I Capture the Castle
You know when everyone is talking about something enthusiastically and you have not a glimmer nor a reference as to what they referring? Well that was how I was feeling when I stumbled across yet another author I admired mentioning this book. So you can get a flavor of what I mean, here are a couple:
"I know of few novels - except Pride and Prejudice - that inspire as much fierce lifelong affection in their readers." -Joanna Trollope
"This book has one of the most charismatic narrators I've ever met." -J.K. Rowling
So I gave it a shot. WOW!
Smith does an amazing job of writing about the process of writing, as well as telling the wonderful and entertaining story about the eccentric, artistic, and poor Mortmain family who live in a crumbling castle during the 1930s. It is a fabulous read. I have to say the strength of the reviews kept me going for the first half of the book and then I just couldn't stop. There is one part near the end with Cassandra, her brother, and father that actually had me laughing out loud. I had _no idea_ what was Cassandra and her brother were planning!
While Cassandra is busy trying to capture the castle, Dodie Smith is busy capturing the audience. I'm going to have to think about it for a while, but I'm wondering if she hasn't actually created the perfect novel. Her characters are flawlessly flawed and not in the contemporary manner of Zadie Smith or Claire Messud. Since she is also the author of 101 Dalmatians, I have to admit I'm glad Disney never produced a movie from this book.
Now I get it. This book is the type you savor!
Over the years PBS has introduced me to some of my favorite authors. Dorothy Sayers is one of those. Ten mystery novels starring Lord Peter Wimsey was all that she wrote before Sayers devoted her energy to her true passion, theological studies. Her translation of Dante is still highly regarded, and yet her mystery books are my favorite. 
I wrote an entire entry on this book and then found this:
Two weeks ago I was ready for the beach, so I found a couple of mystery beach reads from the most-trusted source for mystery books: Murder by the Book in Houston, TX. Although their website is rather lame, the books and recommendations are first rate. 
Anything by Emily Arnold McCully catches my eye (she won the Caldecott for Mirette on the High Wire). This story however really fascinated me because it was about Martha Washington's slave, Oney Judge. I wasn't sure if this was fact or fiction. It turns out Martha really did own a slave named Oney Judge, and she did escape during Washington's presidency. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story, and can't believe I didn't already know about this little tidbit of history.
Landed, by Milly Lee, is an interesting story of coming to America. Usually our immigration stories are focused on Ellis Island, but in this story about a boy leaving his village in China and coming to join his brothers in America, the entry point is via Angel Island off the coast of San Francisco. The process of gaining entry is difficult because of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and so the focus is on entry and not the journey itself. The story starts with his preparation for the exam and shows beautifully ho difficult it was to immigrate from China. There is a very informative author's note about the history of Chinese immigration and has additional resources.
Over the past month I've been immersed with immigration stories. First I reread Tea with Milk written and illustrated by Allen Say. If you've never read anything by him before, you are in for a treat. In this story of a Japanese-American, you see what life was like in the early 20th century for a Japanese girl. The book opens with the tension that existed in Ma-chan or May's life: "At home she had rice and miso soup and plain green tea for breakfast. At her friends' houses she ate pancakes and muffins and drank tea with milk and sugar." When May reluctantly returns to Japan as a teenager with her parents, she leaves behind old dreams and has to make new ones. The story shows a strong protagonist who has to make her way between two worlds and how she finds her own place in it. Allen Say does an amazing job of making you want to know what happens next.