The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (by Deborah Moggach)

(Amazon UK link)

We first watched the film ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ in 2013, and loved it. So when I saw the book on which the film was based, at a church book sale, I decided to buy it. I hadn’t heard of Deborah Moggach, but my edition of the book showed some of the cast of the film, and I thought it would be interesting to read the original novel. Apparently it was originally published with the title, ‘These Foolish Things’. 

I bought the book nearly four years ago and it sat on my to-read shelf all this time. I have only just read it in the past few days. We watched the film again in the meantime, in 2021, so I was quite familiar with the overall storyline. And in a broad sense, the film does follow the book. A group of British pensioners decide, for various reasons, to move to India and live in a retirement home that’s advertised as luxurious but which turns out to be very run-down, with some parts still under construction. 

The film opens with cameo scenes introducing the elderly characters who are going to move to the ‘Marigold Hotel’ in India. The book starts in the same way. Two of the characters are easily recognisable as those in the film: Muriel (Maggie Smith’s character) who is grumpy and bigoted, and Evelyn (Judi Dench’s character) who has recently been widowed, and finds herself in difficult financial straits.

There is a lot more back story in the book. I don’t remember either Muriel or Evelyn having adult children who were significant in their decision-making, but they play quite a big part in the book. And while Evelyn’s story is quite interesting, I found Muriel’s circumstances quite unpleasant, with one very shocking event in the book, which (thankfully) doesn’t happen in the film. 

Other characters in the book feel rather less like those in the film. Some are combined for the film, but the character of the sex-obsessed Norman, mildly amusing in the film, is very unpleasant in the book.  And while each of the characters is well-developed, with diverse and interesting storylines, there are more in the book than I could keep in my mind. 

In the film, the elderly folk fly out to India fairly early, and a lot is made of the ramshackle nature of the building, the lack of facilities, and many other difficulties that are resolved. Of course that’s easier to do in a visual medium. The book doesn’t  have them flying out until much later in the story, and then there’s really only a hint that the building is not quite what they expected. The film has the owner, Sonny, rather naive but charming and probably no more than thirty. In the book, he’s fifty, and an astute businessman who may be doing some dodgy things.

I know it’s not really fair to compare the book with its film. The book came first, and the overall story is unusual, and a great idea for a novel. Perhaps I should have read the book first. But if I had, I suspect I might not have bothered with the film at all, and that would have been a pity. However, I’m glad that others liked it sufficiently that they decided to make the film. So don’t necessarily take note of my opinion. 

I’m pleased that I’ve now read the book, but I don't expect I'll read it again. I found too much of it rather sordid. Other sections are stereotyped, and several of the people are caricatured. I didn’t find anything funny or even particularly moving, in the book. The strange coincidence towards the end (of two younger people bumping into each other) makes for a nice storyline, but isn’t at all believable.

I kept reading, which I might not have done if I hadn’t loved the film so much. But I really didn’t like the book all that much, and thought the ending quite contrived. 

It’s not often that I like a movie so much better than the book which inspired it. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews