The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

By: Deborah Moggach

Narrated by: Juliet Mills

Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's Summary

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 sophisiticated 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.

©2012 Deborah Moggach (P)2012 Random House

Critic Reviews

“[Deborah] Moggach has served us a treat with this novel. Moving, sincere, funny.” (Independent on Sunday)

“Underneath the ironies, [ The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel] is a book about remembering - too late, or not too late - how to be alive.” ( The Times Literary Supplement)

"Classic Moggach: funny, touching, and... full of colours and visual details.” ( The Daily Telegraph)

Loved every minute of this book!

Beautifully written and narrated. The story transported me. I wanted it to go on forever.

8 people found this helpful

Better than the movie!

Would you listen to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel again? Why?

Yes, complex story-line and excellent narration.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel?

I watched the movie, which I loved, and was inspired to 'read' the book expecting the same story. I was pleasantly surprised when the book went much deeper into all the characters stories and introduced new characters.

What does Juliet Mills bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Ms. Mills brought the characters and location to life - one could almost smell the heat in India.

If you could rename The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, what would you call it?

Live Before Dying

3 people found this helpful

Screenwriters Changed it for the Better

I saw the movie recently and looked forward to reading/hearing the book, because I almost always like the book better! Well, in this case, the screenwriters did a great job of streamlining the plot and condensing the cast of characters.
This book is a little strange. It's target audience, I think, may be a bit put off by the predominance of rather coarse sexuality. Younger people may not enjoy the yuck factor of senior soft porn. There are so many characters that you find yourself unable to relate to all of them.
Juliet Mills does a fine job, but see the movie instead!

11 people found this helpful

I loved this book!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a good laugh especially anyone close to retirement age. Juliet Mills was terrific.

What other book might you compare The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel to and why?

I can't think of any. This was unique.

What about Juliet Mills’s performance did you like?

I loved how she did all the different voices. She did an excellent job on her Indian accents.

Any additional comments?

I so enjoyed the book that I wanted to see the movie. That was a big mistake. What a huge disappointment. The only thing similar was India and a few elderly people move to India! Don't watch the movie. It will ruin any wonderful memories of this story. The only good thing in the movie was watching Judi Densch. She is one of my favourite actors. This book was very entertaining.

5 people found this helpful

Enjoyed it

Juliet Mills does a very good job reading this entertaining story. The book itself is pretty light weight, enjoyable but no real deep meanings or revelations.

4 people found this helpful

could have been much better

The writer started off with a great idea but it never really came together. The stories interconnected in a rather absurd way and there was not very good character development. I think that although it was a cute story and not a terrible way to spend credits and time, it missed the boat! It seemed like it was a first novel to me, very amateurish.

8 people found this helpful

First for everything

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

The person who has not seen the movie and therefore has no expectations.

Has The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, I will still listen to or read other books with similar themes.

Which character – as performed by Juliet Mills – was your favorite?

Evelyn.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel?

See additional comments.

Any additional comments?

This is indeed a first for me. When asked if I liked the book or the movie better the obvious answer has always been, "the book!" This is the exception. I saw the movie first and the characters and their lives are composites of the characters written in the book. I would have been okay with that since the movie is written based on the book. But the cover of the audio book is the same as the movie complete with pictures of the actors. There could have been maybe 30% similarity. And honestly the book could have been a lot better with a combination of the characters in the book and those in the movie. The characters in the book were not strong enough to bring the characters off the page for me and the plot was most certainly weak in my opinion.

1 person found this helpful

A disappointment.

Any additional comments?

I usually enjoy a book so much more than a movie, so when I saw the movie I was determined to read the book. The stories are completely different. This story did not engage my interest. I was not put off by anything, I simply didn't care what happened to the characters. I was enchanted by the movie and will buy it for my collection.

1 person found this helpful

The book is not the same story line as the movie.

Any additional comments?

This book should not be sold as the Marigold Hotel. It should still be named These Foolish Things. I liked the story line of the movie much more than the book. I am not just referring to the visuals and the sounds,The characters are similar, but they are also so different from book to movie. Enjoy the book for what it is, Just do not expect it to follow the movie.

5 people found this helpful

unable to follow the arc of the story

Listened to the whole book, and was unable to make sense of it. It seemed to me to be just a random telling of stories, without connection. Narration however, was very nice.

4 people found this helpful