I am surprised, that almost nowhere this fact is mentioned.
I have seen already two episodes and up to now the book is definitely better. Read the book!
Biggest disappointment are main characters, Denise and Moray - they dont have any charisma at all, same about chemistry between them.
But I will continue watching, as I like some secondary characters.. other interest is to see how the script will differ from original story.
Every week the script differs a little more from the original story.
Interesting characters from the book are overlooked (Denise's brothers, Bourras, her uncle's family) and new ones are invented and new relationships between the protagonists are made up.
There are so many good sub-stories in the novel and they are not used it's a pity.
But the biggest difference is in the general atmosphere, Denise is supposed struggling much much more and Moray to be indifferent to the miseries of his employees blinded by his restless ambition.
In my humble opinion the series do not capture well the spirit of the book.
In love! You know, dizzy and feverish and nausea.
That's not love, Jacks. That's the flu.
I was happy when I read it was a new version of the book, it was one of my fav. And now I'm not happy because they wrote so many stupid stories when book is interesting, they 'deleted' some colourful characters and so on. Besides Moray-in-the-series is boring when Moray-in-the-book was so, I don't know, charismatic and full of life and kinda like Don Vito used to say, he did have reall ba[censopred]lls. Compared to the book it's rather dull even with the creepy Jonas. I miss the brothers.
M.
Compared to the book it's rather dull
I miss the rich nobleman (the widow's ex-lover), besides in the book he creates the place for Denise, a department with kid's clothes (and maybe toys, not sure and can't find my book at the moment to check it) while in the last episode he's furious when she invents it - which is stupid. It's like he's smarter in the book or not scared of new ideas and he's more conservative in the series. It's weird, they didn't have to change him so much.
Softened? You mean the conditions are better plus an average employee isn't poor as a church mouse?
M.
Softened? You mean the conditions are better plus an average employee isn't poor as a church mouse?
I remember. And I think he-in-the-series isn't himself-in-the-book which makes him colorless and kinda hard to put up with.
Besides some changes (in the book) happened because he tried to woo Denise and to achieve this he presented himself as a humane and caring person. Not all of changes, mind you.
M.
Denise-in-the-series is too pretty, too self-confident, too ambitious: that line 'I don't want to marry Moray I want to be him' is totaly out of the Denise-in-the-book's character. She is too "modern"
He-in-the-book felt for her because she is pure, sweet, honest, courageous and true to her self and not because she is a business genius.
He is supposed be the one having all the commercial ideas, I think that the only improvements she propose further in the book concern only the well being of the employees.
It's a 19th century novel wrote by a man and not a feminist one, a novel in which men and women are far to be equals
In love! You know, dizzy and feverish and nausea.
That's not love, Jacks. That's the flu.
Have you read episode guides on tvrage.com? There's something which totally opposes one of the main ideas of the book. I quote only the relevant part of the guide for ep.6:
"Despite the warnings of an experienced Miss Audrey, Denise is unable to keep her true feelings from Moray any longer... But will her actions cause her to leave The Paradise for good?"
End of quote. I hope it's a misunderstanding but if it's true, well, the series quality will deteriorate even faster.
He-in-the-book DIDN'T KNOW she loved him, was unsure of her, her and his feelings - it made him a better person. She-in-the-book admitted it only in the last scene! Crap!
M.
Right! He must be the one pursuing her, he must suffer by her resistance and trough that become a better men.
I wonder if the scrip writers have read the novel or only the summary on the back cover.
Usualy I can 'forget about the book' and enjoy an adaptation despite the changes but here It's difficult because I found the original story so much better. To much anecdotic stories here and not enough of the main one.
In love! You know, dizzy and feverish and nausea.
That's not love, Jacks. That's the flu.
Well, it can be worse...
Lots of sex out of wedlock, then Denise breaks with him and creates her own net of shops bigger and better than Paradise... or something.
Oh no! Don't let THEM read it because it's possible they write something similar!
Anyway, I removed it from my amazon basket to my wishlist and will wait for development. If it's not improved, I can remove it from my wishlist, too.
M.
Lots of sex out of wedlock
Actually my idea was:
lots of sex - for them both - together
Writers changed so much (and their version is so idiotic and pointless) - so why not change that, too?
Could the actor be too young and not very experienced? I checked him and it looks like his characters are often secondary and now he must in a way create the whole series. The actress may or may not be inexperienced when Denise-in-the-book was rather naive and inexperienced but he should be different. Maybe it could work with a person similar to Christopher Eccleston or Jason Isaacs? Older, more refined, more experienced, previously had leading roles and so on. Both aren't dull.
That is when(if) one accepts stupid changes.
M.
The dance, the ridiculous illness and the birthday party... it's worse every week...
In love! You know, dizzy and feverish and nausea.
That's not love, Jacks. That's the flu.
[deleted]
My understanding was that what Miss Audrey suffered from was related to her anxiety - she had had similar symptoms (losing her voice) years before when Edmund had proposed to her, and she was in the quandary of choosing between her profession, which she loved, and security as a married woman. Now she was worried about aging and being eclipsed in her work.
I haven't read Zola's book, but from everyone's descriptions in this thread it seems the series is more 'inspired by' than 'based on'. Probably we shouldn't actually expect it to adhere too closely to the book? As someone who hasn't read it, I must say I don't find Moray dull and uninteresting - I think he has lots of charisma of his own. It seems he's a totally different character than the one in the book, but I like him, and I enjoy all the rest of the characters, stories and subplots. Maybe it's just my bad taste :)
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...in this neighbourhood heroes are scarce, or simply not to be found.
Bill Gallagher who wrote the script never said it was based totally on the book more inspired he is using artistic licence and i have to say i am really enjoying it. I admit i have'nt read the book yet although i did purchase it and read the end it was'nt difficult to figure out. I have preordered the DVD from Amazon and i am definately not regretting it.
shareMaybe it's just my bad taste :)
The one thing that seems a winner to me is the Daniele Steel aspect of smart as a whip Denise.
LOL, I love the way you worded that. And it's perfect. I totally got exactly what you meant. (Plus I agree, lol.) Denise isn't quite a Mary-Sue, she's more like a Danielle Steel creation.
P.S. I've only ever read one Danielle Steel book: Fine Things, because my sister gave it to me and wanted me to read it so we could discuss it. But I have watched some of the programs adapted from her novels (to please same sister).
Now Judith Krantz's trashy novels were much more my style (back in the 1980's when I moved out of my parents' house and didn't have to worry about what Mom would think, lol).
Danielle Steel sort of = "Judith Krantz light"
I'm enjoying the series (not a big fan of Moray) and had a couple of questions. Thanks in advance ....................... 1) Does the book differ greatly from the series? .................... 2) Is the book worth reading? ..................... 3) Does the book have a decent ending?
share
1) Yes 2) Yes 3) Yes
In love! You know, dizzy and feverish and nausea.
That's not love, Jacks. That's the flu.
I read a summary of the book and I think they made some good and bad changes. I actually like that he falls in love with her because, as he said, she is his inspiration, rather than because she is unattainable, which is what I got from the novel. I like that she's ambitious, also. I found them both charismatic and I thought their chemistry was very believable.
I also like that Moray is broken by his wife's death. That's the part of his character I found most interesting, so I'd hate for them to have not changed that. It makes an interesting contrast to the public, self-assured man he seems.
I do wish they'd focused more on the working conditions and Moray's business drive. I would have liked to see him a bit more ruthless (not necessarily cruel, but definitely willing to sacrifice his worker's pay and comfort) and to see everyone not so thrilled to be working there.
Anyway, it's always hard for a series to measure up to a book, in my opinion. But I think it would be better to look at this by inspired only by the setting and general course of the book, they seemed to have made the themes and characters their own.
Till the gossamer thread you fling, catch somewhere, O my Soul.
I'm sorry but from my pov the series is too mild, boring and nice and it's only because I used to love the book. I think I prefer Mr. Selfridge which is more realistic.
M.
Sod the book. It doesn't have joanna vanderham!
shareI recently started watching Mr. Selfridge and I find it sometimes interesting but mostly tedious. The Paradise is much better IMO.
Where you see mild and nice, I see a feeling of optimism presented in a different way at looking at the theme of changing times.
Having recently both read the original book and watched this series, I have decided that the two are different entities. Both excellent in their own right. Still, what Gallagher did with the book I find to be rather ingenious. Reading it, I could see how a line or a character trait inspired his ideas for The Paradise.
While Denise suffers much more in the novel, the second half of the book shows us how this character could be turned into TV Denise for she is a good saleswoman, full of ideas. And in fact, book Mouret realizes he has feelings for Denise when she discusses her ideas with him on a walk.
I personally enjoy both interpretations though. Mouret versus Moray are two very different characters. Mouret is even more ruthless and a seducer of women than Moray (who seems to have only slept with Clara once rather than making her his mistress as well as other women he uses). Mouret is also much more obsessed with Denise than Moray is. It does make for an interesting read.
Overall though, I like TV Denise and Moray more because it is more romantic. Moray is also more likable while still holding on to a bit of the darkness. I like the soulmate kind of connection between them in the show. It definitely has a nice build up.
What I like about The Paradise versus Mr. Selfridge is that Gallagher took a realistic novel of that time and made it more hopeful and idealistic. It is more dreamlike than gritty. I personally prefer that. As for Mr. Selfridge, most of the characters are not very likable. But then again, I am more a fan of either classics or fantasy than I am of contemporary realism. I am more interested in romanticism. Maybe that will be the difference for different viewers as Mr. Selfridge, while period and interesting at times, has a modern realism to its core that I find dull and tedious.