Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Tale of Two Families
Tale of Two Families | Dodie Smith
3 posts | 4 read | 2 to read
From the author of "I Capture the Castle" comes adelightful, funny tale of complicated sibling relationships, friendship, and forbidden love, set in 1970s England Suspecting her husband, George, of dalliances in the city, May decides it is high time the family moved to the country. Determined to create the perfect home there, she finds an idyllic country house set in a lilac grove and sets about furnishing it properly and cooking enormous meals. She even manages to convince her less well-off sister, June, to move into a cozy cottage on the grounds with her husband Robert. This new set-up is very much a family affair as June s husband Robert just happens to be George s brother: the two sisters are married to two brothers. At first both families seem to be settling in well, sharing delicious meals and havingfun times together. Their grown-up children, Hugh and Corinna, visit from London and there even seems to be a hint of romance in the air for them, while the surviving grandparents from both sides of the family move into the big house and forge new friendships. But the arrival of a cantankerous great aunt will reveal the cracks in the family s tangled relationships and will even threaten to unveil the greatest secret of all while May thought moving George to the country would put a stop to his affairs, he has begun to fall in love with his sister-in-law, June. The death of a beloved character will, however, turn the tables again and lead to the ultimate, happy, denouement."
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
BarbaraJean
Tale of Two Families | Dodie Smith
post image
Pickpick

This was fascinating and frustrating. I closed the cover and thought how much the book reminded me of themes in I Capture the Castle. Which, well—of course. It was also written by Dodie Smith. But I Capture the Castle is a beloved favorite for me, so why did I resonate with its themes and find similar themes absolutely frustrating when played out in the characters of Families? ⤵️

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) This is an ensemble cast, with 6-8 core characters & alternating POVs, rather than the endearing single first-person narrator in Castle. And the characters in Families are a mix of young, middle-aged, and old. The theme of not knowing what you want can be compelling in a young character such as Cassandra—not so much in characters in their 40s and up. Ultimately, I loved the setting, but just didn‘t like the characters.⤵️ (edited) 2mo
BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) It was interesting, it was well-done, but in the end, frustrating and unsatisfying. This was my 1970 pick for #192025 @Librarybelle 2mo
Tamra I think I Capture the Castle is so beloved it‘s going to be really tough to compete with. I‘ve read some others by Dodie and felt the same. (edited) 2mo
See All 6 Comments
willaful I love several of her other books and was so excited when I moved away for college and found this in the library! (Back before she was digitized and reprinted.) And it was so disappointing! I've never bothered to reread it. 2mo
Librarybelle Great choice! 2mo
BarbaraJean @Tamra Oh, definitely! And I don't think I went into it thinking it would compete, but it was fascinating at the end to see so many parallels in themes between the stories, and have SUCH different reactions to each book. @willaful I didn't dislike it--it was super interesting to read--but it's definitely never going to be a favorite like I Capture the Castle! 2mo
43 likes6 comments
review
bookandbedandtea
Tale of Two Families | Dodie Smith
post image
Pickpick

Delightful characters, delightful food descriptions, delightful houses and towns (I really want to live in this book)... all things I've come to expect in a Dodie Smith novel. Definite pick.

rubyslippersreads I need to move this up my TBR list. 6y
bookandbedandtea @rubyslippersreads I hope you enjoy it 6y
12 likes2 comments
review
Joanneds
Tale of Two Families | Dodie Smith
post image
Mehso-so

A book about a family living a "lovely" life and putting forward a facade of niceness and sentimentality over an undercurrent of loneliness, desire and annoyance. This is a character-driven book which plods along for quite a long time. I became quite attached to Fran and Baggy.