I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.75 You Save: $10.24 (68%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of I Capture the Castle
Book Review: ought to be ubiquitous
Summary: 5 Stars
There are a lot of books out there with famous first lines. A Tale of Two Cities, for example: who hasn't heard "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"?
This book should be added to the list. I really don't think "I write this sitting in the kitchen sink" could be improved upon in any way.
And it gets better from there.
I accidentally saw the movie first- which you should NEVER do. Seven-eighths of the charm of this story is in the first-person narration. The plotline itself is not all that impressive. In fact, when I explained the basic gist to Josh, it sounded a bit like a trashy grocery-store novel. Which proves, I guess, that you can never judge a book by its outline.
It is the diary of seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain. Cassandra's author father got a 40-year lease on a crumbling old castle in the English countryside, because he felt its romantic essence would spark his dried-up creative juices. On the contrary, his writer's block stretches over two decades, and the family's income dwindles to nothing. Cassandra and her sister Rose spend most of their time imagining their lives differently, until, one day, two wealthy brothers move into a nearby mansion.
The ensuing drama unfolds in a predictable manner; but you won't mind, because the telling is so delicious. Cassandra's perspective brings so much whimsy and honesty and real-life-ness to an otherwise cliched and lachrymose tale. Each gleaming insight, every subtly hilarious description, along with the book's vaguely silly characters, adds up into an artfully winsome experience- a bittersweet yet somehow enormously enjoyable read. It's become one of my all-time favorites.
Book Review: so not worth it!
Summary: 2 Stars
its about this teenager, cassandra, she lives in this romantic castle but her family is increadibly poor. her father used to be a writer but is suffering from writers block and cassandra, who wants to be a writer, starts a journal to improve her skills as shes not suposed to be very good. then this rich family moves near them with two men. cassandra's sister and the rest of the family see them as a way out and rose(the sister) sets out to grab herself a man and some money.its really not all that. i read it because i heard about it in another book but i was very disapointed. the books long without much story and the characters are without charisma. the only thing i can say for it is that it does have some rare points of good description.
i'm warning you, if you want a good story, whether your into action, horror, comedy, fantasy or even romance, this will not be it!