Purchased at Miami's library book sale for BookCrossing.

'I write this sitting in the kitchen sink. That is, my feet are in it; the rest of me is on the draining board...'

So begins Cassandra Mortmain's journal: an extraordinary account of life with her equally extraordinary family. First, there is her highly eccentric father. Then there is her sister, Rose - beautiful, vain and bored - and her stepmother, Topaz, an artists's model who likes to commune with nature. Finally there is Stephen, dazzlingly handsome and hopelessly in love with Cassandra. In the cold and crumbling castle which is their home, Cassandra records events with characteristic honesty, as she tries to come to terms with her own feelings. The result is both mervellously funny and genuinely moving.

I really enjoy the tale. I guess because Cassandra refers to themselves as Jane Austen girls, I couldn't help feeling the story a bit Austenish. It's a lovely story, although totally not what I expect from an author whose frame is 101 Dalmatians.

Now this is heading along with a bookring to a very nice BCer, as a RABCK surprise.

Oh! what a wonderful surprise! :D Thank you so much Azuki for the wishlist book and the bookmarks/cards. I've been wanting to read this one for a while now, saw the movie a couple years ago on tv.. and really liked it, so the book must be even better (they usually seem to be :p). Can't wait to read it, though I have a bunch of bookrings/rays here and coming at the moment (why do they always come together?). Thanks again!

I loved it! (Actually, I read this a couple weeks ago, but was a bit lazy in making a journal entry, sorry..)
The characters are likeable and some eccentric, the setting - a crumbling old castle in the English countryside - quite romantic (though the family is very poor at the beginning).
Cassandra is a charming narrator and the story does feel a bit Austenish (I loved that conversation between Cassandra and Rose about whether they were more Jane Austen or Brontë (sisters)). I really liked Topaz as well. But I felt sorry for poor Stephen, and sometimes thought maybe Cassandra could have given him a chance.. (seemed like they think of him as not quite a servant, but not 'one of them' either).
There were a few funny parts too, especially the bear (coat) episode, which had me laughing out loud. Though about halfway through the book the tone changes (maybe more bittersweet?), when Cassandra realizes she is in love with Simon..
Once I started with the book I couldn't put it down, but didn't want the story to end either. And when it did, it left me feeling a bit sad (the castle felt a bit lonely too, with Rose, Neal, Simon, and Stephen gone), and wondering how their lives will continue..


Thanks again azuki for sharing this book with me!
I'll try to make my little sister read it. :p

Got the book back from my sister again, she didn't like it very much but then she doesn't like Jane Austen (or anything "old") much either. So I have passed the book on to a friend who loves Pride and Prejudice.. maybe she will like it better. :)
(*waves* Hi azuki! ^_^)

Edit: Funny coincidence, I was just reading The Sense of an Ending, and the protagonist's girlfriend (Veronica) has a comfort book which is.. I Capture the Castle! :D

My friend gave it back to me. This lovely book should travel some more, so now it is reserved for Ythan's A Little Bit of Everything VBB :)

Off it goes to Icila in France. I hope you will enjoy it! :)

Thanks a lot Tsjara ! 😄

"Don't judge a book by its cover". How it's true about this book !

I loved it from the beginning to the end. The narrator is so cute and her eccentric family so likable.

I want to find a new home for this book soon.

On its way to florence71 who was tagged. Enjoy !

Thanks Icila for the book, I received yesterday.

Gagné au jeu du pendu et reçu en main propre lors de la rencontre mensuelle du P'tit Châtelet.
Merci florence71 !

Cassandra belongs to an extraordinary eccentric family ! The girls are charming.
It's a lovely Austenlike story. The BBC DVD is definitly not up to the book.

I hadn't realised D. Smith is the author of the famous 101 Dalmatians. !!

Ce livre a fait une étape chez moi. Je vous le confie, son voyage continue entre vos mains.
Bonne lecture !

This must have been taken out of the Valentin bookbox in November but has found its way there again (because I've tidied up the shelves many times since then and it wasn't there), so I picked it up today to release it elsewhere (I already have a hardback in my personal collection). Maybe I'll take it to Mainz. Funny to see so many familiar names among the readers!
Pity about the cover which makes it look like chick lit.

Added a photo of an illustration from my own book showing Cassandra in the sink, by Aafke Brouwer.

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