These Foolish Things

A thoroughly enjoyable black comedy from the author ofTulip Fever. Dr Ravi Kapoor has reached the end of his tether. He is over-worked and exhausted; his South London hospital is out of funds; and reporters are hounding him about the death of a pensioner, who, for three days lay on a trolley untended, the blood stiffening on her clothes. Even home life has become impossible as his father-in-law, a disgusting and difficult old man, has been kicked out of his nursing home and has moved into Ravi's spare bedroom. But then that "tip top man," his cousin, Sonny, has a brainwave. Dunroamin is a converted guesthouse in Bangalore, where Sonny starts a retirement home, recreating a lost corner of England. 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 Thingsis a brilliant comedy of manners, mixing acute observation with a deeper message about how different cultures cope in the modern world.