Book Reviews: I Capture the Castle

I Capture the Castle, by Dodie smith (of The Hundred and One Dalmations fame), is the best book I've read in a long time.   While I was reading it I became so completely absorbed in it that I forgot entirely about everything that was going on in my own life.   All that mattered was Cassandra Mortmain, the book's narrator.   I suppose it's basically a 1930s Pride and Prejudice.   A family living in poverty, rich men, sisters, love and heart aches, but it's much more eccentric.   The family live in a crumbling castle.   The father is an author and the family were once well off, but he's got writer's block now and they have no income.   They're selling off the furniture to live.   The stepmother is named Topaz and likes to commune with nature in the nude.  Cassandra wants to be a writer and the book is presented as her diary; her practicing writing.   It's absolutely charmingly written.   Completely realistic and extremely absorbing.   On the cover there's a quote by J. K. Rowling: "This book has one of the most charismatic narrators I've ever met." and I agree with it entirely.   I love Cassandra Mortmain.   She feels like an old friend.   Like a lot of books there are also quite a few references to art, literature, legends, poetry and music that make me think that people back in those days were just much more cultured than we are now, and make me wish I'd had a better education.   Sigh.  

At the time I was quite angry that this book doesn't have a happy ending.   Cassandra is in love with Simon Cotton, her landlord, who her sister, Rose used to be engaged to.   Simon asks her is she wants to come to America with him and she says no, knowing that he is still in love with Rose.   Wise decision, Cassandra, but I wish you could have had your happy ending.  Stephen, the late cook's son, is also madly in love with Cassandra, and at times it looks like Cassandra is going to fall in love with him too, but then she doesn't.   I kind of wish she had.   The line from the book is: "It is part of a follow-my-leader game of second-best we have all been playing . . . it isn't a very good game; the people you play it with are apt to get hurt."   I think we can all relate to this.   Now that I've had some time to think about it, though, the lack of happy ending probably fits better.   It's more realistic, because love isn't like that, and maybe Cassandra is just a bit too young to get her happy ending yet.   I think she will though.