Through six turbulent
months of 1934, 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain keeps a journal, filling
three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries about her home, a
ruined Suffolk castle, and her eccentric and penniless family. By the
time the last diary shuts, there have been great changes in the Mortmain
household, not the least of which is that Cassandra is deeply,
hopelessly, in love.
It started out not too badly, but when I finally closed the book, my first thought was : it took her two years to write this ? Did I miss something ? Why is it a favourite for so many people ?
Readers recommended me this novel with such enthusiasm that I put it on top of my TBR. The first half was nice enough, Dodie Smith could capture some atmospheres and places, but the story itself and the characters failed to impress me. It was like reading a young girl's diary (she feels younger than 17), where she writes absolutely everything she sees, does or think, yet is it worth reading this minute, uninteresting recount of every day ? I liked the idea of an eccentric family, but I found her father, for instance, more selfish than anything else. These people were starving and the only one who took action to remedy that was Stephen (not an official family member).
And don't start me on the second part with the "love stories"... I dearly wanted to skip the pages when I got there yet forced myself to keep reading. Quickly. It was worse than a YA romance with love triangles.
I anticipated reading this novel with excitement, it totally let me down. But don't let my review keep you away, lots of people love this, why not you ?
Aaaah, now I don't know if I still want to read it. It's on my TBR as well, but somehow I never got to reading it yet. I'll see if I can get a copy and try a couple of pages.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this lovely and honest review.
Elza Reads
You're welcome, maybe you'll like it better than I did ?...
DeleteI didn't read the book but I watched the movie and liked it.
ReplyDeleteI heard there was a film but I haven't watched it yet, I'll give it a try :)
DeleteThis book is one of my favourites and I've read it a number of times. What I liked about the "love" stories is that they weren't over-the-top and I felt didn't take away from the rest of the book. I really liked the quirkiness of the characters. And the writing is very unique. Maybe in another ten years you can read it again and have a different reaction?
ReplyDeleteMaybe - I'm sorry we don't have the same opinion, but at the same time, different opinions about books are enriching ;)
DeleteEspecially with a book that’s been around for a long time, opinions are bound to vary. I read it a few years ago, and enjoyed it. Too bad it wasn’t for you.
ReplyDeletebe well... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Thanks Mae - I think it's good that people don't all like the same book, the world wouldn't be much fun :)
DeleteI did enjoy this one but I think some of her other books are much better.
ReplyDeleteI learned recently that she was the one who wrote the Dalmatians !
DeleteThank goodness! I thought I was the only one who didn't get the point of this story.
ReplyDeleteIt feels good not to be alone, lol ! ;)
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