential, but the execution in this novel did not work for me.

    I found this book's characters unpleasant. They were generally conniving, dishonest, racist, self-serving, and dull.

    The plot was slow and meandering. By the time any of the elderly characters were in India, I had already lost interest.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A diverse group of seniors have been given the chance to reside at a retirement home - sorry, hotel - in India. For various reasons the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is their most attractive option.There are more characters, more complexities, and a more interesting story line, than the movie, which is significantly different. And although there is a deeper, more serious slant, the story is highly entertaining. Differences in culture are stark, but the human ability to adapt is still alive. Moggach portrays the modern India with its call centres and "Silicon Valley" existing side by side with poverty. What I liked least was that most of the characters had so much regret, and so little of their lives to look back on with joy.The book was originally published with the title These Foolish Things. After the success of the movie it was reprinted as a movie tie-in. If I hadn't already seen the movie, I don't think I would have enjoyed this book as much. I could hear Judi Dench's voice every time Evelyn spoke.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The book is a pleasant feel-good book with the odd sad moment. It is one million times better than the film.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Having enjoyed the film, when I had the opportunity to read this book, I jumped at the chance. And as usually happens, the book is much better, the film being a pale sanitized version of the novel. The characters are different, the action is more complicated and interesting. The ending, however, is blessedly happy. This is a quick read and perfect for the end of summer.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    2.5**

    Several British retirees move to Bangalore after falling for the promises made in a promotional video for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. This is a new type of retirement community, in a country where the elderly are revered. They are promised adventure, multiple activities, good food, on-site health care, and lower costs. What they get is not what they expected.

    The novel features quite a collection of characters – a randy old man, a slippery entrepreneur, a dissatisfied hotel owner, a whiny and beleaguered widow whose son may be a crook, an adventurous married couple whose life is just too perfect to be believed, a sweet elderly woman whose son and daughter have basically abandoned her and whose savings have dwindled, and an Indian-born doctor and his British wife whose marriage is at a crossroads. Moggach also sprinkles in a variety of minor characters that come and go but sometimes have a major impact on the plot.

    There are some aspects of the story that I really enjoyed. I liked seeing the major characters come face to face with issues they had shoved aside for so long. Some of them really blossomed in the new environment. I liked that not everyone’s story ends nice and neat and tied up with a pretty bow. I liked the unexpected alliances and relationships that formed. What I didn’t like so much was that it felt disjointed and not fully developed. A few of the coincidences were just too far-fetched and unbelievable to me. Also, having such a large cast of characters meant that I could never get close enough to them to really understand or relate to any one of them.

    I was intrigued by the premise and, much like the characters in the book, seduced by the promises of the movie version. On the whole I did not find the book particularly entertaining or charming. It wasn’t bad, but it was rather blah.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Loved this book...a fun, easy read that also made me think a bit about the challenges of aging. Can't wait for the movie!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This book was originally published with the title, 'These Foolish Things', which after having read the book, I think that would have been a more apropos title, albeit, not quite as exotic.

    The plot had promise, the gist being of a retirement home ('hotel') being set up in Bangalore, India for old folks in England to retire to. The first part of the book told their individual stories, as to why they were leaving their homeland for another clime. I looked forward to the rest of the book where their paths and lives converged on a foreign shore.

    However, the author continued largely with their individual stories and of their adaptation 'issues' -- which was perhaps the original premise of the novel -- drawing on each character's idiosyncrasies. The problem, for me, was that I felt the ending was too abrupt, a too hasty attempt to tie up loose ends, which didn't match the pace of the rest of the novel, hence the low rating. I have not yet watched the movie, and am interested in making comparisons.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fun read. It's fiction and has some 'holes' that could be called weak spots - - but what the heck - it has lots of human interest, children's reactions to elderly parents, and elder realities of elderness. All that elder-said, it's still a fun book with lots of unique characters.
    Then the setting of somewhat 'cast-off' Brits in the country of castes in the cast off British empire and with the CAST of actors in the movie . . .
    The books seems to be just the tip of an iceberg of further plots and explorations.
    I'm ready to read more.
    I thought each of the characters had so much more room to be developed and expanded that this could be a series of books - like Alexander McCall Smith does - or made into a TV series.
    Chose it because I want to see the movie (hopefully soon) and I enjoy reading the book first.
    With that marvelous cast of characters - seems the movie has gotten great reviews and with that cast - could imagine this as the basis for a Masterpiece Theatre "At the Marigold"
    Go ahead - read it!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    A nice enough little story about about some elderly English living out their senility in India.

    Gosh, even that sentence bores me. I don't want to be overly negative, it was an okay book. It was a fast read which helped, any longer/slower and I would have abandoned it.

    The first three-quarters of the book were setting the scene for a plot that lasted barely a dozen pages. The characters were lovely, lots of unexplained behaviors. Was this book written with a movie in mind?

    I wouldn't read it again. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I wouldn't tell anyone not to read it either... One of this kind of books.