1st Thursday Book Group

Com­mu­nity Library invites you to the 1st Thurs­day Book Group on Thurs­day, Novem­ber 1, from 7 to 8 p.m.

The book for the Novem­ber meet­ing is I Cap­ture the Cas­tle by Dodie Smith. I Cap­ture the Cas­tle tells the story of 17-year-old Cas­san­dra and her fam­ily, who live in not-so-genteel poverty in a ram­shackle old Eng­lish cas­tle. Here she strives, over six tur­bu­lent months, to hone her writ­ing skills. She fills three note­books with sharply funny yet poignant entries. Her jour­nals can­didly chron­i­cle the great changes that take place within the castle’s walls. By the time she pens her final entry, she has “cap­tured the cas­tle” — and the heart of the reader — in one of literature’s most enchant­ing entertainments.

Some peo­ple have com­pared I Cap­ture the Cas­tle to the nov­els of Jane Austen, and it’s just as well-plotted and witty. But the Mort­mains are more bohemian — as much like the Addams Fam­ily as like any of Austen’s characters.

Dodie Smith, author of 101 Dal­ma­tions, wrote this novel in 1948. And though the story is set in the 1930s, it still feels fresh, and well deserves its rep­u­ta­tion as a mod­ern classic.

The book for the Decem­ber meet­ing is Life Itself by Roger Ebert.

The group meets on the first Thurs­day of each month.

Posted by Gary Henery on Oct 24 2012. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS Feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.