Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - I Capture the Castle

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

10 reviews

kimberelina's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I found this very hard going, slow and boring. It’s probably not meant for someone who has already become of age which is why I may not have found it enjoyable. I did enjoy the twist at the end where

Rose has left Simon for his brother, although I was still left hoping Rose and Simon would get together and was disappointed when she turned him down to go to America

Content Warnings

ttorisaurus's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

dogoodwithbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

verysillygoose's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

fantasycat's review against another edition

Go to review page

reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

frankieclc's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Content Warnings

katiemack's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This "radio play"-style audiobook is creative, fun, and engaging; listening to the book in this format is the reason I was able to finish it (and why I'm being generous with my rating)--I don't think I would have had the same patience reading it.

This felt like listening to an episode of Downton Abbey, a drama I once loved but grew tired of once the drama became overwhelming. Something similar happened here; t here are some charming moments, but for the most part the characters made me cringe. Cassandra devolves from an intelligent, bright person into someone pining for a person who only likes her because she is a "young girl", uncomplicated and unattainable. Her sister Rose is...well, I won't spoil anything, but she is infuriating, as is her father, who Cassandra and Thomas have to literally trap so he will do his job and WRITE something.

It's a mildly amusing way to spend two hours (especially if, like me, you put it on while you're cleaning or doing other tasks), but it's not great.

Content Warnings

clevermird's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain lives in a crumbling castle with her family (it's a rental). Despite her father's literary genius, he suffers from writer's block and hasn't written anything since his first bestseller. The family is slowly slipping into poverty, but Cassandra makes the best of life and decides to start a writing career herself by writing down or "capturing" everything that happens to her in a journal. And just when all hope seems lost, a pair of new neighbors might turn the family's fortunes. . .

I Capture the Castle was charmingly written with sharp, amusing characterization and an insightful, witty narrator. The story itself was mediocre-to-good (I found the latter half dragged a bit), but the delight of reading the prose certainly made up for a lot and it has this nice sincerity to it. It might be a good book for a book club, or to read with a friend, as I think there's a lot to discuss regarding various characters' motivations, the interpretations of certain events, etc.

I read another review somewhere that described it as a somewhat more modern, less dense take on a Jane Austin novel, and that feels accurate.

Content Warnings

karinarob's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

rinku's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I Capture the Castle was such a relaxing and comfy read for me. The story is so simple focussing on Cassandra and her family that doesn’t have much money and lives in a small, cute castle, but I still enjoyed it.

It’s a bit hard to talk about the plot since it’s mostly slice of life and coming of age, but I can say something about the topics. Since it’s coming of age, there’s a great focus on Cassandra growing up. This was honestly so hard to see since it leads to her abandoning things she used to enjoy and distancing herself from her sister. She just becomes alienated not only from the person she used to be but also from her family. Luckily, this changes towards the end again. Other things I loved were how much nature and different kinds of art, like paintings, literature, photography and film, play a role both in Cassandra’s live and for the story itself.

I feel a bit ambivalent towards the ending. I mostly liked it, expect for

the fact that Rose was secretly dating Neil and left together with him in secret? I don’t know, I just didn’t like this “twist” as much. In contrast, I really liked Cassandra’s character development: Since her father starts to write again, she aspires to become a writer itself and luckily, she doesn’t leave for America with Simon but stays in England

The diary-like writing style was so well executed here and it just felt like a real diary. Of course, there are some explanations directed at the reader to explain certain character constellations or something but that didn’t feel forced. It felt more like a friend is talking to you about what she has experienced.

Most of the characters were so lovely and I liked them so much. I really loved Cassandra, even though she’s an older form of the “not like other girls”-archetype. I don’t have much to say about the rest of the cast besides Stephen. He was so much better than Simon and the radio scene made me so sad that I just wanted to hug him. But I have to admit that there’s some chemistry between Simon and Cassandra even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of this pairing.

All in all, I Capture the Castle is a more interesting classic read with a female character and her feelings in the focus – and not only romantic feelings.

Content Warnings

More...