Paul Oldham reviewed I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
The best book I've read this year
5 stars
It's perhaps appropriate that it's taken until book 51 of 52 to reach the book which will really stay with me. I went to bed last night with the ending buzzing around in my head.
This is a coming of age tale written in the first person by a young girl in a somewhat unlikely setting before the second world war. The style really gets you into Cassandra's head as she's very honest as to her feelings ... even if she sometimes hides them from herself.
It's also notable for the things she's missing but you are not. I won't give away the plot but there are undercurrents in the relationships between the other characters that she simply doesn't see or comprehend.
Anyway recommended, for all sorts of reasons.
