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A review by ec_newman
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
5.0
If I ever needed an encouragement to keep a journal, Cassandra Mortmain's perfect voice in these pages is strong enough.
I shouldn't quite relate so much to a 17/18 year old in the early 1900s, but I do. And her story is more than simple.
I need time to process it all.
----
This is one of those books that I really don't remember how I heard about it, but I know I did before I watched the movie (it has Henry Cavill in it, okay? I had to see it). The movie is good, but the book is better (surprise, surprise).
I started this book ages ago and then put it away because it wasn't connecting. I loved the voice of our narrator even then, but I just wasn't in the mood for this type of novel (or the age of it. It required more brainpower than something more modern). I picked it up again last month and devoured it. It is delightful, which is kind of a lame adjective, but there's not other way to describe how enjoyable it is to 'listen' to Cassandra relate the events in her life. She is smart, but makes mistakes, often naive, but starts to recognize her power as a woman. Her descriptions of characters, places and events are delightful (can't help it) to read. Her 'coming of age' is not typical or unoriginal like other books of that genre. The ending itself is not what I expected, but it didn't matter. It was perfect.
The castle itself, her odd family (her brother totally captures my heart by the last section), the setting is just as absorbing as Cassandra herself. Who doesn't want to live in a castle, even one falling apart? Their poverty is abject, but when their fortune changes, Cassandra sees how even money can't fix things, and often simple is better.
There are more lessons and universal truths in this book than just the love story that teaches our protagonist to grow up. It's about family, sisters, love, society, youth and maturity, wealth and the lack of it...This book pretty much has everything and if you don't like it, I'm not sure I can understand that. And I'm usually pretty understanding. :)
Also, you'll probably need to go by a journal after reading this. Just a warning.
I shouldn't quite relate so much to a 17/18 year old in the early 1900s, but I do. And her story is more than simple.
I need time to process it all.
----
This is one of those books that I really don't remember how I heard about it, but I know I did before I watched the movie (it has Henry Cavill in it, okay? I had to see it). The movie is good, but the book is better (surprise, surprise).
I started this book ages ago and then put it away because it wasn't connecting. I loved the voice of our narrator even then, but I just wasn't in the mood for this type of novel (or the age of it. It required more brainpower than something more modern). I picked it up again last month and devoured it. It is delightful, which is kind of a lame adjective, but there's not other way to describe how enjoyable it is to 'listen' to Cassandra relate the events in her life. She is smart, but makes mistakes, often naive, but starts to recognize her power as a woman. Her descriptions of characters, places and events are delightful (can't help it) to read. Her 'coming of age' is not typical or unoriginal like other books of that genre. The ending itself is not what I expected, but it didn't matter. It was perfect.
The castle itself, her odd family (her brother totally captures my heart by the last section), the setting is just as absorbing as Cassandra herself. Who doesn't want to live in a castle, even one falling apart? Their poverty is abject, but when their fortune changes, Cassandra sees how even money can't fix things, and often simple is better.
There are more lessons and universal truths in this book than just the love story that teaches our protagonist to grow up. It's about family, sisters, love, society, youth and maturity, wealth and the lack of it...This book pretty much has everything and if you don't like it, I'm not sure I can understand that. And I'm usually pretty understanding. :)
Also, you'll probably need to go by a journal after reading this. Just a warning.