Don't Judge a Book By its (TV) Series: The Cook of Castamar

 Welcome to a new section of this little blog called "Don't Judge A Book By Its (TV) Series". In this section we will take a look at book adaptations on TV and dissect a little the main differences and how they fare against the original work!

Today I am starting with this book called "La Cocinera de Castamar" (The Cook of Castamar) by Fernando J. Muñez. 

 

 I watched this book turned series named "The Cook of Castamar" and liked the series so much that I got the book to read it - original version is in Spanish. This is going to be a spoilery review so beware - I'll do my best to avoid giving away the whole plot nevertheless.

I found that the series took elements from the book and used it to weave them into a similar story, one that changes several parts of the plot, giving more prominence to certain characters that the one they have in the book, and some of the parts of the story were changed as well. For example, the Dowager Duchess is not as influential in the book as she is in the series, and the plot device of Amelia's pregnancy is inexistent in the book. Her character is not really as antagonistic as in the series, and perhaps one of the biggest changes, Clara's father has been dead for a while in the book, and her mother and sister live out of Spain.

However, I found that the adaptation managed to keep the essence of the main story-line of the Marquis of Soto revenge against the Duke of Castamar and the Duke's mourning for his late wife and how Clara becoming part of the kitchen service and her becoming the cook makes an impact in the Duke's life. The book made emphasis of Clara's previous life as the daughter of a doctor who fell in disgrace and how the struggles of a recent war - The War of Spanish Succession -  were still present in the Spanish society, and how this course of events changed things for a lot of people, based on who they were supporting during the war. In Clara's case, from being an educated young lady, she went to service and how the potential of a romantic relationship with the Duke in her previous life would have been frowned upon, but not outright disliked. The true antagonists - the Marquis of Soto and Doña Sol - are still the masterminds behind all these webs of deception and revenge but rest assured, them and their minions find fair punishment for their crimes.

Also these were times of the dusk of the Spanish Empire, where things would change for both Europe and their colonies in about a century - so we read how the nobility and the common folk acted in a world where the American continent was home of European colonies and products were traded from their lands - I found some of the bits of information interesting, like the fact that potatoes were at first regarded as food for cattle and farm animals! 

As I mention the American colonies and the customs of the time, one of the aspects of the story that I found quite relevant is the fact of the Duke having a Black brother - since his father, the late Duke, had adopted a child in slavery. I felt that this was something that could have happened, taking into account the social status of the Duke, but as we can see in the story, how the Duke's brother, Gabriel, suffers discrimination and abuse when he's not protected by his powerful brother. Having this storyline the same as in the book gives a powerful message on how racial issues have been and are treated, and even if there have been changes, there's still road ahead for improvement.

I really enjoyed how Clara regards her situation and even when she's at her lowest, working at a kitchen and under her agoraphobia disorder, she realizes it's a temporary situation and keeps a hopeful perspective. It reminded me somehow of "La vida es sueño" ("Life is a dream") soliloquy by Calderón de la Barca where the speaker realizes how transitory their current ailments and sufferings might be. And she keeps herself into this state of realization, even when things get better for her and her budding relationship with the Duke.

Some people might think: "I have read the book, should I watch the series?" or viceversa. I consider the series to be a great adaptation, where certain elements of the book were highlighted in such a way, surrounded by a perfect combination of performance, cinematography and costuming. It is also a great visual aid for certain aspects from the book that might be anachronistic for our reality. I feel like both the series and the book expand each other, the book providing more background details for the characters, which would not be adequate for a series pace but in the book don't harm the plot at all - and the series bringing to life all those details I've just mentioned.

There are certain choices taken in the adaptation, but personally I don't feel they harm the story that much. Of course I'd like the Duke not to renounce to his peerage to stay with her in the series - which doesn't happen in the book, since he marries her and she became the Duchess of Castamar. Certain characters were added in the series, or even combined from characters in the book - but regardless, I didn't feel as if there was something amiss in the story. I think the biggest choice made in terms of storyline was Clara's father, who is long dead in the book but in the series is included as a plot device with his being alive and then imprisoned and potentially hanged: I wonder if this choice was made to keep family in the frame for Clara but not in the way of absent mother and sister. Nevertheless, as I read the book after watching the series, I felt as if one was the What If? version of the other (yes, dear reader, I'm a Marvel Cinematic Universe enthusiast!) so certain things were changed but the results were kinda similar.

If you can, get the book and watch the series - totally recommend both!