December Book Review

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith- I have to say that I really, really, really loved this novel, but I only gave it 4/5 stars on Goodreads because I absolutely hated, despised, detested, loathed, and was totally ticked off at the ending.  The book follows 17 year old Cassandra and her struggling family in what I think may have been mid-twentieth century England (I’m not sure that the author ever specified, but wanted the reader to feel the way one might feel when reading Austen or Bronte even though the time period was more modern).  The novel is actually Cassandra’s journal. She is trying to “capture the castle” (she and her family lives in a ramshackle old castle), in other words, describe the castle, the people in it, and their struggles and journeys during the six months or so that she journals.  I loved Cassandra and her lovely, descriptive journal entries, and it’s obvious that she grows and changes as the novel progresses, as her writing begins as sweetly naïve and optimistic, and eventually becomes resigned and somewhat bitter.  I hope you read it, and I hope I haven’t spoiled it for you by telling you I hated the ending, but it’s worth the read…maybe just stop before the last chapter and let your imagination finish the story for you.)

A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan-I don’t even know where to being with this book.  First of all, I think it was brilliant.  That said, I had to force myself to read it, as the first third of the book was painfully slow, and I really just wasn’t getting it, but since it won last year’s Pulitzer Prize, I figured it must be worth plowing on through for.  The novel is somewhat/kinda/sorta about Bennie and Sasha, written from the viewpoint of a different character in each chapter.  The chapters seem completely unrelated to each other, and in fact, I think each could stand alone as short stories.  Chapters were not told in time sequence, and sometimes at the end of the chapter I’d think, “What the heck did that have to do with Bennie or Sasha?”, because sometimes you had to really search to see any relationship. Basic theme:  Time is a Goon.  It sneaks up on you and bashes you over the head.  Today’s stars are tomorrow’s has-beens.  By the end of the book, I could look back over the novel and as a whole, I was able to see the big picture.  I still didn’t feel like I knew a heck of a lot about Bennie and Sasha, but Egan’s message was clearly brilliant.  (Sorry to use that word again, but it was!)  By the way, one chapter was written entirely as a Power Point Presentation, and I was simply amazed at the truth, beauty, and depth of understanding Egan was able to portray with a power point.  Seriously, I couldn’t stop thinking about this one for a long time!

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs-Can I just say that if I ever decide to become a man, I would like to have the name Ransom Riggs.  Is that a great name or what? Anywho, I read this one after reading Taradactyl’s review, and you can read her review of it here.  This novel is written for young adults, but can certainly be enjoyed by old adults.  However, an adult won’t enjoy it like she enjoys excellent YA literature like Harry Potter, but rather as she enjoys entertainment YA literature like Twilight.  The book is loosely based on old photographs of what I believe are circus freaks/turn of the century trick photographs that the author decided to string together to make a story.  I enjoyed his book, was annoyed that he ended with such a huge cliffhanger (he’s definitely writing a sequel), and would recommend it to you for an easy, enjoyable read.

Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos- I love de los Santos’ other novels (Love Walked In and Belong to Me) so much, and was very excited when I saw she had written another novel.  I was so disappointed though.  I can’t help but think her publisher was breathing down her neck for another novel and she did the best she could to get him a (kind of boring, mediocre) book on time.  De los Santos writes with her usual beautiful descriptions and has such a knack for getting her readers to understand every facet of her characters, from what they wear, what they eat for breakfast, who broke their heart in 8th grade, and which fraternity they pledged back in college.  She still did that, but I found I just didn’t care.  I didn’t like her premise, I didn’t like her characters, I could have cared less about where the book was going, and only finished it because I felt I owed her the chance.  Bottom line?  Read her other two novels.  (Stephanie at Conversations from the Cul-de-Sac is a big fan of Marisa de los Santos too.  I’d like to hear your opinion on the novel after you read it, Stephanie!)

The King’s Speech by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi-I decided to read this one because I recently saw the movie “The King’s Speech”.  (By the way, if you haven’t seen the movie yet, please see it.  It is absolutely gorgeous.)  This biography was actually written after the movie was filmed (or possibly at the same time…the author wasn’t clear) but the movie was not based on this book.  Both book and movie, however, were about King George VI, (father to the current Queen Elizabeth), and his struggle to overcome his speech defect, and about Lionel Logue, the nobody from Australia who finally helped the king conquer his stammering and fear of public speaking.  I mainly read this because I wanted to understand the history behind the movie, and I was especially interested in the King Edward/Wallis Simpson affair, which the movie touched on and which I found fascinating.  The book gave me a lot of information on that, and also Lionel and King George’s  early years and then continued where the movie left off (the start of World War II) and continued to both of their deaths.  There were also a lot of pictures, which I enjoyed.  See the movie, and then read this if you want more information!

 

Happy Reading!