From the Bookshelf of Should have read classics…

I Capture the Castle

Dodie Smith

Start date: March 1, 2013

Finish date: March 31, 2013

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What Members Thought

Feb 26, 2018 Sorento62 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics-20th-century-fiction, classics-by-women, friend-recommended, 2018-dws

I think what I like best about I Capture the Castle is that it portrays so many little musings of the main character similar to thoughts that cross my mind from time to time, whereas most books focus on happenings more than musings. Though certainly a lot does happen in the book as well.

And yes, it's wondrous that spending many hours looking at several hundred pages filled with little black symbols has given me such a vivid experience of Belmotte Tower, Cassandra Mortmain, and her family and fri ...more

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Mar 15, 2013 Anindyta rated it liked it

It feels a long time because this book has to wait for A Storm of Swords to be finished. I never read Dodie Smith's book before, although I know some of her stories from movie like 101 dalmation and so on. But I never read the book, I didn't even know there was a book for that movie. Anyway, what made me read this, this is one of my book club this month read along in goodreads. I thought I'll give it a chance and I kind of curious because the genre -it's YA classic- and because what J.K. Rowling It feels a long time because this book has to wait for A Storm of Swords to be finished. I never read Dodie Smith's book before, although I know some of her stories from movie like 101 dalmation and so on. But I never read the book, I didn't even know there was a book for that movie. Anyway, what made me read this, this is one of my book club this month read along in goodreads. I thought I'll give it a chance and I kind of curious because the genre -it's YA classic- and because what J.K. Rowling said in this book cover. She said she loved it, and I loved her, so... I guess I love it too, right ? Right ?

This one is told by Cassandra Mortmain in diary writing. Do you know Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries ? Well, this is... -I assume- one of the book that inspiring Meg Cabot. Well, maybe I am wrong because I'm just assuming, but hey... this one is classic and published earlier than Princess Diaries. I love Princess Diaries. So... I love this book's diary writing too. It's simple and makes me really captured the castle.

Cassandra Mortmain is the second child of Mortmain family. She has the older sister named Rose, and the younger brother named Thomas. They all lived in the old.. old… very old castle along with father and their stepmother. Oh yeah, they lived with their servant too, named Stephen who’s apparently attracted to our Cassandra. I thought this book is about the bad stepmom like Snow White or something, but nope... this stepmom is kind and Cassandra likes her very much. The Mortmain family was in their poor condition due to no income at all. Father who used to write a book, wasn't writing anymore because of God knows why. Stepmother -named Topaz- was no longer got request for painted or photographed. The three children's not working. It leaves us Stephen, who worked in some farm and...FED the family. It's ironic because Stephen is their servant but he's becoming the head of family somehow. But one day, they met Simon and Neil Cotton who’s actually Cotton family, the owner of the castle and the land. Then Mortmain’s life started to change because Cotton family became kinder and kinder to them. Well, most of it because they were Mr. Mortmain’s fan and because Simon fell in love with Rose.

That’s the main story I can capture for you. Well, maybe it will be easier if I say this book is so much inspired by Jane Austen writing, especially Pride and Prejudice. Lucky for me, I read that book before I read this one, so I can feel I understand about what Cassandra told the reader about her fondness to Austen’s character and wanted to be like Elizabeth. Although I don’t quite agree about people married because of love, in this book this issue –which is main issue of P.A.P too- appears to me more understanding. I don’t know, maybe because of Dodie Smith’s clear writing, I just can feel how hopeless Cassandra’s family at that time. But I still don’t understand why the father didn’t step in and help his family instead of sitting alone reading bunch of books. And I still don’t understand, how can the family let Stephen fed them.

There is somewhere in this book that Cassandra writes about how people around her is so puzzling. Yes, I quite agree for her.The characters are quite unique. Cassandra herself is one of my favorite, I like the way this girl told the reader about people around her and I like her hobby –writing, watching people’s behavior and stuffs- and her favorite things. It’s weird but… okay, quite pleasing. My favorite is her Midsummer Eve routine with all the garlands, fires, salt, and the moon. Oh yeah, and the dance! I like her opinions about appreciating what we have, she is humble. Cassandra is a beautiful little lady, but sometimes she is quite naïve too. I kind of like her but then I didn’t understand her. Then there is Rose who is Cassandra’s big sis, she insisted that she will help the family with her marriage. Okay, this one is real to me. Yeah, I know Rose could try another thing instead of marry herself with some rich guy, but at least she tried and love her family more than anything. And that’s why I fond of her. There is Thomas, who is puzzling even more. But my most favorite is Stephen, the servant. I like how he is so willingly to work and make Cassandra happy. I like his sacrificing for love. I like it, it’s romantic! And did I say before, that Stephen is a handsome boy ? He is apparently talented too.

"Good lord, how long does an innovation remain one if it's talked about ? And anyway, with me secrecy's the very essence of creation"
Father's issue is interesting. He wrote a best-selling book once and then he went to jail because losing temper and then his talent looks gone. Everyone thought he is crazy because all he did is read in his gatehouse and never write again. Eventhough I don't like him ignoring things about his family needs, I kind of pray Father will work again someday. I find that he is the character who steal my attention. Not that I love this character, but he is the most mysterious among them.

In this book there’s so much secrets, so much puzzles about father, about Rose, about Simon and everyone that maybe we ought to solve and imagine it ourself because although there’s some closure in the ending, I just can feel the why questions still around my frontal lobe. Why does he do that ? Where the hell he’s going ? So all this time, she hides that ? And so on.This makes the book real because it makes me realize that everything is puzzle, you can’t understand them unless you are them. And you can capture all the feelings but you can’t capture the other’s feeling. Anyway, Cassandra writes about her favorite book ending is the happy one which makes you think what happen next with the characters. So… I guess that’s why Dodie Smith made this book ending as her wish. It still makes me wonder and… I don’t know, after I read the book I just sat and felt like “Just that ?” I guess my imagination isn’t really working this time. *Poke my brain*

Afterall, the setting is beautiful and easy to imagine. And I’m quite sure I’m in love with the name of the castle. Belmotte. It’s beautiful… :) Hmm, I guess this is time for me to end this bad-english-review because I can feel my eyes tired. I’m sorry for the English, It’s bad but I’m just in mood for making it in English. So… This book is beautiful. The story starts slow then its pace increased. I felt boring at first then I like the book more and more toward the ending. For who loves YA thingy, this book is for you. I guess when I’m still in my teenage years I would give this one 5 perfect stars, but now all I can give is 3 stars. Maybe I will reread it someday and try to understand the characters.

"And who says you always have to understand things ? You can like them without understanding them"

3 stars out of 5 stars for this Belmotte tale. ...more

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Jun 29, 2021 Megan rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, romance

this was a nice summer read if i didn't think about it too much, lol. i borrowed this from the library on a whim after seeing it and remembering a friend really liked it, but i didn't know what kind of book it would be or what it was about when i picked it up, so i was a little dismayed to realize it featured a young english girl and her coming of age story as she wrote in her diary... which is not normally the kind of thing i'd pick out for myself. i often got frustrated with characters for bei this was a nice summer read if i didn't think about it too much, lol. i borrowed this from the library on a whim after seeing it and remembering a friend really liked it, but i didn't know what kind of book it would be or what it was about when i picked it up, so i was a little dismayed to realize it featured a young english girl and her coming of age story as she wrote in her diary... which is not normally the kind of thing i'd pick out for myself. i often got frustrated with characters for being childish (beyond the limits of what i'd consider tolerable, at least, considering half of them were older teenagers). there's a love... pentagon, i guess, with occasionally frustrating notions of "you should've gone for the nice boy who loves you who you don't care about at all."

some parts of this book didn't age well. there's a bizarre subplot of a borderline-abusive father being told he should be allowed to be angry and violent if it produces good art (i don't think domestic abuse is what what the author was getting at, but i think the parallels of domestic violence are too difficult to ignore.) the only person of color, a (black?) woman, is consistently described with awful, unflattering words like "greasy" and the narrator talks about how much she dislikes her for rudeness or nagging or this or that childish reason.

all that said, i read it over a week and if i turned my brain off, i enjoyed large parts of it. cassandra really is a teenager, which works to the author's benefit and downfall sometimes, and she writes and thinks like a teenager writes and thinks, which can be genuinely hard to pull off and still make her likable. i came to like her over time, but it did take a while. other characters were not so lucky: they consistently remained selfish, although of course i see things through cassandra's point of view and i'm sure she's biased.

anyway. give it a go if you like stories about the english countryside and young people in love squares, otherwise, it's really an acquired taste. ...more

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