What a wonderful idea: an English retirement home in India and, thanks to Moggach’s perceptive mind, the book is a real gem. A tale of coping with a different culture and still seeking love whatever your age.
When Ravi Kapoor, an over-worked London doctor, is driven beyond endurance by his disgusting and difficult father-in-law, he asks his wife: 'Can't we just send him away somewhere? Somewhere far, far away.' His prayer seems to have been answered when his entrepreneurial cousin, Sonny, sets up a retirement home, recreating a lost corner of England in a converted guesthouse in Bangalore. Travel and set-up are inexpensive, staff willing and plentiful - and the British pensioners can enjoy the hot weather and take mango juice with their gin. These Foolish Things is a brilliant comedy of manners, mixing acute observation with a deeper message about how different cultures cope in the modern world.
Sunday Telegraph 'She writes beautifully, as always, and the phrase-making is as good as the characterisation...brilliant'
Author
About Deborah Moggach
Deborah Moggach is the prize-winning author of numerous screenplays including STOLEN, GOGGLE-EYES, SEE-SAW and CLOSE RELATIONS, and FINAL DEMAND (starring Tamsin Outhwaite) will be shown on BBC 1 this Easter. Her many novels include the bestselling TULIP FEVER and PORKY. She is Chairman of the Society of Authors and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She lives in North London.
