I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith
I Capture the Castle
by Dodie Smith
343 pages (trade paperback)
Genre: Fiction/Literary/YA
Over winter break, my friend and I (both shameless English geeks) decided to exchange book "assignments." She chose this (and I assigned her Tigana, to share the joy of GGK's prose). While our tastes differ dramatically--she disdains most fantasy, for one--I trust her judgment to a certain extent and I'm glad I had the chance to read I Capture the Castle.
Cassandra Mortmain lives in old Belmotte Castle with her sister Rose, her brother Thomas, her kind but outrageous stepmother Topaz, their steadfastly devoted servant Stephen, and her writer father--who produced one great work, Jacob Wrestling, years ago and hasn't written anything since. When Simon and Neil Cotton arrive from America (the story is set in England)--Simon has inherited Scoatney estate, which includes Belmotte--the Mortmain family changes for better and for worse. This is the story of Cassandra, told by her in three unique journals; but it's also the story of writing. Cassandra begins writing in an exercise book in order to teach herself how to write, and throughout the story her father is a shadowy background figure struggling (or in denial against) his writer's block.
This novel is old and obscure, but it deserves to be better known. Cassandra's voice is charming and the diary format works perfectly--I love the metatext especially, where Cassandra writes about writing, metaphor, inspiration, and creation. She feels young and old simultaneously, just as Simon says more than once. Certain parts were questionable--I didn't understand exactly why her father had writer's block for so long--but overall there were many other parts that I loved. The ending is bittersweet and wrenching (quite an open invitation for fanfiction); Cassandra's last journal entry is realistically abrupt, because she has truly grown up. At heart, this is a classic coming-of-age story.
Despite being purely "literary" fiction without a speculative element in sight, I quite enjoyed I Capture the Castle and recommend it to anyone fond of YA, or who has an interest in the unexpected details of writing.
by Dodie Smith
343 pages (trade paperback)
Genre: Fiction/Literary/YA
Over winter break, my friend and I (both shameless English geeks) decided to exchange book "assignments." She chose this (and I assigned her Tigana, to share the joy of GGK's prose). While our tastes differ dramatically--she disdains most fantasy, for one--I trust her judgment to a certain extent and I'm glad I had the chance to read I Capture the Castle.
Cassandra Mortmain lives in old Belmotte Castle with her sister Rose, her brother Thomas, her kind but outrageous stepmother Topaz, their steadfastly devoted servant Stephen, and her writer father--who produced one great work, Jacob Wrestling, years ago and hasn't written anything since. When Simon and Neil Cotton arrive from America (the story is set in England)--Simon has inherited Scoatney estate, which includes Belmotte--the Mortmain family changes for better and for worse. This is the story of Cassandra, told by her in three unique journals; but it's also the story of writing. Cassandra begins writing in an exercise book in order to teach herself how to write, and throughout the story her father is a shadowy background figure struggling (or in denial against) his writer's block.
This novel is old and obscure, but it deserves to be better known. Cassandra's voice is charming and the diary format works perfectly--I love the metatext especially, where Cassandra writes about writing, metaphor, inspiration, and creation. She feels young and old simultaneously, just as Simon says more than once. Certain parts were questionable--I didn't understand exactly why her father had writer's block for so long--but overall there were many other parts that I loved. The ending is bittersweet and wrenching (quite an open invitation for fanfiction); Cassandra's last journal entry is realistically abrupt, because she has truly grown up. At heart, this is a classic coming-of-age story.
Despite being purely "literary" fiction without a speculative element in sight, I quite enjoyed I Capture the Castle and recommend it to anyone fond of YA, or who has an interest in the unexpected details of writing.