Stuff, that never used to annoy me, annoys me beyond belief these days. My legendary patience feels stretched thin, ready to snap at any minute.
Sadly, along with dirty socks on the floor and empty milk bottles left in the fridge, many teen/YA books have come to irritate me and bore me with their same-old excuses for a story!
Even a much loved classic.
Perhaps if I had read I Capture the Castle at the tender young age of 17 yrs 11 & 3/4 months (instead of the tetchy older age of 47 yrs and 11 & 3/4 months) I might have found this as adorable and delightful as so many others have found it.
I'm not so far gone that I couldn't appreciate the sweet descriptions and quaint turns of phrase. I even smiled (rather ruefully, I confess) at the underlying gentle humour.
But, ultimately, it was just too light and fluffy for my more seasoned tastes. It's innocence and romance failed to captivate me.
Normally I stop reading a 2 star book, but there were times, at the start, where I thought it could be a three. It was almost there.
But then I began to skim. I skipped, I flicked through. I lost interest.
But I can't be too far gone in my cranky old woman ways, as part of the reason this book made it into my TBR pile a few years ago, was due to it's gorgeous cover. And I still think the cornflowers and vintage dress are rather lovely.
If this is one of your favourite childhood reads, please tell me.
I'd love to know what charmed you. I'd love to know what I was missing out on.
I didn't read this book until last year, but I loved it. Ironically, I don't think I would have appreciated it as much when I was younger--the distance from my own experiences as a 17-year-old made Cassandra that much more interesting and fresh as a character. Here's my review: https://toofond.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/i-capture-the-castle-by-dodie-smith/
ReplyDeleteThanks I'll check out your review.
DeleteI tried to read this last year, also because I heard so many glowing reviews of it. I gave up when I was maybe a fourth into it. It's a book I would have liked 20 years ago; at this point in my life, not so much.
ReplyDeletePhew glad it's not just me!
DeleteUntil now I thought I was the only person in the whole world who couldn't stand this book. I found them almost all so unlikeable, and I worried as every other reader seems to adore the book. Was it me?!
ReplyDeleteWell that's 3 of us now!
DeleteI was just bored and couldn't see the point.
I thought this book was really sweet, but I read it so long ago I can't tell you why. :) Probably at the tender young age of 17 years 11 & 3/4 months.
ReplyDeleteI love you for this review. I couldn't get beyond 20 pages. It has all the elements I like but I just didn't like the way it was going. Too fluffy, even though I do like some fluff like DE Stevenson.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it... until the ending, which I found really creepy. We are the same age. Ironically I gave it to my daughter who is 17 and she abhorred it. No accounting for taste I suppose :)
ReplyDelete