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vielzitrone's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
andrew_j_r's review against another edition
3.0
How to sum up The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel...
Firstly, I have not seen the film, so I had no expectations based on that, although the edition that I own is the tie in with the movie.
There are a lot of characters, and they are introduced in a way that is not all that skill full. In fact three are so many that, once I was into the book, when a chapter that concentrated on one character ended and the next started, I would often have to think about who that was and what their backstory was.
All of the characters that end up in the hotel are introduced in the first part of the book, even though some do not end up there straight away, and again because you have not heard from them in a while you do have to think about who they are. In a way, I think the author has tried to cram too many characters into too few pages - at only 281 pages, this book could have been fifty percent longer and still seemed like quite a quick read.
The book has a melancholy feel to it. I do like the way that some of the characters are extremely memorable - it is hard not to like Norman, even though he is basically a dirty old man, and whilst some of the older characters are painted (I think deliberately) somewhat as stereotypes, once they get to India they all seem to come out of their shell.
So to sum up: the characters should have been introduced more gradually, the book needed to be longer, but at heart it tries to remind us that older people are basically younger people in older bodies - their age should not define them, though increasingly in our society it seems to do that.
So generally I liked it. I will now watch the movie!
Firstly, I have not seen the film, so I had no expectations based on that, although the edition that I own is the tie in with the movie.
There are a lot of characters, and they are introduced in a way that is not all that skill full. In fact three are so many that, once I was into the book, when a chapter that concentrated on one character ended and the next started, I would often have to think about who that was and what their backstory was.
All of the characters that end up in the hotel are introduced in the first part of the book, even though some do not end up there straight away, and again because you have not heard from them in a while you do have to think about who they are. In a way, I think the author has tried to cram too many characters into too few pages - at only 281 pages, this book could have been fifty percent longer and still seemed like quite a quick read.
The book has a melancholy feel to it. I do like the way that some of the characters are extremely memorable - it is hard not to like Norman, even though he is basically a dirty old man, and whilst some of the older characters are painted (I think deliberately) somewhat as stereotypes, once they get to India they all seem to come out of their shell.
So to sum up: the characters should have been introduced more gradually, the book needed to be longer, but at heart it tries to remind us that older people are basically younger people in older bodies - their age should not define them, though increasingly in our society it seems to do that.
So generally I liked it. I will now watch the movie!
arthurbennett07's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
jacki_f's review against another edition
4.0
I have not seen the film which was made from this book and which prompted the title change from the original (and boringly generic) [b:These Foolish Things|1214270|These Foolish Things|Deborah Moggach|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1343179480s/1214270.jpg|17999784]. However I very much enjoyed this gently charming story which is in parts very sad and in other parts quite hilarious.
The story is about a very anglicised Indian doctor working in the UK who is being driven mad by his boorish father-in-law. He hatches a plan with his Indian-based cousin to establish a rest home for the elderly English in Bangalore. The 24 available places are quickly snapped up by children anxious to send their parents away or by elderly women who have become disenchanted with today's England and who sense the opportunity for a more traditional way of life in India. Despite the many hiccups behind the scenes in getting the rest home up and running, the residents quickly adapt to life in India and many of them discover a new lease on life or a new perspective on the lives that they have left behind.
For the most part it's a light-hearted and very enjoyable book to read but there are also some thought-provoking observations about racism, the outsourcing of industries and the way we treat the elderly.
The story is about a very anglicised Indian doctor working in the UK who is being driven mad by his boorish father-in-law. He hatches a plan with his Indian-based cousin to establish a rest home for the elderly English in Bangalore. The 24 available places are quickly snapped up by children anxious to send their parents away or by elderly women who have become disenchanted with today's England and who sense the opportunity for a more traditional way of life in India. Despite the many hiccups behind the scenes in getting the rest home up and running, the residents quickly adapt to life in India and many of them discover a new lease on life or a new perspective on the lives that they have left behind.
For the most part it's a light-hearted and very enjoyable book to read but there are also some thought-provoking observations about racism, the outsourcing of industries and the way we treat the elderly.
canuckmum's review against another edition
This book was the basis for the motion picture "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel".
samyukta_24's review against another edition
1.0
This book was just…..plain bizarre. I liked the pacing of the plot if we can even call it a plot, but there was just so much subtle racism, stereotypical and vaguely insulting descriptions and dialogues, and the weirdest obsession with fetishizing Indians, that I really wanted to stop reading midway. It didn’t get better in the second half, what with witnessing one of the worst ways to kill off a character, and just how abnormally everything was tied up in the end.
There are a lot of characters, and even though there was one chapter devoted to each of them, by the end I really couldn’t care. Not a single one of them was likable, (yes, even Evelyn), and I found myself not really being interested in what happened to them, or whatever revelations they were going through.
The book started off nice enough with a grand plan by Dr. Ravi Kapoor and his cousin Sonny to renovate an old building in Bangalore, India, and turn it into a retirement “hotel” exclusively for British senior citizens. I still cannot believe this book was first published in the 21st century, because it feels like it was written way before that, what with the free use of some very derogatory terms. The people finally arrive, each with their own set of problems and reasons for coming, and then they basically sit around having “adventures” and marveling at how India is so poor, crowded, and mysterious.
Offensive remarks, which I suppose were meant to sound wry and droll or whatever are made on Hinduism, “those Muslim terrorists”, and how they are actually not racist, but would really appreciate some white people around them in times of crisis. It is not even like they later realize things are different and they were misguided in how they perceived India. Till the end, that faint condescending superior way of looking down and talking feeling was still present, making me very nearly want to physically throw the book away. And if that wasn’t enough, there were just so many instances of associating Indians with how exotically sexually experienced and sensual and seductive they were. Was that supposed to be taken as a compliment??? I thought it was just another one-time bizarre thing but it kept cropping up in the weirdest of places.
One of the things that really bothered me though was the completely unnecessary and not-fitting-at-all quotes used at the start of each chapter, taken from books on Hindu philosophy and religion. Not only did they not add anything to the chapter, they felt very, very out-of-place and confusing.
I bought the book because I liked the premise, but I kind of felt “India” was just used as clickbait, in this case. I couldn’t feel any of the characters actually experiencing anything special by being in India, nor did I notice any change in them that felt naturally occurring. The ending was also so, so bizarre (bags of cocaine to start an orphanage, really???), that I really couldn’t find anything to like about this book. It was fast-paced, and I think I would have liked it more if the interactions would have been more genuine, and the characters a bit less in number. I did find Theresa’s journey a bit more bearable to read, but it was also so hastily resolved and ignored.
All in all, a hard pass.
There are a lot of characters, and even though there was one chapter devoted to each of them, by the end I really couldn’t care. Not a single one of them was likable, (yes, even Evelyn), and I found myself not really being interested in what happened to them, or whatever revelations they were going through.
The book started off nice enough with a grand plan by Dr. Ravi Kapoor and his cousin Sonny to renovate an old building in Bangalore, India, and turn it into a retirement “hotel” exclusively for British senior citizens. I still cannot believe this book was first published in the 21st century, because it feels like it was written way before that, what with the free use of some very derogatory terms. The people finally arrive, each with their own set of problems and reasons for coming, and then they basically sit around having “adventures” and marveling at how India is so poor, crowded, and mysterious.
Offensive remarks, which I suppose were meant to sound wry and droll or whatever are made on Hinduism, “those Muslim terrorists”, and how they are actually not racist, but would really appreciate some white people around them in times of crisis. It is not even like they later realize things are different and they were misguided in how they perceived India. Till the end, that faint condescending superior way of looking down and talking feeling was still present, making me very nearly want to physically throw the book away. And if that wasn’t enough, there were just so many instances of associating Indians with how exotically sexually experienced and sensual and seductive they were. Was that supposed to be taken as a compliment??? I thought it was just another one-time bizarre thing but it kept cropping up in the weirdest of places.
One of the things that really bothered me though was the completely unnecessary and not-fitting-at-all quotes used at the start of each chapter, taken from books on Hindu philosophy and religion. Not only did they not add anything to the chapter, they felt very, very out-of-place and confusing.
I bought the book because I liked the premise, but I kind of felt “India” was just used as clickbait, in this case. I couldn’t feel any of the characters actually experiencing anything special by being in India, nor did I notice any change in them that felt naturally occurring. The ending was also so, so bizarre (bags of cocaine to start an orphanage, really???), that I really couldn’t find anything to like about this book. It was fast-paced, and I think I would have liked it more if the interactions would have been more genuine, and the characters a bit less in number. I did find Theresa’s journey a bit more bearable to read, but it was also so hastily resolved and ignored.
All in all, a hard pass.