3.5 starsCassandra is mostly wisely honest with herself as well as being generous spirited and loving, and the combination makes for pleasant reading. There is a feast of interesting details, though the castle makes me feel cold, and some nicely sketched characters - the vicar got some good lines, and Thomas the younger brother delighted me at every appearance, reminding me of my own lil bro. I wish Leda Fox-Cotton weren't so mistreated. It's necessary to see right through Cassandra's prejudice, which is hard because she's very sympathetic. I found it funny that she loves animals so much and wishes owls were vegetarian, but eats meat herself without a shadow of a critical thought.I liked her casual explanation of England being special to her:'oh not the flag and Kipling and outposts of Empire and so on, but the country[side] and London'Quite.There is a neatly written section in which the vicar and Miss Marcy both casually encourage the stricken Cassandra to whom they are offering succour and comfort that is like water in a desert to her, to take up their own interests: religion! you might like it. helping others! you might like it. Cassandra is tempted, but then she decides that these characters are taking refuge from pain and thus from life itself in these absorbing pursuits. Cassandra even reflects that they are like children because they haven't really lived. The conclusion - that she should not throw herself into religion or good works - feels refreshing, and appropriate to the form of a novel (a medium that draws or produces the subjectivity of the subject) but... really? The only real life is one devoted to pursuing the most fully felt personal joy and suffering? Is this the only way we can imagine self actualisation? I can't accept that autonomy requires the rejection of the mortar of community. When Cassandra receives help and then pities her helpers for helping, it seems to me she affirms her class privilege even more thoroughly than her materialistic sister does when she counts her expensive new possessions.I also started my journal when I was 17. Here's a random chunk from 2005!April 15thThere is a kind of light rain which, when falling just at the very beginning of twilight, can make any landscape resemble paradise.I was reading the focus bulletin and there was a page about pomegranate juice “the pomegranate originated in Persia” and there was a verse from Shakespeare:Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near dayIt was the nightingale, not the larkThat pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear;Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate tree -Believe me, love, it was the nightingaleRomeo and Juliet III 5Made me feel wretched for not reading enough, when such riches are so easily come by that a miserable marketing department posts them out to us, their hired zombiesApril 17thToday I saw a mermaid, her hair was in braids, fat murky green at the roots, thin and blue, clear Caribbean blue at the ends. Some had come loose and hung in heavy ringlets like trailing weeds. She had a ring in her nose and an American twang, and her eyes were black and fierce as a storm in the Atlantic.April 19thThis morning we saw the film “Crumb” Robert Crumb's room full of old blues records had a heavy American desk, chair, strip of dark, patterned carpet and great dusty lampshade breathing dusty yellow light. The America of David Lynch. The American interior of the intellectual mind. Ginsberg wrote in a room like that. Dreary, grand, American room, stuffy with spoiled dreams.The problem with the past is that we do not understand it. It seems worthless to us now, because the Gods of the present & the believers in the next world have pointed out to us that we only have today and Jesus will forgive us. Largely, the stories that make up history have lost their significance. A few stand out clear and speak down to us from the depths. But the better part is like a story told by a great grandparent – the facts are useless, foreign objects you can turn over like washed up shells, their contents long ago emptied out, because the story teller saw everything differently then.May 3rdWhen the first time traveller (I hope it is some dignified person, I am nostalgic for the gentleman amateur) goes into the future, everyone there will be waiting for them, whatever kind of world it is. You'll step out of the capsule and see everyone, banners and cheering or ragged scientists or children with stones, waiting. Today there was a waterfall from the sky. Shoes soaked. Cellar flooded.May 15thYesterday the mermaid came back. Her blue hair was tied up, grown out sun-bleached brown, her eyes had turned pale from being so long ashore.Today a fairy princess came in with a goblin. Her body trembled with the effort of being. I think she was kidnapped.Unspeaking,The suited ones walk to their officesTheir faces are shutfor the daytime, purged of hopesSweet yellow sun caresses steel & glass,throws long human shadows like walking deadThe air, heavy and pure with the night's silencereceives the sound of their shod feet on stonesPoliticians wake in a cold sweat.June 10thYou should be aloneeverything resonatesthe night is lovely and in the cold of situations...Reflected in the city light the beauty of your own soulHow can I write with your NOISE?July 18thI looked out through the skylight with corrected vision.Blue and dark, black red cloud like a landmass on a map, meeting the cloudy sea A PAINTING OF HEAVEN & the stars like hope, faint and unreachable, an immense vista, a desert. Must go up with glasses on. I miss my seven sisters. I have unburied my books. In so doing I unbury myself. The dampish old cardboard, almost become precious, byassociation, sits out in the recycle bin.The house is full of booksIt is a joyful meetingSylvia, Heller, Marx. I missed you! I even missed Plato.I can play Queen Adreena. Hands tremble.The self should not be held so dear, it is dangerous. My history, fine sheets, written inverse on linen, like scriptureAugust 9thHoras non numero nisi serenas-motto on a sundial near Venice(I count only the serene hours)
It is difficult for me to say why I found I Capture the Castle so personally meaningful, which may mean that I will be falling all over myself in this review. When I first started reading I was bored and feared that the poverty of the characters would become dirty and depressing for its own sake, as in Angela's Ashes. Instead, it's more like a lovely BBC movie where people are always chewing with their mouth open, but somehow it is only charming. At first I resisted liking anything about it, including Cassandra's repeated use of the word "capture", but now I find myself thinking about how to describe this or that and involuntarily using the word "capture" in my thoughts. The story is at times screwball and at times elegant but always delightful and completely won me over.Perhaps part of the reason I resisted this book is that I came to it thinking it would be romance (because of the movie poster cover of the book, which says something like, "A well-loved classic that has become the most romantic movie of the year" - hate those movie poster covers), but it is actually, more than anything, a coming of age story. I say this because I think that whether you prefer coming-of-age or romance, it helps to know what you're getting into when you start a book. In my experience, romantic novels solve the problems of life by bringing characters together in true love. I Capture the Castle is written through Cassandra's eyes, so it does not rely on romantic satisfaction to tell the story, as, perhaps, it would have if it were told by another character in the same book. Rather, like any good coming of age story, develops through revelations of the unreliability of people around Cassandra and her discovery her own independence and capabilities.I must confess that what first hooked me on this book was Simon's beard. I have said that I am a sucker for a good fish story, and it turns out that I think I am a sucker for a good beard story, too. I thought the girls' fascination and horror over his beard were both hilarious and correct. I wonder why I don't see beards in stories more often. Really, when anyone I have known has a beard, it comes up in conversation almost any time the person is mentioned - and rightly so. I once asked a friend of mine, who had a bushy beard before he met his fiance, why he would have chosen to grow it out like that. He said that the reason any man who can grow a big bushy beard should is that the bigger your beard, the more authority you have over people in general and specifically over other men. He said there is something almost magical about having a big bushy beard that makes other people have to do whatever you want. I told him that was absolutely silly. Then, about a week later I was at the grocery store deciding which line to go through, and one of the checkers, who was otherwise very ordinary looking, had an enormous, bushy beard. I instinctively went to his line, and then a second later was shocked to realized that I had only done that because of the beard. I don't know if that proves my friend's point, but it has to mean something. I wonder if the castle girls weren't experiencing something like this beard-hypnosis in the beginning of the novel.To go ahead and beat this beard point to death: I also thought it was lovely how Dodie Smith developed the beard's story. I always see authors showing the physical changes love supposedly brings to women, but not men. The women are pale and thin until they fall in love, when suddenly they become healthy looking. In I Capture the Castle Simon looks suspiciously like Satan, until he falls in love and shaves the beard. Brilliant! Also, it has the self-serving overtones of Elizabeth Bennet's visit to Pemberly in Pride and Prejudice, when the mansion shows Mr. Darcy's manners in a different light. Beardless Simon makes even his actions when bearded much less sinister. Love it.You may not believe me, if you have read this far, when I say that Simon's beard was not what was personally meaningful to me about this story. Not surprisingly, I think it was Cassandra herself who seemed so profound. In many ways I did not identify with her, but I loved her. I found myself crying at times, not necessarily because her growing pains revealed my own, but only in sympathy for this new friend I found, who I love so much. I loved how wise and kind and scrappy she was. I actually loved every character in this novel, though, as they all had some kind of magical and hilarious individuality. It is tempting to copy some of the most beautiful moments here, but instead I think you should just read the book. On the one hand, I am sad that I did not read this in high school, when I think it may have been a more cathartic experience, but I wonder if its honesty might have hurt my feelings then. As it is, I found it both refreshing and comforting.
What do You think about I Capture The Castle (1998)?
Rating clarification: 3.5 starsOn the edition I have there’s a quote from J.K. Rowling which says "This book has one of the most charismatic narrators I’ve ever met" and I certainly have to agree with her. I Capture the Castle is written in diary form and our narrator is seventeen-year-old Cassandra who wants to become a writer someday and after her rather unsuccessful attempts at writing her own poetry she decides to teach herself how to write a novel by keeping a diary. She tells us at the beginning of the book that she intends to capture the castle and all its residents and that’s exactly what she does. Therefore a good part of the book consists of rather long and detailed descriptions of the scenery and the different characters. Cassandra’s a very interesting narrator though, she’s intelligent and observant and I liked how she was able to step back and analyze her own behavior and her motives for it and so I wasn’t bothered too much by the long descriptions. I also liked to hear about all the secondary characters. I think Topaz and Neil were my favorites.I keep reading about people comparing I Capture the Castle to classics like Pride and Prejudice and though I have to say that the story did remind me of Jane Austen’s classic, I Capture the Castle certainly can’t compete with it. However, the comparison can give you an idea of the general style and might give you an indication as to whether you’ll like this book or not. You have to keep in mind that the story’s set in 1930 and the characters are behaving and acting like it was appropriate at that time. What I am trying to tell you with this is that the romance works on a whole different level than a romance that’s set in our time would. Men and women were much more formal towards each other back then so you can’t expect any big kissing scenes but just like Jane Austen managed to make you swoon for Mr. Darcy and root for him and Lizzie, Dodie Smith manages to make you root for Cassandra and Simon. Not to the same extent, though.Thanks Olivia for swapping! I did enjoy this.
—Jessica
A must read for any lover of Jane Austen! Fantastic!- This novel follows the story of the Mortmain family who live in a dilapidated old castle in the countryside. We see the world through the eyes of Cassandra Mortmain, the youngest daughter of the household and easily my favourite character from the novel! We learn how the family relies on the profits from their novelist Father's book - a book that is slowly dwindling in popularity, threatening the meagre amount of food and comfort they have left. When things just seem to be heading for devastation an unlikely source of help comes when the rightful heirs to the castle come and visit from America. The two handsome American brother's end up stealing the hearts of Cassandra and her sister but the path of love never runs smoothly... - The interactions between Cassandra and family reminded me so much of the witty voice of Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice - this was definitely my favourite aspect of the novel. The chapters are laid out as though Cassandra is writing in her journal and so I felt very connected to her story as it was as if she was talking directly to me.- The variety between the characters in this novel was brilliant and seeing the way each of them develops as the story moves on was really interesting. I especially loved the growth of Cassandra's character and how she emotionally matured over the course of the novel.- 5 out of 5 stars and into my favourites! I would recommend to any lover of Jane Austen or similar authors.
—Amy
Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle is a charming and surprising read. I was enchanted by the first paragraph, but never did I imagine that it would be the sort of book that left me speechless at the end--in awe and contemplative and wanting to read more but knowing that anything else I picked up just wouldn't feel right.The narrator, who is consciously attempting to "capture" in her journal her family's eccentric and impoverished life in their unfurnished, deteriorating castle home, is simply en
—Melissa Rudder
