I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

     I guess this could be called a “coming of age” story, in that the main character, Cassandra Mortmain, grows in experience and wisdom over the course of the year that she records in her journals. These journals, which the reader is allowed to share, are filled with the voice of 17-year-old Cassandra, who starts her record as she and her family eke out a living in their romantic and ramshackle English castle, and then ends it in circumstances that have changed in every way.

     At one point in her journal, Cassandra expresses her preference for stories that are open-ended. A story that has a concrete end, she says, is like a wall, closing off the reader from further thought of the characters.  This is a point of view that, in theory, I think I disagree with. I really like all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed in a book and an unsatisfying ending is one of the worst things to be stuck with at the finish of a book, it seems to me. But this story is open-ended in a way that allows the reader to dream up the lovely, hopeful ending that seems hinted at, but is not yet fulfilled in Cassandra’s case. I think I did like that and I understand what Cassandra means about that open end. Hm.

     In any case, it was a lovely and engaging book. Did you know that Dodie Smith is also the author of “101 Dalmations”? I wonder what that book is really like (as opposed to the Disney movie). Perhaps I will read it next. I certainly enjoyed “I Capture the Castle and I highly recommend it.

Bad language: none
Sex: none