

Lädt ... Mein Sommerschloß. (1948)von Dodie Smith
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A really lovely book, that I never would have read had it not been a book club suggestion. It’s funny and moving and sweet without ever being cloying. Cassandra is a wonderful narrator and I suspect I’ll be hearing her voice for some time to come. A little gem. I love this book! It reminds me a lot of Anne of Green Gables, albeit a more modern, mid-20th century version. The main character Cassandra loves nature and literature; she has a kind heart and sees the best in people; she's a fierce romantic but she is also makes shrewd, sensible observations on things. The book is presented as Cassandra's journal, and her observations and musings are so delightful to read that the plot actually don't matter as much for me. Cassandra's family of 5 (or 6, depending on whether you count the orphaned servant) live in poverty in a run-down castle that they haven't paid the rent of for the past 3 years. They lack in all material things; actually I think they are starving. Then two rich, young gentlemen became their neighbor, and they became friends with Cassandra and Cassandra's beautiful older sister. It sounds like a good setup for romance between the gentlemen and the two sisters, but the book is actually less about romance and more about Cassandra developing a deeper understanding of life. Throughout the book Cassandra experienced beauty of nature, music, and material things, imagined a lot, asked questions about love and life, enjoyed improvement in her material living conditions, understood her father a little better, and had a taste of what it means to be in love. A perplexing novel, the first half is one of the finest novels anywhere, and the second half lags with a short exception near the end. Cassandra, the first person narrator, depicts her life in the castle through her journal as her cultured family struggles from deep poverty to better things Descriptions are excellent as are characters. I struggled with the plot, whether it was realistic or tinged with fantasy. The ending was disappointing for me, but plausible enough.
This book was such a wonderful, enchanting and unpredictable read that by the end of it I felt like I almost was Cassandra, since her confessions, recordings and thoughts in her journals gave me a thorough insight into her. I also loved how the sections of the book were arranged in differently priced notebooks, which really demonstrated the progression of the story It feels, reading it now, as if this is the story that every romantic comedy Hollywood has ever made has been trying to tell. And when we come towards the end of the book and a marriage proposal and happily-ever-after storyline seems to be in the offing, I was worried we were going to stray into that territory. But Smith is too good a writer, Cassandra too interesting a person to settle for this.
Rez.: Ein Roman in Tagebuchform (erschienen 1949) von der Erfolgsautorin der "101 Dalmatiner": Cassie ist 17 und lebt mit der Familie auf einem alten verfallenen Schloss in der Umgebung von London. Sie schildert ihr armseliges Leben (Vater war Schriftsteller und kann nicht mehr schreiben, es gibt kein Geld im Haus) und das ihrer Schwester Rose, die unbedingt einen Mann finden möchte. Der Zufall führt 2 Amerikaner in die Gegend, Grund genug, dass romantische Verwicklungen beginnen. Ein dickleibiger und bittersü er Liebesroman in der Tradition der Jane Austen (allerdings etwas einfacher gestrickt), für lange Winterabende. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
Beliebte Umschlagbilder
![]() GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.912 — Literature English {except North American} English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1901-1945Klassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:![]()
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Cassandra describes everything in excruciating detail, so the book moves very slowly. The pace picks up in the second half, although by then it feels like Cassandra is bored of writing everything in her journal so while inconsequential events in the first half get long, detailed descriptions, the monumental events of the second half go by in a blur. I guess that in some ways that shows character growth or something, but it makes for tedious reading. (