The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was such a great book to read over two snow days. While it left me wondering what will really happen to me as I age, it also made me really want to visit India. Or, to be an Indian parent, as children there respect their aging parents and take care of them with love and dignity. This is certainly one way in which the the Indian culture is more advanced than here in America.
The novel's plot is simple and extremely entertaining and endearing: aging men and women, mostly women, from England, whose pensions are running out or running thin, find themselves traveling to Bangalore, India to live in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a retirement community of sorts created by Ravi Kapoor and his cousin as a way to get Ravi's irritating father-in-law (Norman) out of his house. It doesn't take long to fall in love with the characters, even Norman, as they realize that this is what they have to do in order to continue on with their lives. They must move to India and they make the best of a bad situation--they become each other's new family.
I was so inspired by the positivity of these older folks and their determination that their life, while not the same as it was in England, could be just as good as it once was. I was so inspired that as soon as I finished the book, I downloaded the movie version and watched it on my iPad. ("The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" begins playing in theaters today so I was anxious to see the first one before watching the second one). I have to admit that the book was so much better (SO MUCH BETTER) than the movie that I almost wished I hadn't watched the movie and I will probably wait for the second movie to come to HBO/Showtime before watching it. I do wish that the sequel had been a book first so I could read it instead of watching it, but sadly, it's only a movie.
I think this story, while seemingly covering a heavy topic, is presented in such a light way that this would be a good book to devour at the beach or the pool over the summer. The characters are so sweet and adorable and just plain good. They are the sort of people you wish you knew.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a feel-good read.
Happy reading, everyone!
-Dodie
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