For my last birthday, Ralph and Lori gave me Booklust, Nancy Pearl's bookful of booklists. In the first lines
section I found a mention of Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle, whose first line is I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.
I had Amazon send Maggie a copy for Christmas, because it seemed like a book she would enjoy. She said it was indeed delightful, and recently I decided to read it myself.
The narrator of I Capture the Castle is 17-year-old Cassandra, who lives in a decaying English castle with her father (an author of the one-hit-wonder variety), her older sister (Rose), her younger brother (Thomas), her stepmother (Topaz), and the son of their old maid who died years ago (Stephen). The family has no income at all and only has a place to live because they have a 40-year lease on the castle, and although they haven't paid the rent for several years, their landlord would have a hard time renting it to someone else. Food and clothing is scarce, and clearly something has to change.
The plot reminds me of an early twentieth-century Jane Austen. It's not terribly realistic, but I don't think it was meant to be. At the same time, Cassandra's wit and charm uncover truth beneath the romantic comedy.
pjm says:
The movie version was in the preview reel at the Academy of Music for months. I'm not sure if they ever played it; I wound up renting it instead. One of the high spots was Bill Nighey (aka Billy Mack in "Love Actually") as the father, which was somehow incongruous to me.
Laurabelle says:
I've heard all sorts of things about the movie; some people thought it was good, and others didn't. I've got it on hold at the library, so I'll see it eventually, but frankly I can't imagine the movie being anywhere as delightful as the book.